Taking the risk out of driving

Given that business drivers have collision rates that are 30-40 per cent higher than private drivers, managers have a responsibility to manage road risk, writes Brake's Caroline Perry

Driving is one of the riskiest things we do on a daily basis. At least one in three road deaths in Britain involves someone driving for work, according to Department for Transport figures. The risk of dying in a road crash while driving for work is significantly greater than the risk of dying as a result of any other workplace accident1. In 2008, 748 people were killed and 6,150 were seriously injured in crashes involving at-work drivers2. That’s more than 14 deaths and 118 serious injuries each week.
    
Driving for work carries additional risk factors that should be considered when developing company health and safety policies. Many people who drive for work spend more time on the road and are more likely to take risks such as eating food at the wheel, talking on a mobile phone or driving while tired3.
    
When people drive for work, their managers have a professional and a moral responsibility to manage the risk this presents. Given that business drivers have collision rates that are 30–40 per cent higher than those of private drivers4, this responsibility can’t be taken lightly. When work crashes happen, they affect the driver, the passenger, their families and often they involve innocent members of the public who have no relationship to the company responsible for the crash. Businesses have a duty to implement a road risk strategy and make every effort to reduce the likelihood of a crash happening because of one of their vehicles.

CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER
There are consequences for firms who fail to take this seriously. Introduced in 2007, the ‘Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act’ means that if an employee is involved in a crash that results in death, the organisation is likely to be aggressively investigated by the police. The company can be tried in court, potentially incurring a hefty fine (with no upper limit set) and having a publicity order imposed, which requires the organisation to publicise details of the conviction. Immeasurable damage can be caused to the public image of an organisation seen not to be taking responsibility for the safety of its employees and others.  
    
Yet managing road risk is not rocket science. Brake, the road safety charity, works with company managers responsible for fleet safety through their not for profit ‘Fleet Safety Forum’. It provides regular resources and guidance to help companies improve road risk management, and runs regular workshops on key road safety topics.

IDENTIFY THE RISKS
You can’t begin to tackle risks until you know what they are, so it’s vital to gather all the information you can on your firm’s road risks. There are two really effective ways to do this. Firstly, carry out regular risk assessments. Identify potential hazards that could lead to a crash which you could control or eliminate.
 
Examine vehicles for defects or factors affecting their safety. Assess driver’s attitudes towards road safety as well as their health and fitness to identify individual risks and patterns of risks within your firm.
 
Secondly, record and analyse road safety incidents no matter how small. It is good practice to set up a reporting procedure for this and a clear policy for drivers to follow. The information can then be analysed to identify and explain trends which can then be used to form a strategy to reduce road risk.
    
Once you have a clear picture of the type of risks facing your fleet, you can begin to implement a road safety strategy that focuses on the problem areas within your company.

ROAD RISK POLICY
It is good practice to write a company road risk policy because employees will know their responsibilities and exactly what to expect from management. It also demonstrates management level commitment to the issue. A policy statement should include statements on all aspects of risk management such as driver training and vehicle checks. This statement should then be followed to the letter. Vehicles should be safely maintained and staff should receive appropriate training and support to fulfil their roles safely.  
    
A second way you can mitigate road risk is by striving to develop a road safety culture in your organisation. The first step is to ensure a senior member of staff ‘takes charge’ of developing road risk policies and initiatives and communicating them. They should engage staff in road safety development by asking them for ideas to improve safety. The more people involved in the development of road risk initiatives, the more support there will be for them. Road safety education and charity fundraising days can also help build a strong road safety culture.
    
You can then use the information you gather to set targets for road safety improvements within an allocated time period. For example, you could aim for lower rates of incidents per km travelled. This gives employees something to aim for and shows the value of the road risk strategy.
    
Finally, a ‘best practice’ road risk strategy will be reviewed frequently.

THE BENEFITS
Although road risk management is primarily about preventing death and serious injury, there are secondary benefits to following a socially responsible ‘best practice’ model. In addition to peace of mind, companies can experience lower costs, higher employee retention and an improved public image, all of which can contribute to higher profits. Managing road risk is not cost free, but there is extensive research demonstrating that the payback outweighs the cost very quickly.
    
Better incident rates can cut costs by lowering vehicle insurance premiums, cutting repair bills and avoiding the ‘down time’ of vehicles and employees after a crash. Properly maintained vehicles, driven safely within speed limits, will use less fuel; a cost that has increased significantly in recent times.
    
Looking after the welfare and safety of staff can improve relations between a company and its employees. A happy, well-trained workforce, will feel engaged in promoting the success of their company, which can improve productivity. It’s also well acknowledged that high workforce morale reduces staff sick leave and turnover. Getting staff involved in road safety campaigns can also improve team work and organisational skills.
    
Having a good record on road safety also benefits the image of a company. A company’s reputation can make all the difference when it comes to winning contracts as, in today’s market, social responsibility is seen as the mark of a well organised and progressive organisation.

A PLEDGE TO DRIVE SAFELY
Through the Fleet Safety Forum, Brake runs the Pledge2DriveSafely, a long-standing campaign for at-work drivers, designed to be implemented easily and smoothly within a road risk management programme. In essence, the Pledge2DriveSafely can be seen as a management requirement for at-work drivers to commit to seven behaviours or ‘golden rules’ or ‘pledges’ when driving: Sober Up; Wake Up; Buck Up; Check Up; Belt Up; Shut Up and Slow Down.   

Fleet managers and driver trainers can attend a Pledge2DriveSafely workshop, which provide training on how to train at-work drivers in the seven pledges. Workshops are now open for bookings for 2010-2011 and take place in a variety of venues across the UK. The workshops are free to Fleet Safety Forum subscribers. Non-subscribers pay a low fee of £70(+VAT) and this includes a year’s free subscription to the Forum. For more information on the Pledge and workshops go to www.fleetsafetyforum.org.

CASE STUDY: GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL
Glasgow city council’s Land and Environmental services (LES) department  is responsible for the management and maintenance of Glasgow’s land and transport environment. The council has designed their own crash database in order to achieve their proposed Council Accident Reduction Scheme (CARS).
    
The database has been designed to record and analyse all relevant crash information. By using a unique points system and grading each crash accordingly, the database takes into consideration: damage, cost, route, type of vehicle, driving experience, third party involvement, injury, potential/actual risk, contravention of road traffic law and percentage of blameworthiness. This innovative grading system allows accident investigations to be easily managed, and following the initial investigation, drivers are offered a compulsory telephone or personal interview. The investigation may also highlight other issues requiring further action.
    
The CARS scheme has shown a 54 per cent reduction on all crashes reported and a 50 per cent reduction in the number of blameworthy crashes.

CASE STUDY: APPLIED DRIVING TECHNIQUES
Applied Driving Techniques is a fleet risk management company using a fundamental risk management process to help its customers manage the safety of their employees and members of the public whilst making work-related journeys.    

As managing director Andy Phillips explains: “We understand that drivers may be high risk for a variety of reasons and will therefore require different control measures. So we work with clients to lower their exposure to risk by identifying those risks and using a targeted solutions approach to help manage them.”    

Applied Driving Techniques themselves have brought in measures such as using public transport, tele-conferencing rather than driving, and limiting staff’s working days. Their clients have seen dramatic results including significant reductions in insurance claims and therefore insurance costs.

FOOTNOTES
1 Road Research Report no. 51:
Safety Culture and Work Related
Road Accidents, Department
for Transport, July 2004.
2 Data obtained by Brake from the Department for Transport, September 2009.
3 The Green Flag Report on Safe Driving, part 7, Brake, September 2007.
4 Road Research Report no. 51: Safety Culture and Work Related Road Accidents, Department for Transport, July 2004.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information go to www.fleetsafetyforum.org or contact Brake on 01484 559909 or admin@brake.org.uk.