Why do I need to train my drivers?

Nine people per day are killed on Britain's roads - that's one every two hours and forty minutes. Approximately 720 are injured - about one person every two minutes. A large percentage of these are people driving in the course of their work and the more miles they cover every year then the more chance they have of appearing in the statistics.

A report to the Health & Safety commission recently stated that:

• There should be a more rigorous application of existing Health and Safety at Work law to on-the-road activities, including occupational driving.
• Based on their risk assessment, employers should include measures to include at-work road safety within their existing health and safety management systems.
• Based on their risk assessment, employers should ensure that their employees are competent to drive or work, on or by roads, safely.

Risk management training can significantly reduce the risks faced by your drivers. Reductions of up to 30% in the incident rate are not unknown.

Why not improve the standing of your fleet even further by booking a course that ends in a recognised Advanced Driving Test? An independently tested fleet adds even more prestige to your company.

More information on the health and safety implications can be found on the Health & Safety Executive's website.

Corporate manslaughter - are you at risk from your drivers?

The 'Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Bill 2006' is due to become law in April 2008. It will create a new offence of Corporate Manslaughter in England and Wales and Corporate Homicide in Scotland.

At present a company can only be prosecuted for manslaughter if there is sufficient evidence against a director or senior manager, under the new Bill an offence can only be committed by a company.

There are approximately 8 million people who drive on work related business and it is this area that will put companies at most risk under the new offence. Three people per day die whilst driving on work related business so companies need to ensure that they are covered for every eventuality. If a company is found guilty of a management failure that leads to the death of an employee or others or for failing to exercise a reasonable duty of care it could incur an unlimited fine.

It isn't all about training your drivers though. Companies should consider issuing a Driver's Handbook and a formal safety policy to all their drivers in order to make them aware of the companies position on driving related issues. Acuitiv Ltd can advise on this if required. If traditional in-vehicle training is too expensive for your company then why not consider on-line assessments and seminar based training? Please contact us for details.