INTRODUCTION

With 50% of road incidents involving a vehicle at work it is only a matter of time before an employee’s vehicle and/or a company vehicle is involved in an incident.

The company is required to have a risk management and reduction system/program in place. This program needs to be comprehensive covering everything from ensuring adequate insurance cover for vehicles to driver training and vehicle maintenance in an attempt to reduce the risk associated with transport activities.

Even when it is not your driver who is at fault, your system needs to be able to address a number of issues quickly and efficiently.

The first question to be asked in the event of an incident is whether there are any injuries to the employees and/or their family members. If yes then the employee support program (Trauma Management) should be initiated.

Secondly comes the business continuation program (replacement vehicle/driver) followed by the vehicle repair procedure.

Finally the organisations incident review and corrective action process automatically be initiated to review/investigate all incidents as well as near misses.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this procedure is to define how employees will report and document incidents involving company vehicles, those driven on company business and outsourced transport operations.

INFORMATION

An incident in which a company vehicle is involved (whether in motion, temporarily stopped, parked or being loaded or unloaded) that results in personal injury and/or property damage, regardless of who was hurt, what property was damaged or who was responsible, is defined as an incident.

A fleet safety committee will review all company vehicle incidents. Its task is to determine if the incident was preventable and appropriate corrective action taken.

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.

In addition where outsourced transport is used on company business the contractor will be required to supply the outcome of their own investigations into any incident; no one is exempt.

PROCEDURE

All authorised drivers who are involved in an incident must call the company’s Fleet Administration as soon as possible after the occurrence of any incident resulting in bodily injury or death. If the incident occurs outside of normal working hours, the report must be made as soon as possible on the next business day.

An incident report form should be forwarded to the company within eight (8) hours of an occurrence resulting in bodily injury or death and within twenty four (24) hours of an occurrence of any other incident. Employees must forward to the company within twenty-four (24) hours any summons and/or litigation documents received.

Employees should refrain from arguing or discussing the incident with participants and from expressing an opinion as to who was at fault, or signing any statements except those provided by a corporate insurance company representative or the police.

The company recommends against driving when an employee has been involved in an incident as most people may not be in the best frame of mind to determine the extent of vehicle damage. Employees should speak to their direct supervisor and discuss/arrange alternative transport options.

In the event of an incident, employees should record the details of all drivers and vehicles involved in the incident (including full names, licence numbers, contact details, injuries, damage to vehicles/property and whether or not seatbelts were in use), details of any witnesses (including full names, contact details and where they were in relation to the incident), a description of what happened (including a sketch of the road configuration) and any other relevant information.

To assist in obtaining a complete and accurate report, the company should provide a standard form which can be kept in the vehicle.

ACCIDENT REPORT

Exchange the following details (preferably from their licence) with all drivers concerned in the accident:

• Driver’s full name;
• Driver’s address;
• Driver’s licence and expiry date;
• Name and address of the owner of the vehicle if not owned by the driver;
• Full description of the vehicle including the year, make, model, colour and registration number;
• Any Personal injuries;
• Details of any property damage.

Obtain the name and address of any witnesses.

Draw a sketch of the road configuration, t-junction, cross roads, etc. Include all relevant detail such as the location of traffic lights, etc (use additional sheets as required).