The majority of businesses use company vehicles in some shape or form– be it in the form of employees using their own car for business use or owning/leasing a whole fleet of company vehicles. But when a road traffic accident occurs, or an employee commits an illegal act behind the wheel, employers can be held vicariously liable.
It has been estimated that up to a third of all traffic accidents involve somebody who is driving for work at the time. These ten tips will demonstrate how to minimise and manage serious road risks, to ensure your business is best placed to avoid potential criminal proceedings as a result of your drivers’ actions.
Top ten tips:
- Are your employee’s insurance policies valid? More companies are now providing a ‘car allowance’ in place of company vehicles meaning, many employees are using their own vehicles to drive on company business. Ensure they have adequate insurance cover to drive for ‘business use’, not just social domestic and pleasure.
- Make regular checks of your employee’s driving licences. Check they’re valid for the vehicle they’re driving and look into how many points they have on their licence. If they have 9 points for example, they may need driver training to ensure they don’t lose their licence in the not so distant future.
- Is your employee’s car fit for the journey that is to be taken? A small, older vehicle may be OK for relatively short journeys, but not so much for longer journey’s that take several hours motorway driving. For vehicles over 3 years of age always ask to see a valid MOT certificate.
- How fit are your drivers? Remind employees that they must satisfy the eyesight requirements of the Highway Code. It is a criminal offence to drive a motor vehicle if you cannot read a number plate from 67 feet (20.5m). Drivers should have regular eyesight checks. Are any of your drivers taking medication which could impair their judgement and lead to an accident? Encourage employees with health conditions or those who are feeling unwell to inform you.
- Plan journeys in advance, taking into account any adverse weather conditions, roadworks etc – don’t put undue pressure on employees to rush to jobs, which could lead to an accident on the road.
- Sleep related accidents are most likely to occur when you would normally be asleep i.e. between 2am and 6am. Make drivers aware of the risks of fatigue and ask them to take the recommended rest breaks (15 mins every 2 hours).
- Make management aware of their responsibilities and encourage communication to all levels so that drivers know what’s expected of them when they’re on the road. Recommend general safety guidelines and in particular to lone drivers.
- Mobile phone use often leads to accidents and the threat of a fine and penalty points does not deter some drivers. Make sure your working practices don’t mean your effectively encouraging your drivers to make or receive calls while driving.
- It is essential that organisations’ have controlled and manageable policies with expert advice available to deal with any issues that may arise. Ensure you have up to date drivers’ policies and handbooks in place. Give them to all staff when they join the company and update them regularly.
- When recruiting drivers. Ask them to complete and sign a driver declaration form. Employees who drive for work must drive within road traffic laws, participate in any company driver assessment and training programmes and co-operate with monitoring, reporting and investigation procedures.