Page 4 of Driver and Fleet Solutions 2006 by The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents

2 Call: 0870 777 2105 (Birmingham), or 0870 777 2228 (Edinburgh) Email: fleetsolutions@rospa.com Visit: www.rospa.com/drivertraining Human More people are killed and injured in at-work road accidents than in all other occupational accidents put together.This may account for a staggering 20 fatalities and 250 serious injuries every week.Work related road safety is now embedded in the Governments road casualty reduction statistics. No organisation has done more to promote safer roads than RoSPA, the undisputed leaders in the field. Legal As an employer you have a duty of care towards those who drive for work purposes. Just ensuring that company vehicles have a valid MOT certificate, and drivers hold a valid licence does not satisfy your legal responsibilities. Health and safety law applies equally to both on-the-road activities and traditional work place activities. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 requires you to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of all employees while at work. You also have a responsibility to ensure that others are not put at risk by your organisations work-related driving activities. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, you have a responsibility to manage health and safety effectively. You need to carry out an assessment of the risks to the health and safety of your employees, while they are at work, and to other people who may be affected by their work activities.The Regulations require you to review your risk assessment periodically so that it remains appropriate.They apply to all organisations, without exception. Economic The business case for managing occupational road risk is clear: accidents are costly, and repairs and insurance costs are just the tip of the iceberg.The wider adverse effects of accidents include days lost to injury; negative publicity and damage to your reputation; downtime caused by investigations and paperwork; reduced productivity due to stress and low morale and the time lost with vehicles off the road. Obvious costs Hidden costs l Replacement vehicle/driver l Damaged/lost stock l Re-delivery of goods l Increased insurance cost l Customer service l Image/reputation l Administration l Fines etc. When you assess these factors, can you afford not to manage occupational road risk? Your Responsibility to Manage Occupational Road Risk The human, legal and economic consequences of failure to manage occupational road risk make it an obligation, not an option. In the event of a work-related road accident investigation you may be required by the police to produce a copy of your safety management systems, including driver risk assessments and training records where appropriate.The ACPO police Road Death Investigation Manual details the procedure that the police may follow and can be found in section 3, subsection 3.7 and 3.8 of the Policies section of the following website: www.acpo.police.uk

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