Driving has become the most dangerous at-work activity, with accidents in working vehicles so numerous that studies are underway to discover precise causes, so that health and safety action can be appropriately targeted.
According to transport minister Stephen Ladyman, around 30 per cent of traffic accidents involve somebody at work. That figure represents an alarming 1,000 deaths and 13,000 casualties every year. And people at work are over-represented in some types of accident, including those caused by fatigue, speed and the use of mobile phones.
In March, the government steps up its campaign to encourage companies of all sizes across all sectors to improve their occupational road risk management (ORR).
A revised Police Road Death Investigation Manual of procedures for determining corporate liability states that police will investigate all at-work road deaths for possible prosecution and report any employer failure in safety management or deficiency in driver training to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).
The new Road Safety Act 2006, which has introduced offences of causing death by careless driving, and causing death while driving unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured, threatens uninformed employers. More staff than ever now receive a cash option instead of a car and use their own car for work. Frequently, such private cars are not properly insured and may not be roadworthy.
Under mooted corporate killing legislation it will soon be easier for businesses to be punished with unlimited fines and even jail for gross negligence manslaughter.
City lawyer Michael Appleby at Fisher Scoggins, a specialist in health and safety legislation, warns: "Employer risk lies not only in vehicles but also driver competency, health, journey, work schedule, even vehicle suitability. Directors need to understand that no legislation specifically identifies risk. Legally, authoritative guidance cannot be ignored. No company or person can delegate risk. Yet occupational road risk has to be identified and assessed in the workplace-by law. Hence, there is growing interest in outsourcing ORR protection to assist in meeting the requirements."
Such programmes can control the quality of vehicle maintenance and draw employers' attention to drivers needing more training, says Appleby. But employers are still in direct control of where their drivers go and how they get there.
In a recent survey, Leicester-based fleet consultancy Total Motion Vehicle Monitor found that of 4,768 company and privately-owned business cars, 23 per cent were not roadworthy and 39 per cent not properly maintained. Only 11 per cent of company drivers regularly conducted car safety checks.
One million UK business drivers have never been asked to produce their licences for employer checking, says Steve Johnson at training specialist Drive & Survive, yet legally it is vital for employers to know the status of their employees' driving licences. The only defence against health and safety action is proof that every precaution was taken to prevent an incident.
While many larger corporations are looking at how they can integrate road safety into health and safety arrangements, all employers will soon have to act or face crippling insurance premiums.
As Adrian Walsh, director of RoadSafe, the automotive industry-led charity promoting safer road use, says: "Few people perform a job that is more dangerous than driving. It is imperative that directors encourage their work drivers to focus solely on getting to their destinations safely."
