Taking responsibility for your fleet

Simon Best, chief executive of IAM Fleet and Drive & Survive explains how not having a driver risk management programme could be risky

Driving today is not what it used to be: crowded roads, hectic and pressured lifestyles – and everyone in such a hurry to reach their destination. Business drivers in particular spend long days behind the wheel and inevitably drive when tired. So it’s not surprising that these pressures feed into driving behaviour.  
    
Too often, large fleets suffer significant losses due to poorly trained or educated drivers. These include  damaged product, additional labour, warranty claims and excessive fuel costs.
    
One in three accidents involve someone driving at work. With this statistic so high, it’s imperative that an organisation has a Driver Risk Management (DRM) strategy in place as a duty of care to their employees. However this is often over-looked. Duty of care applies as much to high-mileage company drivers, including commercial vehicle drivers, as it does office-based staff.

Serious business
Some employers have a false belief that they can adequately safeguard their employees and others whilst on the road as long as their vehicles have valid insurance and MOT, and that drivers hold a valid driving licence. However this is a blinkered way of looking at road safety and doesn’t comply with legislation.
    
Health and safety law applies to on-the-road work activities as it does all work activities, and the risks should be effectively managed within a health and safety management system. Thankfully with the introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, which came into force in April 2008, we have seen a greater consciousness of driver risk management from employers.   
    
This aside, many businesses are now seeing the link between improving driving skills for their employees with fewer crashes, lower insurance and improved fuel consumption to name a few.
    
The business world is also becoming more socially responsible and are beginning to understand that the care of their employees is extremely important. Green issues are also taking the forefront of the agenda and therefore reducing carbon emissions has also become part of a business’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy.

Conscientious drivers
Although these days you’re pretty unlikely to see insurance premiums decrease year on year, you can at least slow down the rate of increase and reduce excess levels if you improve your claims record. Drivers with better attitude also look after their vehicles more carefully, often making them worth more at disposal time. It’s been proven time and time again that trained drivers use less fuel too and cause less wear and tear to items like tyres and brakes.
    
Driver Risk Management is essentially a ‘no-brainer’ for employers as the actual costs of road accidents are almost always higher than just the costs of repairs and insurance claims. These costs to smaller businesses and those that are self-employed are even greater. Therefore whatever the size of your business it makes financial sense to invest in DRM strategy, before you face hefty costs.
    
By improving their DRM strategy, our client O2 has seen significant savings year on year for accidents, including vehicle insurance premium reductions despite an increase in fleet size. Damage costs have reduced by approximately 50 per cent over three years. O2’s accident/incident ratio has also decreased by approximately 50 per cent over three years and is now below the industry average.

An effective DRM strategy
We believe that no one DRM strategy fits all. Every company is unique and a DRM strategy should be tailored to suit each company, based on a range of different factors. Businesses should seek expert advice to help them find the best and most cost effective DRM programme for them.  
    
Typically our team would look at the company’s drivers. We’d study the company’s data including driver license and accident data. We’d look at the journeys that employees do, for example what kind of mileage they’re clocking up. We’d then look at more details such as what type of vehicle is being used and what hours the drivers are doing so we can really understand the customer. This would enable us to find the right solution to suit the company’s drivers, as well as the business policies, making sure it’s cost effective and meeting current legislation.
    
An online driver risk assessment should be the first step in establishing an employee’s current work commitments and the driving skills they have, and require.
    
The assessment can help determine driver risk profiles and propose actions to lessen this risk by preparing a DRM programme suited to each individual. This would produce an auditable trail for companies and also meet health and safety legislation.
    
Medium and low risk profiles may not need immediate on road accompanied coaching, and may be suited to completing online e-learning modules which can be tailored to suit driver’s individual needs and act as a refresher for a driver’s understanding of good ‘road craft’ and road regulations.
    
Where budgets are tight, e-learning could also be used to ensure staff are still provided with essential training to do their job safely and effectively.
    
For those that are judged as high-risk, hands-on training in real life situations, under the guidance of a qualified trainer, is the best learning tool a driver can have.
    
Training should focus on developing the core skills required to complete a task safely. Tailored training can see each driver’s skills maximised, from LGV drivers through to infrequent ‘grey fleet’ drivers.
    
But the benefits of driver improvement do not end there. The skills developed lead to a driver becoming ‘greener’ as they use less fuel and subsequently reduce the impact their driving has on the environment.
    
Tips on greener driving have been included in official learning materials for those learning to drive since 2005 and recently, an ‘eco’ element was introduced to the learner-driver test, teaching the new generation of drivers how to drive in a way that saves money, fuel and cuts emissions as part of their practical exam.
    
A significant amount of fuel can be saved every year by using fuel-saving techniques. In fact IAM Fleet’s eco-driving course ecolution can lead to fuel use reductions of up to 25 per cent. Results from ecolution trials also show that companies could see a CO2 savings of up to £100 per vehicle per annum.

Adverse weather
Another integral part of managing the risk of your drivers is to ensure they are fully educated on driving in adverse weather conditions. With the recent snowy weather causing chaos on Britain’s roads, many drivers didn’t know how to cope, which further added to the problem.
    
Although much of the snow has disappeared, temperatures still remain low. Fog and flooding (with the snow melting) may become a problem on the roads. To reduce the risk of your employees having accidents, businesses should educate their drivers on how to drive in adverse weather.
    
Skidding on ice is the main concern for those driving in freezing conditions. Peter Rodger, IAM chief examiner says: “When driving in snow, get your speed right – not too fast so that you risk losing control, but not so slow that you risk losing momentum when you need it – and brake, steer and accelerate as smoothly as possible.”
    
“Start gently from stationary, avoiding high revs. If you get yourself into a skid the main thing to remember is to take your foot off the accelerator and steer, never use the brake.” Other tips for driving in snow and ice include:

• Double or even triple your normal stopping distance from the vehicle in front.
• Plan your journey around busier roads as they are more likely to have been gritted.
• On motorways stay in the clearest lane where possible, away from slush and ice. Keep within the clear tyre tracks if you can.
• Stay in a higher gear for better control.
• As conditions improve make sure your foglights are only on if necessary – they can dazzle other drivers.
• In falling snow use dipped headlights to make yourself visible to others (especially pedestrians)

Drivers should also:

• Check the weather in advance – don’t ignore police warnings about closed roads.
• Make sure you have an emergency kit so you are prepared in the event of a breakdown. This should include a torch, food for energy, water and a blanket. On longer journeys always let someone know you have set off and tell them your planned route.
• Ensure your mobile is charged up so you can make a call in an emergency – but don’t use it when driving
• Do a proper winter check of your vehicle, looking at washer fluid, de-icer/scraper and tyres.

Tips for driving in fog include:

• Avoid driving in the fog whenever possible
• Ensure you can stop safely within the distance you can see clearly 
• Constantly ask yourself if the next thing you saw in front of you was a stationary vehicle involved in an accident, would you be able to stop in time?
• Keep to the left-hand or central lane
• Drive on dipped headlights and put your fog lights on

Driving in floods:

• Never try to drive through deep water at speed, just a millimetre of water can make a car aquaplane, taking control from the driver for vital seconds
• Deeper water will pull on the steering wheel violently and can cause an instant change of direction or even spin.
• If you think a pool or flood might be too deep for your car to drive through look for evidence of the water depth relative to kerbstone or verges
• Drive through floods slowly and smoothly in first gear
• Keep your revs high, slipping the clutch in a manual car, and in an automatic, the left-footbrake while keeping the revs high with the right foot
• Never enter floods that would immerse your car’s intake or spark plugs, approximately halfway between the top of the wheel arch and the top of the bonnet. Your car will stop instantly leaving you stranded and potentially with damage to your engine

For more information
VIsit: www.iam.org.uk or call 0870 1286500