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Driving at Work

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Date 16th December 2003

Many GMB members drive on public roads as a routine part of their work, for example, distribution drivers, secure cash collectors, home helps, refuse collectors, AA Patrol Workers, ambulance drivers, meals on wheels workers and utility service workers.

For many years the Trade Unions, ROSPA and traffic safety groups have been pressing the HSE and the Department for Transport to take more action on road accidents that occur when someone is driving as part of their work. This pressure led to the setting up of an independent task force to look at the issue of at-work road safety and make recommendations to the Health and Safety Commission and the Government on reducing the risks.

The report by the task force, released in November 2001, estimates that work related road accidents account for one thousand deaths a year, nearly three times the number of workers killed at the workplace and nearly a third of all road traffic deaths. However, the report highlights that it is difficult to estimate the true picture due to the way road accidents are recorded. Work related road accidents are also responsible for approximately 12,000 serious injuries and 70,000 slight injuries, this adds up to a cost of £3.7bn to society and £2.7bn to employers.

The report made several recommendations, including the need for the HSE to produce a guide for employers how to manage at-work road safety. The guide "Driving at work" was released in late September 2003 and highlights the fact that employers have duties and responsibilities in relation to driving at work and must carry out risk assessment and how to apply them to driving. When evaluating risks the employer needs to look at the following areas:

• The Vehicle - Is it suitable and fit for purpose? What condition is it in? Is the drivers health being put at risk e.g. from inappropriate seating position or driving posture?
• The Driver - Is the driver competent and trained? Is the driver fit and healthy to drive?
• The Journey - Are routes planned? Are work schedules realistic? Is there sufficient time to complete the journey safely? Is the distance excessive? Are considerations given to weather conditions?
  

The guide stresses that employers must consult safety representatives on health and safety issues relating to driving and that their health and safety policy statement should cover work-related road safety. It also adds that there must be top-level commitment to work-related road safety and responsibilities must be clearly defined. Employers should have systems in place to ensure that work-related road safety is effectively managed e.g. are vehicles regularly inspected and services in accordance with manufacturers' recommendations? Employers also have to monitor performance to ensure that policies and risk assessments relating to work-related road safety are effective.

The GMB supports the guide as it clearly states that employers have responsibilities. To many employers wrongly assume that as soon as the driver leaves the workplace that is the end of their responsibilities. Whilst individual drivers still have responsibilities under the Road Traffic Act, in cases where they haven't been trained or a vehicle owned by the company hasn't been maintained, the employer could be held liable after an accident.

In addition to recommending guidance the task group has also called for improvements in the way road accidents are recorded by the police to include questions on the purpose of the journey. They have also called for more research into the causes of at-work road accidents.

The guidance follows the recent announcement from the Department for Transport that it is going to make using a handheld mobile phone while driving illegal as of 1st December 2003. A future Health and Safety Matters will cover this issue in more detail.

Action Points for Safety Representatives:

• If you have members in your workplace that drive as part of their work ensure that your employer is aware of the guidance and follows it;
• Ensure that you are consulted on any policies or risk assessments relating to driving at work;
• Get members to raise any concerns relating to driving at work with you e.g. where they are being pressurised to take out unsafe vehicles or have unrealistic work schedules;
• Ensure that your employer records and investigates any incidents (including near misses) that occur on the road during working time.
  

Further Information:

• Driving at work - Managing work-related road safety is available free from HSE PO Box 199, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2 WA tel. 01787 881165
• The HSE has a webpage on driving at work which includes a link to the task force report: http://www.hse.gov.uk/roadsafety/index.htm
• ROSPA, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents provides useful information on occupational road risk at: http://www.rospa.com/CMS/index.asp