Holes in road policies
April 1st 2007

Despite an annual death toll of 1000 among UK employees driving on business and 13 000 serious injuries, many companies' policies on road safety are weak or entirely absent, according to a new report published by car leasing firm Alphabet

One-fifth of UK companies questioned for the report Risk and Reward 2007 admitted they had done nothing to address road safety risks, and just 18 of the 251 firms questioned had carried out fleet risk assessments as stipulated in the HSE's guidelines on managing at-work road safety. According to an HSE estimate, some 3500 working drivers have been killed in the UK since the guidelines were first published in 2003.

Major omission A major omission uncovered by the research involves the estimated four million employees who regularly drive on business but do not receive a company car or car allowance from their employer. Although driving is now recognised as one of the most dangerous working activities, a quarter of firms questioned did not include such employees in their road safety procedures, creating a safety 'black hole' for a million workers.

In half the companies questioned, action on risk consisted of updating fleet policies or issuing leaflets or memos to drivers. Only 16 out of 251 organisations had arranged training for drivers, while just 10 had introduced checks on licences and insurance.

Driver research Alphabet also commissioned research among more than 550 business drivers for the report. Alarmingly, this revealed that eight out of 10 drivers who were covered by company rules on mobile phones or driving hours admitted that these made no practical difference to their behaviour when at the wheel. Several drivers and company officers have been jailed in recent years after fatal crashes linked to tiredness or using mobile phones.

Six out of 10 drivers had not been required to sign their company's safety policy. This could hit the employer's defence if prosecuted after a crash.

In a gap between safety management for company car drivers and drivers who opted for cash alternatives, cash opt-out drivers were less likely to be aware of safety policy generally; less likely to be subject to restrictions on hours or mobile phones and more likely to say such rules did not affect their behaviour.

The survey also contrasted current boardroom attitudes to fleet issues with a previous Alphabet-sponsored survey in 2005. It found boards much more likely to consider fleet issues today and less likely to encourage drivers to take cash alternatives instead of company cars. When asked why, the most frequently-given reason was Duty of Care and the need to achieve closer control over business driving.

Alphabet recommends that companies: Ensure that safety policies are fully implemented, with all drivers required to sign documents, and monitored to make sure they obey safety rules – on mobile phones and so on; Review their processes for safety-checks on 'out-ofscheme' drivers urgently to make sure that no employees fall outside the safety net when they drive on business; Make positive interventions, such as driver training, risk assessments and licence/insurance/vehicle checks to achieve targeted returns on investment through reduced costs of accidents, damage, fuel consumption, wear and tear.

Fleet issues gain ground Richard Schooling, commercial director of Alphabet, comments "Critical fleet issues are at last gaining ground in the boardroom, but it is alarming to know that effective action on at-work road safety is spread so thinly, and with so many gaps, nearly four years after the HSE published clear guidance in this area.

"The verdict from our interviews with drivers is that businesses still have much work to do to turn policies and promises into practical action steps that will increase safety and cut costs.

"An important lesson from this report is that many employers are not making a sufficient business case for safety in their fleets. Investing in better driving standards not only protects staff and helps achieve compliance with HSE requirements, it also delivers measurable returns by bringing down the high costs of repairs, insurance, fuel consumption, excessive wear and tear and accelerated depreciation." *Source HSE statistics