Health & Safety may have been a secondary issue in the past but legislation and corporate responsibility issues have meant that it has now come very much to the forefront in the mind of business.
Health & Safety legislation creates a very narrow definition of what constitutes a safe working environment. This definition has not, however, included the use of company vehicles of all types being used for business purposes in the same fashion as they have been before this legislation was tightened. RoSPA estimates that, every year, approximately 1,000 people are killed on the road with many more being injured through road accidents that involve one or more vehicle being used for a business purpose. In contrast about one third of this number are killed in what may traditionally be considered a working environment.
A company motorist driving 25,000 miles a year on business has an annual risk of death or serious injury of 1:8000, the same as an underground coalface worker. Throughout the country approximately 300,000 drivers fall into this category with many covering in excess of 100,000 miles where the increased risk becomes unacceptable.
It is therefore obvious that if you have employees who are on the road in the course of their employment the risks need to be assessed and addressed equally with other health and safety issues.
Training your employees and your management to become better, safer drivers offers substantial benefits to any employer that is affected by these issues. Not only because your employees are under your responsibility but also to improve your internal relations and external profile.
Some of the information contained within this document has been sourced from the www.uk-roadsafety.co.uk
