THE company for driver risk management

DRIVING FOR BETTER BUSINESS

A new initiative to promote business driver safety and best practice, funded by the DfT and managed by RoadSafe, was launched at the recent Commercial Vehicle Show.

The campaign seeks to emphasise the substantial cost savings that can be achieved by managing road risk efficiently and in the pilot phase will concentrate on initiatives currently under way in the home delivery market.

The principal mechanism of the campaign is to identify and publicise the activities of ‘Business Champions’ who have met key criteria identified by the DfT. Apart from having their case study material published in a wide variety of media, the Business Champions will be involved in trade press interviews, conferences, speaking engagements, photo calls and other DfT/RoadSafe activities.

Drive & Survive is involved in the process and pleased to be able to state that one of the first two champions to be identified, Chelmsford Electrical, is one of its clients. The other is Tesco.

Chelmsford Electrical is a well-established and successful provider of electrical services, principally for the building and property development sector. Although based in Essex the company services the needs of its customers over a wide area, encompassing most of the South East of England including London.

In the five years it has been operating a driver risk management programme with Drive & Survive the company’s insurance costs have reduced by 64%.

Any other Drive & Survive customers wishing to put themselves forward for inclusion in this initiative should in the first instance contact the editor on steve.johnson@drivesurvive.co.uk.

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LANDMARK RULING?

Although this story has already received its fair share of national and trade media coverage already I make no apologies for referring to it, as it is significant in our sector.

An employee has had permission from a judge to sue his employer, for a figure that may well be in excess of £1 million, as a result of falling asleep at the wheel and crashing, after being forced to work extensive and unsociable hours by his boss.

Now paralysed, his final award will however be reduced by 33% as a result of contributory negligence because he was not wearing his seat belt.

This is the first case we know of that directly relates to an employer’s deliberate mismanagement of road risk and thus driver duty of care, so the legal beagles will be waiting for the outcome with bated breath.

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SMASH AND GRAB

According to industry sources there has recently been a 23% increase in the incidence of smashed side windows and resultant theft of valuables from cars.  Many company cars also contain equipment of a value well in excess of that covered by insurance and company car drivers might find themselves footing the bill for losses.

The advice is simple – keep valuables out of sight, choose your parking place wisely before leaving the car and, if left in the street at night, always try to park under a street lamp.

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FREE INFORMATION

Drive & Survive is providing risk assessments and training for the UK’s largest specialist supplier of recruitment services to the transport and logistics industry, Driver Hire Nationwide.

Driver Hire has a range of high quality information posters on a variety of topics relevant to fleet managers and operators and they have kindly agreed to make them available to Drive & Survive clients free of charge. They cover such topics as Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations, EU Driver’s Hours Regulations, Vehicle Weights, Braking Distances and many others.

PDF versions of the posters will available on the ‘Download’ section of the Drive & Survive website from next week. If you require full size (A2) hard copy versions there will be a nominal charge for post and packing. Please contact Driver Hire on info@driver-hire.co.uk to register your interest.

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KILLER LOADS

There has been quite a lot of publicity about the potential for unrestrained passengers, dogs and luggage to seriously injure front seat car passengers in an impact but until now there has been little investigation into the equivalent situation in a van.

In attempts to cut costs many small businesses have been risking life and limb by fitting untested, uncertified racking in vans, often supplied by well-meaning amateurs. Operators often only realise there is a problem when it is too late and their driver has been hospitalised, or worse, as a result of the load breaking loose during an emergency situation.

Leading racking manufacturer Sortimo International has been highlighting the problem as a result of working with Transport Research Laboratory during simulated crash test procedures. The DVD of the testing provides a chilling reminder of the need to secure loads properly and what the horrific consequences can be if they are not. Copies of the DVD can be obtained from marketing@sortimo.co.uk and further information about the company’s products and services can be obtained from www.sortimo.co.uk

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EURO NCAP STARS

Both the Peugeot 207CC and new MINI Cooper have been awarded coveted five star ratings for adult occupant protection by the European New Car Assessment Programme.

More details about the crashworthiness of cars currently on sale within the EU can be gained from the newly revised website www.euroncap.com.

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DEMON DEALS

For anybody thinking of changing their company-provided, cash-for-car or personal vehicle, Drive & Survive commercial partner AFL has some tempting car leasing and contract hire deals available.

For more information please see www.drivesurvive.co.uk/welcome-back.asp

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USEFUL WEBSITES

If your organisation sends employees abroad regularly and expects them to drive unfamiliar vehicles in unfamiliar territory you would do well to point them in the direction of www.avisba.com, which is a joint venture by Avis and British Airways.

Within the ‘Driving Guides’ section the site offers valuable guidance on documentation that drivers need abroad, principal road signs, speed limits and information on traffic regulations, as well as a useful Handy Hints area that deals with the finer points of unwritten driving etiquette.

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ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP

Any driver completing a practical Drive & Survive training session, either on or off road, will now qualify for free IAM Associate membership for the first year. Associate membership offers discounts on breakdown assistance, tyre, windscreen and brake replacement, hotels, car hire, airport parking and even car purchase.

There are also special deals to be had on a range of books, road atlases and maps, as well as the opportunity to purchase gift tokens and vouchers. Members also receive the magazine ‘Advanced Driving’ which, apart from a wealth of driving-related news, carries details about exciting driving events that are available to members.

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SMOKE FREE

The National Car Rental and Guy Salmon organisations have implemented a UK wide smoking ban in their daily rental cars, well ahead of the July 1 ban in England. The UK Vice President of UK Operations Ron Santiago said: “By putting No Smoking stickers in all our vehicles we can assure that our customers are not at risk from the heavy penalties for non compliance with the new legislation.

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IAM STABLE EXPANDS

The fleet driver training element of the well-respected provider Pro-Drive has been acquired by the IAM. The new company will be known as IAM Pro-drive.

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SAFETY TECHNOLOGY

Drive & Survive client Siemens VDO has come up with an innovative braking idea. Electronically controlled ‘wedge brakes’ will be rolling off the production line in three years time and, if the predictions are correct, most volume production cars will have them by the start of the next decade.

Winter tests recently conducted in Sweden have shown that the ‘braking by wire’ set up, which also harnesses the energy of the wheel itself, will reduce braking distances by an impressive 15% over the equivalent hydraulic systems.

A London-based company has devised an affordable blind spot avoidance device, which could all but eliminate those annoying low speed bumps and scrapes. The system consists of a series of tiny cameras linked to a 2.5 inch dashboard-mounted screen, allowing a choice of exterior views of the vehicle. Systems start at £240 and more details can be found at www.track-nav.co.uk.

The positioning of indicator lights on cars can dramatically affect reaction times and the extent to which road users are aware of a vehicle altering direction. Indicators set within the headlight assembly have been found to be much less visible than those positioned outside. The latest Ford Focus model is one example of those with more visible indicators set outside the headlight.

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WORDS OF WISDOM FROM OUR TRAINING MANAGER

Business drivers should remember that speed limits are maximums, not targets. Although sometimes they seem to be set low, they are based on the level of risk at that point and a driver’s ability to stop quickly if the need arises. In any circumstances a ‘safe’ speed is one which allows the driver to stop in the distance he/she can see to be clear on their side of the road.

When it comes to crashes it’s not speeding per se that is the problem. It’s the speed at the moment of impact that is.  So don’t forget that for every doubling in speed there is a four-fold increase in braking distance.

Business drivers should not allow the demands of their job to colour their judgement when it comes to planning for journey times. Rather than thinking ‘I can do this journey in x minutes or hours if I push it or if I’m lucky’, why not try to adopt the mindset of ‘a journey takes as long as it takes’? It does wonders for the stress levels.

No business meeting is more important than your and other road users’ safety so remember this maxim: It’s better to be late to arrive than dead on arrival.