Health and Safety

BACK 03-11-2016

What kind of measures can we take to minimise the risks from work-related driving?

Under UK law, employers must take appropriate steps to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of their employees and anyone who could be put at risk by the organisation’s work activities.

As well as eliminating or controlling traditional risks found at work, employers must take suitable measures to ensure the health and safety of employees who drive on public roads for work purposes, or anyone who could be affected by the company’s work-related driving activities, such as pedestrians and other road users.

The duty to manage occupational road risk applies whenever employees and others, such as agency drivers under the employer’s control, are driving or riding at work. This includes workers driving a company or hired vehicle and their own vehicles, such as a private car used for work purposes.

HSE says it may not always be possible to fully control the risks from occupational driving, but there are practical steps that can be taken to help protect company drivers and others. It suggests integrating the management of work-related road safety into the organisation’s overall arrangements for managing health and safety risks at work.

In particular, it suggests following a “plan, do, check, act” approach. This means assessing the risks and implementing adequate systems and steps to manage them – such as ensuring vehicles are regularly inspected and maintained and providing drivers with appropriate information and training.

Though the appropriate control measures will depend on factors such as the number of company drivers, the type of vehicles used and the nature of the journeys made, the government-backed Driving for Better Business campaign suggests following a hierarchy when tackling the risks. This means:

  • Where possible, eliminating or reducing road journeys – for example, by introducing telephone or videoconferencing, or rescheduling deliveries to reduce the overall number of road journeys
  • Planning safer journeys – for example, by switching to a safer travel mode such as rail, avoiding driving in adverse conditions, reducing driving distances and driving time through appropriate rest breaks, better scheduling and specifying the safest routes
  • Selecting and specifying appropriate vehicles and ensuring effective vehicle maintenance
  • Using appropriate drivers – for example, by ensuring driver fitness, having clear policies on alcohol and drugs, and introducing driver training and improvement programmes if necessary
  • Implementing additional supporting measures – such as emergency procedures for breakdowns and accidents, and incentive and award schemes for safe driving

More guidance is at Health and Safety Executive.

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