GreenFleet

With around a third of road accidents in the UK involving someone who was driving for work at the time, it is clear that employers have a huge role to play in road safety.
    
At RoSPA, managing occupational road risk (MORR) has been on the agenda for a long time. But for those who are new to the subject or those unaware of just how significant the employers’ role can be in MORR, there are some basic factors, including the key tenets of road safety, which are worth knowing about.

Looking at the risks
The sheer scale of the problem is a good place to start. Great Britain has some of the safest roads in Europe, but that statistic does not signal success, and nor should it prompt complacency. In 2007, more than 30,000 people were killed or seriously injured in road accidents in Great Britain, and a further 217,000 received slight injuries. Road accidents involving someone who is at work at the time and transport accidents that happen on work premises destroy thousands of lives each year between them.
    
Furthermore, for higher mileage at-work drivers the risks of fatal and major injury are equivalent to those faced by workers in hazardous industries. For example, at 25,000 miles per year the risk of dying is roughly equivalent to the risks involved in coal mining. The numbers and statistics speak for themselves in emphasising that MORR is just as much the responsibility of employers as other occupational safety and health issues.

New legislation
There are significant ethical and moral reasons for employers to take MORR seriously too. Furthermore, recent legislation – like the Corporate Manslaughter Act – has added new reasons. Although few cases have arisen from the act yet, it emphasises employers’ responsibilities to their staff, including those on the roads. In fact, the indications are that many firms still have work to do to get up to scratch on the act, especially small and medium sized enterprises.
    
Even more relevant is the Health and Safety Offences Act, which brings the spotlight of responsibility onto individuals, rather than organisations. The act, introduced in January with considerably less publicity than the Corporate Manslaughter Act, toughened up penalties so that fleet managers and fleet decision-makers, including directors, can be jailed for up to two years for health and safety breaches. And unlike the Corporate Manslaughter Act, prosecutions under the Health and Safety Offences Act do not require someone to have been killed due to a breach of the rules.
    
In addition, while most people know that a ‘green’ approach to fleet management has substantial cost-saving benefits, it is equally true that risk management can save money too. In fact, the robust business case for investing in MORR cannot be overstated, especially during a recession. Taking a proactive approach to your employees’ road safety at a time when sales and turnover might dip can help cut the losses which arise from easily avoidable accidents.

Protecting staff   
Once employers recognise that protecting their driving staff is partly their responsibility, they are entitled to ask what they can actually do. Traditionally, road safety strategy has been split up into three fairly self-explanatory areas – engineering, education and enforcement. Although professionals are continually researching new ways to drive casualty numbers down, the tried and tested ‘three Es’ approach is set to continue – road safety minister Jim Fitzpatrick MP recently signalled that the three strands would be present in the next decade’s tactics.
    
Whatever the minutiae of future approaches, bosses need to know that they can get involved – for every strand of road safety strategy, there are corresponding and overlapping threads for employment policy. In terms of engineering for instance, how much attention do you pay to the grey fleet, the vehicles privately owned or driven by your staff, let alone the company’s official transport network? During the recession, what is your company doing to make sure that staff are keeping on top of their vehicles’ vital servicing and maintenance checks? Simple steps like offering financial help where it is needed or advice on the routine repairs will contribute to road safety and boost morale.

Intelligent Speed Adaptation
The principle of engineering for road safety can also be applied to the fleet itself. For example, the government is now looking into Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA), a system that automatically informs drivers of the speed limits on the road they’re on. It can also be used to restrict a vehicle’s speed so it cannot exceed the limit. While such equipment can be costly, it’s likely that continuing developments in the technology will see its use become more widespread.
    
In addition, engineering can be put to good use on work premises. There can be no good reasons for allowing poor design or layout to contribute to vehicle accidents on your site, so carry out a professional assessment and make the necessary changes.
    
Education, the second aspect of road safety strategy, is vital in MORR because it’s important that employees know where they stand. Does your company have an MORR policy that is wellknown by staff and easily accessible? Or would the workers struggle to describe the firm’s policy on, say, people caught using a mobile phone behind wheel? Criticism over poor communication on road safety is easily levelled at those in governmental infrastructures, but private bodies and firms of every size also have a responsibility for clarity.
    
In wider road strategy, education is also linked to training and publicity. Again, even in difficult economic times, the potential return and savings from investing in training for driving staff is enormous. Driver profiling and eco-driving schemes are certainly worth considering, with benefits – such as reduced fuel costs and lighter carbon footprints – which go far beyond safety. One such scheme is the government’s SAFED (Safe and fuel efficient driving) course, suitable for anyone who drives for work in any capacity at all. RoSPA is an approved deliverer of the course, and others such as the Driver Competency Certificate and driver development training.
    
Get involved
The third strand of road safety strategy, enforcement, could easily get overlooked at company level, as it is often seen as the responsibility of police or the highways authorities. But once again, employers can take practical and proactive steps to making sure risky behaviour on the road or in vehicles on the work premises is not tolerated. The key thing in this respect is linked to what has already been mentioned about education – letting staff know what is expected of them. Once staff know which attitudes and behaviour are not appropriate, penalties can be set in place for those who flout company policy.
    
If you’re not already proactively involved in MORR, now is a great time to start. And if you are involved, make sure you keep up to date with all the latest developments so there can be sustainable and continuous improvement in road safety.

For more information
Web: www.rospa.com/roadsafety