THE company for driver risk management

FIRST SMOKING FINE

Conwy Council in Wales has brought a successful conviction for smoking in a shared use company vehicle, believed to be the first since the ban was introduced in Wales on April 1st and England on July 1st. The driver involved was fined £50.

Up to now councils and police in Wales have merely been issuing written warnings. It appears that the end of the honeymoon period is fast approaching and the authorities are likely to be less tolerant from now on.

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IGNORE TRAFFIC OFFICERS AT YOUR PERIL

A driver was recently fined £500 and had six penalty points applied to his licence after he was convicted of driving without due care and attention for driving up the hard shoulder on the M62, in an attempt to by pass a rolling road block being managed by Traffic Officers.

The rolling roadblock was holding traffic back so that other Traffic Officers could close off a lane further on and the driver involved almost collided with them as a result of his stupidity.

They may not have the same legal powers as the police but Traffic Officers are not to be trifled with – they have connections in all the right places.

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UNION CO-OPERATION

There are claims that some trade unions are supporting members who have refused to provide personal information for driver risk management analysis on data protection grounds.

TUC senior health and safety policy officer Hugh Robertson said, “The TUC has called for several years for occupational driving to be seen as a priority by both employers and the HSE, but unions also want safety representatives to have a legal right to be consulted on risk assessments.

“Unions have been at the forefront of raising these issues in the workplace. It is employers who fail to consult or do not respond to requests by unions for action.”

Along with all other reputable suppliers, Drive & Survive fully subscribes to the Data Protection Act and driver details are held securely, and are never passed to any third party unless the employer gives permission in writing.

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KILL BILL GETS THROUGH

The Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Bill finally staggered onto the statute books in late July……but only just! After an epic battle of ping-pong between the two houses of parliament, a compromise was struck and is likely to become law some time early next year.

Don’t panic though. Despite what many in the industry are saying, the new law is in reality very unlikely to impact on those who are responsible for the management of business vehicles. There is quite enough existing legislation and police power in place to make a conviction stick for incompetent management of vehicles resulting in death and serious injury.

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THE UNINSURED MENACE

The ABI estimates that the total cost of uninsured motoring in the UK exceeds half a billion pounds each year. Honest motorists have to stump up £350 million to cover the cost of uninsured and untraced driving in the UK.

The latest generation of number plate recognition cameras is helping police to track the villains and the problem is easing slightly but no motorist, even those covered under a company car policy, want to go through the stress and inconvenience of a long drawn out battle to establish responsibility if involved in a collision with an uninsured driver. The obvious answer is to do everything possible to avoid getting involved in the first place…..which is of course where Drive & Survive would be only too pleased to step in and offer support.

Incidentally, top of the hot spots for uninsured drivers is West Gorton in Manchester, where you are six times more likely to be hit by an uninsured driver.

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CORONER’S POWER

Tucked away in the small print of Gordon Brown’s introductory speech as Prime Minister, setting out the legislative measures he proposed for the next session of parliament, was a reference to increasing the powers of Coroners to ensure more effective investigations and inquests.

This will have an impact on the investigation into road fatalities. Watch this space.

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USEFUL WEBSITE

For those business drivers who have gone the ‘cash for car’ route and are now responsible for their own insurance arrangements, this website could be useful for finding the most competitive quote: www.MyThingE.com

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SAFETY TECHNOLOGY

Toyota has developed an Active Headrest in order to minimise whiplash injuries incurred during vehicle collisions. If a rear end collision occurs, the weight and g-force of the seat occupant’s body activate a sensor, and a cable inside the back of the seat moves the headrest forward to come into contact with the occupant’s head well before it would make contact by itself. This shortens the travel of the head towards the headrest and trials indicate that injuries can be reduced by 20%. It is expected to go into production this year, although there is no confirmation as to when the device will be available on European models.

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WORDS OF WISDOM FROM OUR TRAINING MANAGER

You don’t need to be a technically skilful driver to create space around your vehicle.  Some studies suggest that if one driver involved in a crash with another road user had had one more second to react, then 80% of crashes could be avoided.

As a general rule, at motorway speeds if you can read the number plate of the vehicle in front, you are too close! Tailgating is deemed by most drivers to be one of the things they dislike most about other drivers but most drivers confess to driving too close at times.

If you are stationary behind another vehicle, leave sufficient space between it and you to allow you to move out or go round it without having to apply more than a quarter turn of steering lock. If you are at the tail end of a queue, keep a close eye on your rear view mirror and prepare to move into a clear, safe space that you have identified in advance.

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