PURPOSE

The purpose of this procedure is to define how the company will review and respond to incidents, infringement notices and analysis of fleet data.

PROCEDURE

All authorised drivers who are involved in an incident or who receive a traffic infringement notice or where data analysis indicates an aggressive driving behaviour (high fuel and/or tire use) will be subject to a review.

REVIEW PROGRAM

There are three essential elements in an effective review system; a Fleet Safety Committee, Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) reviews and a remedial driver training program.

FLEET SAFETY COMMITTEE

The primary objective of the committee is to review all vehicle incidents where company business was being undertaken or where a company supplied vehicle was involved to determine if the incident was preventable.

As a minimum, the Fleet Safety Committee should be comprised of representatives from human relations, the fleet management team, drivers and appropriate supervisors and managers.

The fleet safety committee will review all company vehicle incidents within 10 business days. Its task is to determine if the incident was preventable so that appropriate action can be taken. The overriding criterion is that any response be adequate from a safety standpoint.  It must be clearly demonstrated that an analysis was made and, in all cases, corrective action was specified and taken.

No one should be exempt and it is unacceptable to excuse, mitigate or accept any exceptions based on commercial criteria such as the person being the best sales employee or a senior manager.

The system applies to all employees whose regular or principal duties involve driving a company owned vehicle or who lease, rent, or use their own vehicles on company business regardless of how infrequent that use might be.

The company needs to show clearly that it has adequately evaluated, assessed and addressed all the above items as well as any other which are relevant to the organisation’s particular industry or method of doing business.

A preventable incident is defined as an incident that results in property damage and/or personal injury, in which the driver in question has failed to exercise every reasonable precaution to prevent the incident.

Unless there are extenuating circumstances, a driver failing to do any of the following should result in the incident being found to have been preventable:

• Adjust speed to conditions of light, weather, road or traffic;
• Recognise and amend actions to compensate for the driver’s own temporary physical, mental, and emotional condition;
• Adjust to clearance at top, sides, front, or rear of vehicle;
• Concede right-of-way when necessary to avoid an incident;
• Observe conditions at rear of vehicle while reversing;
• Control speed so as to be able to stop within a safe distance;
• Observe traffic laws and signs;
• Observe company operating rules or special instructions;
• Ensure the timely performance of preventative maintenance according to manufacturer’s recommended service schedules, the lack of which results in a vehicle failure;
• Perform the weekly ten minute walk around inspection;
• Report obvious vehicle deficiencies or defects (e.g. faulty brake signal lights);
• Observe safe practices taught in the company training program or published in bulletins;
• Refrain from driving under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs whether on company business or not;
• Seek the advice of their Doctor or Pharmacist and not drive, or undertake other duties, while taking a course of medicine that might impair their judgement.

In addition, damage to the interior of the vehicle will be considered preventable if caused by improperly locked doors, cigarette burns, or by lack of care by the operator. Where lack of proper care and maintenance of the vehicle is the cause of an incident, the incident will be considered preventable.

Incidents will usually be considered as being “non-preventable” when occurring under the following conditions:-

• Hit in the rear;
• Hit while properly parked; and
• Incidents in which the company driver exercised every reasonable precaution.

Individuals who are assessed as being involved in a preventable incident should be advised of the consequences. While this can vary from organisation to organisation the overriding criteria is that an analysis was made and in all cases corrective action, designed to ensure non-recurrence, was specified and taken.

The process for all preventable incidents might be one or a number of the following:-

• A notice from the Fleet Safety Committee stating why the incident was found to be preventable is sent to the employee and the employee’s supervisor;
• The employee’s immediate supervisor must conduct a consultation with the employee;
• The employee may be required to attend a remedial driver training program;
• The employee may be reassigned to a job which does not require driving, if available;
• Termination of employment if the transgression is serious enough.

REVIEW PROCESS

Upon receipt of either an incident notice or a management data analysis review report the fleet safety committee will immediately evaluate the occurrence and will:

• Verify the incident report or data analysis review for accuracy and ensure that all necessary information is provided;
• Review the incident circumstances;
• Classify the incident as “preventable” or “non-preventable”;
• Notify the driver of its deliberations and any recommended corrective action;
• Allow the employee to appeal, should they wish, by submitting a written explanation stating the reasons for reconsideration.

If the incident was considered preventable then the drivers MVR should be revised to include the finding of the fleet safety committee and points awarded in line with the severity of the incident.

The following point system might be considered for use and it should apply to all violations whether it was on the job driving or not.

Points will be counted for 3 years from conviction and all incidents and violations on a driver’s MVR will be considered for point’s assignment.

INFRINGEMENT POINTS SYSTEM

ACCUMULATIVE INFRINGEMENT POINT SYSTEM OUTCOMES

CORRECTIVE ACTION

Any infringement notice should be addressed immediately and in writing. A copy of the letter and the infringement notice should be placed in the employee’s personnel file. Below is a suggestion of a letter to a driver who has received an infringement notice for speeding while driving on company business.

Dear (Driver),

Your personal safety and well being is important to us. With almost 50% of all workplace fatalities occurring on the roads, you can understand why we are taking such a firm stance on this issue.

As you know, speeding, running red lights or stop signs, and using a mobile phone while driving are illegal and contravene our occupational health and safety policy.

We would also like to reiterate that there is no circumstance where you are encouraged or expected to break the law in order to make up time for business purposes.

If you feel, for any reason, that your work schedule or any conditions of your employment motivated this behaviour, we would appreciate your immediate feedback.

Please drive safely.

A copy of this letter along with the infringement notice will be recorded in your personnel file.

Fleet Manager/Supervisor

As well as receiving a letter, the points associated with the infringement should be recorded and the employee made aware of their accumulated total to date.

When the employee’s accumulated points reach 4 then the employee will be counselled and informed of the potential consequences should the employee’s actions continue to result in unsafe outcomes.

Where an accumulation of points exceeds 4 points but is less than 7 points then the employee will be required to participate in and complete a basic remedial driving program.

Failure to complete the remedial driving program will result in removal from a driving position or termination if an alternative position is not available. Successful completion of the course will result in a 3 point reduction from the employee’s accumulated points.

Should points be accumulated to between 8 and 12 then the fleet safety committee will review the situation with the direct supervisor and the HR manager to determine whether the employee can remain in a position that requires him/her to drive on behalf of the company.

Only under extenuating circumstances will the employee be able to remain in a position that requires him/her to drive on behalf of the company.

Allowing a driver to undertake company business, when available data clearly indicates a problem, places the company, the individual and the general public at great risk. Such situations should be avoided at all costs.

Convictions for DUI will result in immediate termination.

In the event of a dispute regarding propriety of the corrective action, the employee may appeal to their direct supervisor and the HR manager. The fleet safety committee will review their decision with the direct supervisor and the HR manager and will confirm/amend their decision which shall be final and binding.

MOTOR VEHICLE RECORD

A Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) should be kept for all people driving company provided vehicles or driving on company business. It captures each driver’s history of traffic violations or incidents for a minimum of the preceding three years as well as recording any decisions made by the company with respect to each individual authorised driver and any action taken or remedial driver training assigned.

The system applies to all authorised drivers driving a company provided vehicle or who lease, rent, or use their own vehicles on company business regardless of how infrequent that use might be.

REMEDIAL DRIVER TRAINING PROGRAM

The company should have a remedial driver training program in place, whether it is done in house or outsourced to a professional driver training service provider. The program needs to be tailored to address the employee’s specific violation.