How can you manage the safety of employees who drive for work?

RoSPA is contacted frequently by employers who have questions about driving for work. Duncan Vernon, road safety manager for England at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, (RoSPA) outlines some of the most common concerns and suggests what can be done to tackle them

Occupational road risk has been a topic in the spotlight for a while; RoSPA has been talking about it since 1996, and in 2003, the Health and Safety Executive and Department for Transport (DfT) issued its joint guidance Driving at Work: Managing Occupational Road Safety (INDG382), which states clearly that health and safety law applies to on-the-road work activities as to all work activities.

The key elements of an effective policy to manage occupational road risk have remained fairly static - essentially, employers must conduct suitable risk assessments and put in place all “reasonably practicable” measures to ensure that: work-related journeys are safe; staff are fit and competent to drive safely; and vehicles used are fit-for-purpose and in a safe condition.

Even though the basics have not changed, new issues do arise from time to time on which employers quite rightly seek advice. One of the issues on which we are receiving a growing number of enquiries is the ever-developing sphere of vehicle technology.

Increasingly, vehicles are being fitted with various devices designed to help the driver drive safely, or to help the driver do other things, such as schedule deliveries and pick-ups more efficiently.

While these different technologies can, if used properly, reduce the risk of drivers crashing, they can also increase the risk (e.g. by distracting the driver) if not used properly. Leaving job-aid technologies such as delivery scheduling devices to one side, vehicle technology can help to prevent accidents in four main ways:

• Warnings e.g. vehicle defect warning lights, tactile or audible alerts, and systems such as blind spot information systems, which can alert drivers to a vehicle or cyclist in the blind spot, plus reversing aids

• Intervention - some systems can intervene and assist a driver by augmenting their actions e.g. Electronic Stability Control can help to prevent a skid during an emergency manoeuvre by braking individual wheels independently of the driver, and Brake Assist can ensure brakes are operated fully during an emergency stop

• Control - ultimately, vehicles may take on a level of automation that takes control of various aspects of driving and preventing dangerous circumstances from occurring

• Monitoring - a developing area of vehicle technology concerns telematics systems which monitor an individual's driving and can be linked to the identification of training needs and the setting of insurance premiums.

At RoSPA, we believe that the effective use of technology that reduces accident risk should be incorporated into an organisation's driving for work policy.

Before selecting which technology to use, the likely effectiveness of the system in preventing accidents or reducing injury, and the potential for mis-use, should be assessed. It is important to consider the type of accidents that a particular type of technology is meant to reduce. For example, if the majority of accidents in a company are due to drivers reversing on site, then technology to assist this manoeuvre should be considered. If drivers are involved in loss of control accidents on public roads, then technology that prevents skids may be more appropriate. Smaller firms with only a few at-work drivers might find it hard to identify accident trends, and this is where published research that identifies the effectiveness of technology can be helpful.

For a fuller discussion of the issues related to vehicle technology, see RoSPA's Driving for Work: Vehicle Technology guide, which was produced with the support of the DfT, at: www.rospa.com/roadsafety/resources/employers/. Driving for Better Business - www.drivingforbetterbusiness.com - and the Scottish Occupational Road Safety Alliance - www.scorsa.org.uk - are other useful sources of information and resources about managing occupational road risk.