Managing Occupational Road Risk

According to figures, driving is one of the most dangerous work activities. In this article, Dupe Domeih of System Concepts looks at what employers can do to manage the risks associated with occupational road risk.

Many people drive as part of their work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimates that about a third of all road accidents involve somebody who is at work at the time and may account for over 20 fatalities and 250 serious injuries every week; this makes driving one of the most dangerous work activities. The human and financial costs to families, businesses and the wider community are enormous. The Labour Force Survey estimates that there are between 70,000 and 100,000 work-related road traffic accidents (RTA) injuries each year with between 30,000 and 40,000 of these resulting in more than three days' absence from work.

Occupational road traffic accidents have been attributed to risk factors such as failing to look properly, loss of control, driver distraction, fatigue and stress, exceeding speed limits, use of mobile phones and pressures to meet deadlines, eg commercial deliveries.

What can employers do to manage occupational road risk?

Employers, particularly those with responsibility for fleet management, have a legal obligation to manage risks associated with driving for work. They must also consider their employees who drive their own vehicles for work. Some of the actions employers can take to manage their occupational road risks are covered in the following sections.

Policy on driving for work

Establishing a policy on driving for work can help employers to manage occupational road risk. The policy needs to be integrated into the organisation's overall health and safety management system and should cover the following key elements:

• responsibilities - identifying people responsible for implementing the policy, including top-level management

• an integrated organisational structure - showing cooperation and a shared common understanding of how work-related road safety is managed in the organisation

• arrangements to manage work-related road safety effectively - eg driver competence and training, vehicle suitability and checks, and mobile phone use

• arrangements for monitoring that the policy is effective - eg reviews of accident causes, benchmarking between departments, and externally and proactive and reactive monitoring.

The policy should cover important aspects of the Highway Code such as speed limits and eyesight requirements for drivers and mobile phone use.

The policy should be clearly communicated to employees who drive for work, eg during induction, team meetings and included in staff handbook and company intranet.

Risk assessment

Employers have a legal duty to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of all their employees including those who drive for work. They must assess any possible risk factors and take practical steps to reduce or remove the risks. Employers can carry out driving for work risk assessments by following the HSE five steps to risk assessment:

• identify the hazards - anything that may cause harm when driving on public roads, with areas to focus on including the driver, the vehicle and the journey

• decide who could be harmed and how - apart from the driver, passengers and other road users, consider those who may be particularly at risk, such as young or newly qualified drivers and those driving long distances

• evaluate the risks and decide on precautions - determine how likely it is that each hazard will cause harm and remove or reduce the risk by making changes, eg avoiding the need to drive to meetings by holding telephone or video conferences, encouraging employees to take public transport, avoiding unrealistic delivery schedules

• record the findings of the risk assessment and implement the control measures

• review the risk assessment, taking account of changing circumstances to ensure that risks to employees who drive and others are suitably controlled.

Driver competence and training

Employers need to consider whether their employees who drive for work are competent and capable of driving safely. A practical way of doing this is to have a system of checking validity of driving licenses or any other driving training requirements, eg Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) and CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) for haulage fleet drivers. It is necessary to carry out periodic checking of licenses and other driving requirements.

Where a risk assessment identifies that a driver requires additional and/or refresher training, employers should provide relevant training either through in-house training, using external trainers or interactive online training packages. Priority should be given to those at highest risk, eg those with high annual mileage, poor accident records, or young drivers. Training should include how to carry out routine safety checks on the vehicles (eg tyres, wheels, lights, windscreen wipers) and adjust safety equipment (eg seat belts, head restraints). Providing a checklist is a practical way of encouraging staff who drive for work to conduct regular safety checks of their vehicles. Employers should consider supplementing the driving for work policy with written instructions and guidance to make it easy for staff to understand and follow.

According to figures, driving is one of the most dangerous work activities. In this article, Dupe Domeih of System Concepts looks at what employers can do to manage the risks associated with occupational road risk.

Many people drive as part of their work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimates that about a third of all road accidents involve somebody who is at work at the time and may account for over 20 fatalities and 250 serious injuries every week; this makes driving one of the most dangerous work activities. The human and financial costs to families, businesses and the wider community are enormous. The Labour Force Survey estimates that there are between 70,000 and 100,000 work-related road traffic accidents (RTA) injuries each year with between 30,000 and 40,000 of these resulting in more than three days' absence from work.

Occupational road traffic accidents have been attributed to risk factors such as failing to look properly, loss of control, driver distraction, fatigue and stress, exceeding speed limits, use of mobile phones and pressures to meet deadlines, eg commercial deliveries.

What can employers do to manage occupational road risk?

Employers, particularly those with responsibility for fleet management, have a legal obligation to manage risks associated with driving for work. They must also consider their employees who drive their own vehicles for work. Some of the actions employers can take to manage their occupational road risks are covered in the following sections.

Policy on driving for work

Establishing a policy on driving for work can help employers to manage occupational road risk. The policy needs to be integrated into the organisation's overall health and safety management system and should cover the following key elements:

• responsibilities - identifying people responsible for implementing the policy, including top-level management

• an integrated organisational structure - showing cooperation and a shared common understanding of how work-related road safety is managed in the organisation

• arrangements to manage work-related road safety effectively - eg driver competence and training, vehicle suitability and checks, and mobile phone use

• arrangements for monitoring that the policy is effective - eg reviews of accident causes, benchmarking between departments, and externally and proactive and reactive monitoring.

The policy should cover important aspects of the Highway Code such as speed limits and eyesight requirements for drivers and mobile phone use.

The policy should be clearly communicated to employees who drive for work, eg during induction, team meetings and included in staff handbook and company intranet.

Risk assessment

Employers have a legal duty to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of all their employees including those who drive for work. They must assess any possible risk factors and take practical steps to reduce or remove the risks. Employers can carry out driving for work risk assessments by following the HSE five steps to risk assessment:

• identify the hazards - anything that may cause harm when driving on public roads, with areas to focus on including the driver, the vehicle and the journey

• decide who could be harmed and how - apart from the driver, passengers and other road users, consider those who may be particularly at risk, such as young or newly qualified drivers and those driving long distances

• evaluate the risks and decide on precautions - determine how likely it is that each hazard will cause harm and remove or reduce the risk by making changes, eg avoiding the need to drive to meetings by holding telephone or video conferences, encouraging employees to take public transport, avoiding unrealistic delivery schedules

• record the findings of the risk assessment and implement the control measures

• review the risk assessment, taking account of changing circumstances to ensure that risks to employees who drive and others are suitably controlled.

Driver competence and training

Employers need to consider whether their employees who drive for work are competent and capable of driving safely. A practical way of doing this is to have a system of checking validity of driving licenses or any other driving training requirements, eg Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) and CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) for haulage fleet drivers. It is necessary to carry out periodic checking of licenses and other driving requirements.

Where a risk assessment identifies that a driver requires additional and/or refresher training, employers should provide relevant training either through in-house training, using external trainers or interactive online training packages. Priority should be given to those at highest risk, eg those with high annual mileage, poor accident records, or young drivers. Training should include how to carry out routine safety checks on the vehicles (eg tyres, wheels, lights, windscreen wipers) and adjust safety equipment (eg seat belts, head restraints). Providing a checklist is a practical way of encouraging staff who drive for work to conduct regular safety checks of their vehicles. Employers should consider supplementing the driving for work policy with written instructions and guidance to make it easy for staff to understand and follow.

Driver fitness and health

Employees who drive for work need to be fit and healthy to drive safely without putting themselves or others at risk. Employers should be aware that some drivers (eg drivers of heavy lorries) are legally required to undergo medical examinations and provide appropriate medical certificates. Where this is not legally required, it is good practice for employers to request drivers, particularly those who are most at risk, to undergo regular medical examinations. Employers should regularly remind their staff who drive for work not to drive if they have any issues that may affect their ability to drive, eg if they are taking a course of medication that may impair their judgement or if they are diagnosed with an illness that prohibits them to drive such as epilepsy. These should be included in the policy.

Vehicle suitability and checks

Fleet managers need to ensure that vehicles are suitable for the work being carried out. Where tasks mainly involve carrying goods, suitable goods vehicles should be used; where passengers and goods are normally carried, a suitable vehicle should be one that enables goods to be secured properly and passengers should each have a seat and seat belt. Employers should also carry out regular periodic checks and planned or preventative maintenance of vehicles, including privately owned vehicles used for work.

Planning journeys

Fatigue, stress and work pressures have been identified as risk factors for occupational road accidents. Planning journeys ahead is an effective way of managing these risk factors. Employers should consider the following when making plans for safer journeys:

• using safer journey routes for different types of vehicles, eg motorways are usually safer for larger vehicles; taking account of routes with restrictions that may present a hazard, eg overhead restrictions for large vehicles

• setting realistic timescales for journeys to prevent fatigue or stress and pressure on drivers to take risks; allowing sufficient time for journeys; scheduling rest times for drivers; avoiding peak travel periods; and monitoring drivers' journey patterns to identify any issues

• removing or reducing the need to drive excessive distances, eg moving goods by train and arranging local distribution; breaking journeys to avoid driver fatigue and stress

• rescheduling journey times and routes during adverse weather conditions; ensuring that vehicles are properly equipped for poor weather conditions (eg antilock brakes); checking that drivers do not feel pressurised to complete journeys where weather conditions make it difficult and unsafe to do so.

Aside from reducing road accidents, having a robust system for managing occupational road risks provides various benefits to employers, including:

• fewer days lost due to injury and sickness absence due to ill health or stress

• less need for investigation and paperwork

• less lost time due to work rescheduling

• fewer vehicles off the road for repair

• reduced running costs through better driving standards

• reduced missed orders and business opportunities so reduced risk of losing customers and tarnishing business reputation.

Employees who drive for work need to be fit and healthy to drive safely without putting themselves or others at risk. Employers should be aware that some drivers (eg drivers of heavy lorries) are legally required to undergo medical examinations and provide appropriate medical certificates. Where this is not legally required, it is good practice for employers to request drivers, particularly those who are most at risk, to undergo regular medical examinations. Employers should regularly remind their staff who drive for work not to drive if they have any issues that may affect their ability to drive, eg if they are taking a course of medication that may impair their judgement or if they are diagnosed with an illness that prohibits them to drive such as epilepsy. These should be included in the policy.

Vehicle suitability and checks

Fleet managers need to ensure that vehicles are suitable for the work being carried out. Where tasks mainly involve carrying goods, suitable goods vehicles should be used; where passengers and goods are normally carried, a suitable vehicle should be one that enables goods to be secured properly and passengers should each have a seat and seat belt. Employers should also carry out regular periodic checks and planned or preventative maintenance of vehicles, including privately owned vehicles used for work.

Planning journeys

Fatigue, stress and work pressures have been identified as risk factors for occupational road accidents. Planning journeys ahead is an effective way of managing these risk factors. Employers should consider the following when making plans for safer journeys:

• using safer journey routes for different types of vehicles, eg motorways are usually safer for larger vehicles; taking account of routes with restrictions that may present a hazard, eg overhead restrictions for large vehicles

• setting realistic timescales for journeys to prevent fatigue or stress and pressure on drivers to take risks; allowing sufficient time for journeys; scheduling rest times for drivers; avoiding peak travel periods; and monitoring drivers' journey patterns to identify any issues

• removing or reducing the need to drive excessive distances, eg moving goods by train and arranging local distribution; breaking journeys to avoid driver fatigue and stress

• rescheduling journey times and routes during adverse weather conditions; ensuring that vehicles are properly equipped for poor weather conditions (eg antilock brakes); checking that drivers do not feel pressurised to complete journeys where weather conditions make it difficult and unsafe to do so.

Aside from reducing road accidents, having a robust system for managing occupational road risks provides various benefits to employers, including:

• fewer days lost due to injury and sickness absence due to ill health or stress

• less need for investigation and paperwork

• less lost time due to work rescheduling

• fewer vehicles off the road for repair

• reduced running costs through better driving standards

• reduced missed orders and business opportunities so reduced risk of losing customers and tarnishing business reputation.

Source: Croner

Posted Date: 24th Feb 2012