Driving at Work

By Wendy Claxton, CMIOSH, BSc (Hons) Biological Science, DIP2.OSH

According to the Health and Safety Executive it is estimated that up to a third of all road traffic accidents involve somebody who is at work at the time. This may account for over 20 fatalities and 250 serious injuries every week in the UK.

Road accidents can cause a great deal of disruption to a business through lost time, work-related ill health and even death. Clearly employers have a duty to comply with health and safety legislation (e.g. the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999) in addition to road traffic law to ensure that employees drive safely whilst at work, through:

• Suitable and sufficient risk assessment.
• Driver competency and training.
• Sufficiently fit and healthy drivers; and
• Ensuring vehicles are safe and fit for purpose.

As health and safety law applies to on-the-road work activities, the risks associated with driving must be effectively managed as part of a health and safety management system. As with all risks, consideration should be given to eliminating the hazard, where possible. Promoting sound health and safety driving practices and a good safety culture at work may well spill over into private driving, which could reduce the chances of staff being injured in a crash outside work as well as during work.

Who is at risk?

There are a number of people who drive at work, as part of their job:

• Specific driver roles, e.g. lorry driver, bus driver, delivery driver
- these employees drive company vehicles and spend the majority of their time at work driving.

• Area representatives e.g. sales representatives
- these employees generally have a designated geographical area to cover where they carry out their duties at different locations. Generally these employees drive vehicles provided by their company and spend a large amount of their time driving between locations.

• Roles where travel between sites is necessary e.g. Managers, auditors, health and safety practitioners
- these employees are generally based at one site but are required to travel to other sites either on a regular basis or periodically. These employees sometimes drive a company car or drive their own private vehicle.

N.B. Health and Safety law does not apply to commuting to work, unless the employee is travelling from home to a location which is not their usual place of work.

Managing Work-Related Road Safety

As with most health and safety issues, the following areas need to be addressed:

• Policy - make sure your health and safety policy statement covers work-related road safety. The policy should be written down if you employ 5 or more people.
• Responsibility - consider whether there is top-level commitment and that responsibilities are clearly defined so that everyone understands what is expected of them. Ensure that those responsible for work-related road safety have adequate authority.
• Organisation and structure - ensure that your structure allows co-operation across departments and/or you consider the links between driving activities.
• Systems and monitoring - consider the systems in place to manage work-related road safety and determine their effectiveness e.g. are your vehicles adequately maintained, are your drivers competent? Ensure that you monitor performance to check that your work-related road safety policy is effective. For example, monitor work-related road incidents (and check that staff are reporting them).

How to Complete a Work-related Driving Risk Assessment

Risk assessments for work-related driving should be completed in the same way as risk assessments for any work activity. It involves looking carefully at the driving activity and identifying what could cause harm to people (consider employees and anyone else that could be injured, e.g. other drivers, pedestrians, other employees, contractors, etc.). The risk assessment also requires you to consider whether the controls that you have in place are adequate or whether you should do more to prevent harm.

It is also beneficial to talk to staff (and Health and Safety Representatives) about driving activities and safety and consider any incidents that may have occurred.

When completing the risk assessment the following should be considered.

What Type of hazards can Affect Drivers?

Consider the following hazards:

• Fatigue
• Poor weather conditions
• Stress caused by time constraints (e.g. rushing to meetings)
• Poor eyesight of driver
• Vehicle poorly maintained
• Lack of experience (e.g. new drivers)
• Use of mobile phone whilst driving
• Excessive speed
• Vehicle breakdown
• Personal security if driving alone

What Controls Might be Required?

Consider the following controls:

• Restrict driving where possible - encourage travel by public transport or use of telephone conferences, where necessary, to avoid the need for travel.
• Prohibit the use of mobile phones whilst driving.
• Prohibit poor driving techniques, such as speeding.
• Apply limits to driving time without a break.
• Make sure there are realistic time-schedules for allocated work.
• Ensure suitable training is in place (e.g. in defensive driving techniques, symptoms of fatigue, what to do in the event of a breakdown, etc.).
• Ensure new drivers are adequately trained, and supervised until they have adequate experience.
• Ensure a planned preventative maintenance schedule is in place for company vehicles.
• Review documentary evidence from users of private vehicles regarding MOT, servicing, insurance for business driving, etc.
• Make sure there is a breakdown recovery plan.

Some controls may already be in place. Determine whether the existing controls are adequate or whether further controls are required.

Record the Findings of the Assessment

If you employ five or more employees then you are required to record the findings of the risk assessment.

Where additional actions are required, produce a plan to ensure that the controls are implemented within the time-scales identified.

Driver Competency

Employers need to satisfy themselves that their drivers are competent and capable of working safely. This starts with checking references, validity of the driving licence and undertaking appropriate pre-appointment checks as part of the recruitment process. Further checks on an employee's driving licence should occur periodically during their employment.

Driving is very much an individual activity relying on the individual to follow the rules of the road and those of the company. In addition to this it is often difficult to supervise. For these reasons it may be useful to implement some rules to ensure that everyone understands what is expected of them whilst driving for work:

DRIVER RULES

The following rules must be adhered to by ALL drivers:

• Full compliance with all road traffic law;
• Possession of a valid full driving licence in accordance with the type of vehicle being driven;
• Possession of adequate motor insurance (for business use);
• Use of mobile phones (including hands-free mobile phones) is prohibited whilst driving;
• No driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Ensure that your vehicle is adequately maintained prior to use;
• Staff must not use their own private vehicles for transporting passengers/customers;
• Staff must inform their line manager promptly of any changes in their status which may affect their ability to drive e.g. convictions (including speeding offences), health changes, etc;
• Staff must report any accidents as soon as possible using the company reporting procedure.

Training

Employers need to ensure that their drivers are properly trained. In addition to driver induction training the following training should also be considered where priority is given to drivers most at risk (i.e. those with high annual mileage, poor accident records or young drivers):

• How to carry out routine safety/maintenance checks, e.g. lights, tyres and wheel fixings, washer fluid levels, etc;
• How to correctly adjust safety equipment, e.g. seat belts and head restraints;
• How to use anti-lock brakes (ABS) properly;
• How to ensure safe load distribution, e.g. when undertaking multi-drop operations;
• How to ensure their own safety following the breakdown of their vehicle;
• Awareness on the dangers of fatigue;
• Knowledge of the height of their vehicle, both laden and empty (so as to avoid bridge strikes).

Training needs should be periodically assessed, including the need for refresher training.

Fitness and Health

Whilst there are legal requirements for drivers of heavy lorries to undergo medical examinations and receive appropriate medical certificates, there is no requirement for other drivers at work. It may be good practice to identify those drivers who are most at risk and ensure that they also undergo regular medicals.

Other areas to consider include:

• Ensuring that all drivers can satisfy the eyesight requirements set out in the Highway Code;
• Ensuring that drivers do not drive whilst taking certain medications which could affect their ability to drive safely. Drivers should consult with their GP to check that medications will not impair their judgment.

In addition to the above the following health problems must be reported to the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA): who will make a decision about fitness to drive:

• An epileptic attack or epilepsy
• Sudden attacks of disabling giddiness, fainting or blackouts
• A pacemaker is fitted
• Diabetes controlled by insulin or tablets
• Angina (heart pain)
• Multiple sclerosis
• Parkinson's disease
• A stroke
• Any type of brain surgery, brain tumour or severe head injury involving hospital- in patient care
• Any severe psychiatric illness or mental disorder
• Continuing difficulty with the use of arms or legs
• Any eye disease which affects vision in both eyes such as glaucoma or progressive retinal disease
• Continued misuse or dependency on alcohol or illicit drugs in the past three years
• Any condition which is likely to last more than three months.

Ensuring Vehicles are Safe and Fit for Purpose

Employers need to ensure that their vehicles are fit for the purpose for which they are used. When purchasing new or replacement vehicles consideration should be given to the type of vehicle that is best for the type of driving to be undertaken and also that has a good safety record.

Privately owned vehicles can only be used for work purposes if they are insured for business use and have a valid MOT certificate (for cars over three years old).

Employers must ensure that they have adequate maintenance arrangements in place and that any repairs or maintenance is carried out to an acceptable standard in line with the manufacturer's recommendations.

Drivers should know how to carry out basic safety checks (such as checking tyre pressure), and must ensure that vehicles are not overloaded and that any goods or equipment that are carried are adequately secured.

Summary

Driving is an area which is often difficult to manage as there as so many factors to consider. However, employers need to ensure that they have competent and fit drivers, well maintained vehicles, safe systems for driving (where consideration is given to the effects of time, weather, fatigue, etc,) and procedures for monitoring driving activity.

References:

Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

HSE: Driving at Work: Managing work-related road safety INDG382

HSE: Five Steps to Risk Assessment INDG163

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