By Faye Sunderland 09 March 2010
The Fleet Safety Forum is run by road safety charity Brake to provide risk management advice and help to fleet managers through guidance, events and resources. As around one in three road crashes involves a vehicle being driven for work, Brake sees it as a priority to help fleet managers improve safety and reduce the crash record of at-work drivers. Those driving for work are the highest-mileage drivers on our roads and sadly, the most likely to take risks such as speeding or talking on a mobile phone. As such, fleet managers have a tough job on their hands trying to ensure the safety of their employees and meeting all the legal requirements. FleetDirectory.co.uk spoke to Roslyn Cumming, Fleet Safety Forum Manager to get some advice and tips on how to keep your drivers safe.
Q: A recent study from Specsavers suggests that around a third of drivers have sub-standard vision. Can fleet managers force employees to have their eyes regularly tested to ensure they are safe to drive?
A: I’d say that ‘force’ suggests the wrong sort of approach, but fleet managers should certainly take responsibility for ensuring their drivers do get their eyes tested on a regular basis – at least every two years. There are corporate schemes with opticians that companies can sign up to offering free or discounted eye tests to employees. We would recommend that clear communication about the issue to drivers, including the risks that poor eyesight presents to their own safety, is a good place to start. This is a part of a company’s duty of care to its employees, so the company should insist upon regular eye tests, but they can do that without taking a heavy handed approach.
Q: It is widely recognised that rural roads are the most dangerous that drivers ever have to negotiate. How can fleet managers reduce the risk posed specifically by these types of road?
A: By communicating with and educating drivers in the facts about the number of deaths that occur on rural roads. Statistics show that, per miles travelled: car occupants are three and a half times as likely to be killed on a rural road than on an urban road; motorcyclists and moped users are more than two and a half times as likely to be killed on a rural road than on an urban road; truck occupants are twice as likely to be killed on a rural road than on an urban road; road users of any type are more than two and a half times as likely to be killed on a rural road than on an urban road [DfT statistics as quoted on Brake website]. Once you’ve got drivers’ attention, the key message about travelling safely on rural roads is to slow down, particularly around bends, to avoid overtaking, and to give vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists plenty of space. It’s the responsibility of companies to ensure their drivers don’t feel the need to drive fast in order to meet unrealistic delivery or appointment schedules – ample time should always be allowed for driving at slower, safer speeds.
Q: Fleet Safety Forum’s annual Awards are coming up in July. What do you need to do to enter or attend?
A: The deadline for entries is coming up on 12 April, so organisations should get their entries to us before then – there are 10 categories to cover a wide range of bases, from Road Safety in the Community, to Fleet Product of the Year, to Eco Fleet Award. The event is a fantastic knees up and networking opportunity as well as an important fundraiser for Brake- it takes place on 1 July 2010. Click here for full info.
Q: How much does it cost to get involved with the Fleet Safety Forum and what benefits does it offer?
A: It costs £155 +VAT per year to subscribe to the Fleet Safety Forum, with discounts available for certain types of organisation. Benefits include:
· Free access to our online exchange.brake.org.uk, providing a library of fleet safety initiatives and research.
· Free access to www.pledge2drivesafely.org, our established e-learning programme to help drivers abide by critical road safety rules, enabling them to use a range of interactive online learning tools that are also great for group or one-on-one training programmes, and make the Pledge.
· Newly-published e-guidance reports from Brake on fleet safety topics, ranging from auditing your crash risk to eliminating driver distractions.
· A fortnightly e-bulletin of the latest fleet safety initiatives and research.
· Discounts to our regular workshops on key topics, such as making a business case for road safety to your board, or drug testing your drivers. Click here for details of forthcoming key events.
· Opportunity to promote your company’s road risk management achievements through the prestigious Fleet Safety Forum awards, held annually in June.
· Opportunity to attend the flagship annual Fleet Safety Forum conference, where award winners showcase their initiatives.
· Online networking opportunities, such as our benchmarking groups.
· Access to low-cost and free Pledge2DriveSafely posters, stickers and other promotional tools to demonstrate your commitment to reducing road risk in your workplace.
· Help and advice on successfully taking part in Road Safety Week (also coordinated by Brake) and other community initiatives, to demonstrate your corporate social responsibility and community engagement.
Q: What is your opinion of average speed cameras? Are they a distraction to drivers or will they reduce road casualties?
A: There’s no evidence to suggest that they’re a distraction to drivers. We would fully support them given that they have been shown to work – they slow drivers down over a distance, rather than just at one point within the journey. This has been shown to reduce crash rates and casualties, so can only be a good thing.
Q: How has the introduction of the corporate manslaughter law changed how fleets manage the risk posed by driving at work?
A: We’ve seen an increase in the number of companies wanting to attend our workshops on topics such as Duty of Care, as well as addressing issues of Driver Distraction and Driver Fatigue. Responsible companies are taking a measured risk management approach to ensuring they are doing all they can to minimise the risk to their employees and other road users, as was demonstrated for instance by the speakers at our recent annual Fleet Safety Forum Conference. For details of forthcoming Brake workshops and conferences aimed at advising fleets on these sorts of issues click here.
Q: Are hybrid and electric cars a problem for pedestrians? Is it safe for fleets to add these types of vehicles or should they take extra measures before taking on these vehicles?
A: More research is needed on this issue, but Brake also supports companies who want to take steps to reduce emissions and their impact on the environment. We would advise that companies ensure their drivers are well trained and educated in driving safely, slowly and giving extra due care and attention to more vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, whatever vehicles they are driving, but of course highlighting the potential risks to such road users of quieter vehicles.
Q: What can fleets do to help ensure the safety of vulnerable road users such as child and elderly pedestrians?
A: Keep up to date with EuroNCap ratings for pedestrian safety, and educate drivers, communicating with them on a regular basis to reinforce safety messages such as being extra aware of vulnerable road users and slowing down in urban areas. Brake’s Pledge2DriveSafely workshops provide an excellent starting point for fleets wanting support in delivering such driver training and education programmes. (Click here for details.)
Q: Is providing a hands-free kit for mobile phones sufficient in reducing the risk associated with their use while driving or should fleets discourage all in-car phone use?
A: Brake’s position on this is clear. All the research evidence shows that it’s the distraction of the phone conversation that’s dangerous, so a hands-free device does not sufficiently reduce the risk. Fleets should aim to follow suit with some of Brake’s supporter companies, including 3M for example, and implement a complete ban on all mobile phone use while driving.
Q: What additional legal requirements would you like to see fleets have to meet in order to improve at-work driver safety?
A: Brake would like to see RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995) including reporting of on road incidents – companies should be required to report these given that driving is the biggest at work risk. As the Road Safety Minister Paul Clark stated at our Conference last week, 75 per cent of all at-work deaths occur on the road.
Categories: Fleet news , Brake , Interviews
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