THE company for driver risk management

NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY WEEK

The theme of this year's campaign, which runs between November 6th and 12th, is 'young driver safety' but the organisers, Brake, are still asking companies to become involved and help their cause. They suggest erecting banners, placing posters in depots or offices and working with local schools and colleges.

For more information on how your company can capitalise on publicity opportunities during National Road Safety week, please call Matthew Henderson on 01484 559909 or email mhenderson@brake.org.uk. Alternatively there are lots of ideas and information at www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk.

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THINK ONCE, THINK TWICE…THINK BIKE!

Every year thousands of people are killed or seriously injured on the roads but motorcyclists suffer disproportionately. They represent less than 1% of road traffic but account for 17% of deaths and serious injuries.

Motorcycles differ from cars and other traffic in several important ways. For a start, they can make quicker progress, especially through slow moving traffic. That's one of the reasons people buy them. Unfortunately their oncoming profile is also quite narrow and upright and sometimes difficult for drivers to spot.

Don't have an injury to another road user on your conscience – TAKE PARTICULAR CARE TO LOOK OUT FOR MOTORCYCLISTS.

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WEBSITE UPDATE

We have improved our website recently and now there’s even more detail within the ‘Products’, ‘News’ and ‘Information’ sections. But it’s not all Drive & Survive focussed – our ‘Information’ section has a number of useful downloadable guides, as well as real time travel and weather information, which are particularly useful for journey planning purposes.

Why not take a couple of minutes to have a look? Just click on  www.drivesurvive.co.uk

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IN THE THICK OF IT

"I know this stretch of motorway very well, due to two minor rear end shunts, so I do take extra care i.e. speed and space awareness.

I noticed smoke from lorry tyres ahead and the emergency braking of several vehicles. A small black estate car travelling in the outside lane had braked too late, as she was following too close to other vehicles. She went into a skid, spun around three times across the central and nearside lanes, crashed head on into the barrier, bounced off and hit the vehicles in the nearside lane.

Due to the distance I was giving to all vehicles in front of me, I was able to take emergency action, put my flashers on and avoided the collision. Other motorists were pulling over to assist and I believe they contributed to what ended up as a multi vehicle accident. I heard on the news later this resulted in a seven mile tailback and severe delays.

I know we all believe we are good and sensible drivers but I definitely put the avoidance of an accident down to Drive & Survive! Thanks to my Drive & Survive Training, I was able to prevent injury to myself."

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COLD COMFORT

According to a recent survey, more than half of British drivers regularly take to the road whilst feeling unwell or on medication. Of that number, 18% admitted that their driving had been impaired as a result.

Even the most innocuous looking cold remedy can have an adverse effect on reaction and concentration levels and it is vital that drivers chose a product that has the least chance of compromising their driving ability, so always consult your pharmacist before buying.

If you have to take medication that you know might have an adverse effect, you should take responsibility and make the decision not to drive at all.

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FOILING THE FELONS

Cars left in dark car parks during winter evenings are an ideal target for opportunistic car thieves, so don’t make it any easier for them:

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UNFIT TO DRIVE?

There could be around a million drivers in the UK with a notifiable medical condition who haven’t informed the DVLA. Crashes involving drivers with these conditions have risen by 75% in the last three years.

Anybody with or having had any of the following conditions must inform the DVLA of their condition. By not doing so they are risking a £1000 fine:

How certain can you be that your drivers have declared any of these? You may be liable if you are condoning their driving without declaring any of the above conditions.

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RUN FLAT TYRE SHOCK

A recent comparative test by a leading automotive magazine confirmed that it is highly dangerous to replace worn run flat tyres with normal tyres, as it produced a significant increase in stopping distance and comprised the vehicle’s handling characteristics. Although the likely cost savings might be tempting, it’s clearly not worth the risk, especially as insurance cover would almost certainly be invalidated as well.

Although reputable tyre suppliers to company car schemes are unlikely to ever suggest such an idea, this would be a difficult practice to monitor by the untrained eye under ‘cash for car’ or employee car ownership schemes, so you may have to instigate spot checks by an expert or, at the very least, get staff on these schemes to sign an undertaking that they will comply with manufacturers’ recommendations in this regard.

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FOREIGN TRUCKS….. AGAIN

We make no apologies for mentioning this topic again because it is becoming even more of a problem week by week. A recent BBC television documentary revealed that in the region of 35% of the foreign trucks stopped at British ports of entry had technical defects that made them potentially unsafe. In addition a high percentage of drivers had exceeded their drivers hours limit and were in severe danger of falling asleep at the wheel. Sadly the governing body for checking this kind of offence, VOSA, is badly under-resourced at present, so this could just be the tip of the iceberg.

Around the time this newsletter was produced, two young male drivers were killed on the M6 in an early evening crash involving a Turkish truck, although the precise cause had not been established at the time of publication.

Our advice – look well ahead to spot foreign number plates, foreign sign-writing and unfamiliar makes of truck. Once spotted think ‘LEFT HAND DRIVE – BLIND SPOT’ and, if safe to do so, give them plenty of space during overtaking and prepare for sudden, unpredictable manoeuvres.

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SUPPORT DRIVE & SURVIVE

Those of you currently using Drive & Survive for any form of driver risk management activity, who would like to express your satisfaction with the service you receive, now have the opportunity to nominate us under the terms of the Suppliers Charter run by Fleet News.

Click on www.fleetnewsnet.co.uk and then ‘Suppliers Charter‘ in the left column menu. We believe we fully meet all the criteria set out by Fleet News and would be very grateful for your support.

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