The Company for driver risk management

BACK TO BASICS

In an online survey carried out by NewCarNet to gauge motorists’ understanding of road signs, the average success rate for the ten questions asked was only 68% for men and 62.4% for women. Why not run a competition based on the Highway Code in your organisation, to raise awareness about the importance of reading this important publication on a regular basis?

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TIGHT SQUEEZE

The M1 and M62 motorways will be piloting a new lane arrangement, whereby the hard shoulder will disappear and the existing lanes will be made 150mm narrower, allowing an extra lane to be built. In conjunction with ‘active traffic management’ the four-lane arrangement will enable much increased volumes of traffic to be handled.

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CASUALTY STATS

Since the last newsletter the latest road casualty figures, for 2005, have been released and there are further details on our website www.drivesurvive.co.uk but sadly the situation could be far worse than the official statistics would have you believe. Apparently the figures for those hospitalised as a result of road incidents are far higher than those that appear in the official DfT figures.

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HEATWAVE HAZARD

Although around 1,800 people die from skin cancer each year in the UK, most people are aware of the need to cover up or apply sun protection if they are lying on the beach. But when it comes to jumping into a convertible with the roof down most drivers wouldn’t give it a second thought. Convertibles are increasingly on business drivers' choice lists so we offer this advice: Overexposure to the sun can dehydrate you, which affects your ability to make sound judgements and the next step, sunstroke, could cause you to actually lose consciousness at the wheel, so it makes sense to always have a hat and sunscreen in the car with you.

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WET GRIP SHOCK

The issue of tyre tread depths has been back in the news recently. The latest test, by Auto Express magazine, showed that, in a 1.8 Ford Focus, the stopping distance in the wet at 70 mph was 91 metres with a tread depth of 3mm but 135 metres at the legal minimum of 1.6mm. Having tyres at the correct pressure, and replacing them well before the legal minimum is reached, is one of the most significant safety measures that those responsible for fleets can take.

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LICENCE LENIENCY

One million business drivers in the UK have never been asked to produce their licence for checking by their employer! And yet one in six company car drivers received points on their licence for speeding last year…….but would their fleet manager actually be aware of this? The only way is to have regular licence checks and implement a policy which mandates employees to advise their employer about a change in their licence status. Even if no other risk management activity is in place, fleet managers have an obligation to at least ensure that their drivers are legal to drive in the first place. Incidentally, a new EU directive dictates that drivers caught speeding in any EU country will have points added to their licence, which would be impossible to check other than by a proper DVLA check. At the moment points are not transferable across borders.

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VAN CYCLIST CONFLICT

Of all road users White Van Man is most likely to hit a cyclist. A University researcher has discovered that white vans routinely reduce the overtaking gap between themselves and cyclists, compared to other vehicles……and yet cyclists are most prone to direction changes due to road imperfections and draught from passing vehicles. Always leave plenty of space around cyclists and cut your speed.

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EURO TRUCK THREAT

Fleet drivers should make a special point of giving foreign trucks a wide berth. Government inspectors have found that they are three times more likely to break the safety rules, in particular with regards to overloading and driving excessive hours. Also, don’t forget that left hand drive trucks have a different blind area to right hand drive ones, so even if the driver IS awake he probably hasn’t seen you anyway.

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BRAND PROTECTION

The effect of business driver behaviour on company reputation is topping the list of fleet managers' concerns, a recent survey by Norwich Union suggests. Also the Health & Safety Executive is now actively looking at a way to ‘name & shame’ organisations that are in breach of regulations, recognising that company reputation is a valuable commodity to threaten.

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CHOOSE YOUR ROAD

Journey planning isn’t just about avoiding the road works. A recent AA report reveals new data about which are the safest roads, irrespective of the weather or traffic conditions. Motorways are five times safer than the average single carriageway road and twice as safe as dual carriageways. Fatal and serious injuries are on average five times higher on main roads which run through villages or the outskirts of towns than on the rural sections of the same route.

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SMOKE SCREEN

When smoking is banned in public places next year, the ban will affect business vehicles that are driven by more than one person. As a result it will not be permitted to smoke in a pool car. Smoking will also be specifically referred to as a distraction in the new version of the Highway Code due to appear early next year and lighting up whilst driving may be interpreted as ‘driving without due care and attention’. Smoking in cars also causes a film to build up over the internal glass too, which needs clearing regularly if optimum vision is to be retained.

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DEATH IN THE WORKPLACE

The new Corporate Manslaughter Bill was introduced to the House of Commons just before the summer recess and is expected to now make it to the statute books before the end of this parliamentary term. Whilst it is unlikely to directly affect the management of vehicle fleets, it will raise the whole profile of health and safety in the workplace and give the authorities another weapon with which to encourage best practice. A really effective antidote is to implement a robust driver risk management policy where every action is recorded………. and then you can relax.

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POLICE INVESTIGATIONS

There has been an update to the Road Death Investigation Manual, the bible that the police use to analyse the circumstances of a serious road traffic incident. Although the police have been obliged to look for evidence of ‘at work’ contributory factors for some three years now, Appendix G, Annexe C of the manual is now even more rigorous: “As a general rule, the police will investigate all at-work road deaths……..additionally HSE should also be contacted when there is sufficient indication that failures in safety management by the employer have significantly contributed to the incident……..employer has not adequately ensured the competence of the driver and deficiencies in training result in an incident………there is a serious continuing risk (e.g. one that could result in a similar incident occurring in similar circumstances) which cannot be addressed by the police using road traffic legislation, or by another appropriate enforcing authority (e.g. VOSA).”

At Drive & Survive we have never been in the business of scare-mongering but this is happening now and is no empty threat. By their own admission the HSE is under resourced to be an effective enforcing authority but the police have both the remit and muscle to take action. If police find sufficient grounds for investigation they will come knocking on a fleet manager’s door and it will be considered a criminal investigation from the outset. There will be a caution. There will be a taped interview in a police station. Documentation and servers will be removed and thoroughly interrogated, a process that might take several weeks. It will be disruptive, embarrassing, de-motivating and is unlikely to escape the notice of the media. Do everything in your power to avoid this, for your own sake and the sake of the business. As always, we’re here to help.

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GET OUT OF THAT CAR

According to the Highways Agency, 84% of incidents on the M25 hard shoulder involve parked vehicles being hit, most commonly as a result of another vehicle veering out of lane one. Malcolm and Sally Jones from Kent had a lucky escape recently. Having broken down, they were sitting in their car on the hard shoulder awaiting assistance from the rescue services but luckily Traffic Officers stopped and advised them to leave the car and wait behind the safety barriers. 15 minutes later a truck slammed into the back of the car, totally destroying it. Statistically motorways are very safe but if you have to stop on the hard shoulder ALWAYS leave the vehicle, no matter what the weather conditions – your life could depend on that decision.

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