INTRODUCTION

An organisation’s risk profile for work related transport activities is determined by the nature of its business and its culture towards a safety environment or, put simply, the way it conducts its business.

Under current legislation the organisation will be held responsible for and can be held liable for any and all related (negative) outcomes from its transport activities.

Responsibility is extended from the individual driver to those tasked with determining the transport need, identifying and reducing or mitigating risk and actively managing the process. It puts responsibility on all those involved in the transport chain, whatever their capacity.

In broad terms, if the organisation and its management facilitates, either by direct action or inaction, any situation or circumstance that results in a negative outcome for either the employee or any other person that the employee’s actions affect, then the organisation and its managers can be held liable.

This places a clear responsibility on the organisation to carry out assessments and periodic reviews, of the organisation’s safety/risk/harm awareness and minimisation system.

The following is a discussion of the issues the organisation needs to address followed by a gap analysis to determine whether or not the organisation’s transport needs are being effectively and safely managed.

Note: These considerations are not exhaustive and are dependent on the nature of the organisation. There may be other issues that also need to be addressed.

THE DRIVER

Competency

• Are you satisfied that your drivers are competent and capable of doing their work in a way that is safe for them and for other people?
• Does the employee have the relevant experience?
• Does the job require anything more than a current driving licence, appropriate for the type of vehicle to be driven?
• Do your recruitment procedures include appropriate pre-appointment checks, e.g. do you always check references?
• Do you check the validity of the driving licence on recruitment and periodically thereafter?
• Do you specifically check the validity of any special driving entitlements as part of your recruitment procedures and periodically thereafter?
• Are your at-work drivers aware of company policy on work-related road safety and do they understand what is expected of them?
• Have you specified what standards of skill and expertise are required for the circumstances of the particular job?

• How do you ensure that these standards are met?

TRAINING

• Are you satisfied that your drivers are properly trained?
• Do you evaluate whether or not those that drive at work require additional training to carry out their duties safely?
• Do you provide induction training for drivers?
• Do you arrange for drivers to be trained giving priority to those at highest risk, eg those with high annual mileage, poor incident records, or young drivers?
• Do drivers need to know how to carry out routine safety checks on items such as lights, tyres and wheel fixings?
• Do drivers know how to check washer fluid levels before starting a journey?
• Do drivers know how to ensure safe load distribution, eg when undertaking multi-drop operations?
• Do drivers know what actions to take to ensure their own safety following the breakdown of their vehicle?
• Do you need to provide a handbook for drivers giving advice and information on road safety?
• Are drivers aware of the dangers of fatigue?
• Do they know what they should do if they start to feel sleepy?
• Are drivers fully aware of the height of their vehicle in all situations, empty, laden and in service mode (there are a number of major bridge strikes each year)?

• Has money been budgeted for training? To be effective training needs should be periodically assessed, including the requirement for refresher training.

FITNESS AND HEALTH

Are you satisfied that your drivers are sufficiently fit and healthy to drive safely and not put themselves or others at risk?

• Do drivers of heavy vehicles, for which there may be a legal requirement for medical examination, have the appropriate medical certificate?
• Although there is no legal requirement, should those at-work drivers who are most at risk, also undergo regular medicals?
• Should staff that drive at work be reminded that they must be able satisfy the eyesight requirements set out in the licence exam?

Have you told staff that they should not drive, or undertake other duties, while taking a course of medicine that might impair their judgement? In cases of doubt they should seek the advice of their Doctor or Pharmacist.

THE VEHICLE- SAFETY EQUIPMENT

Are you satisfied that safety equipment is properly fitted and maintained?

• Is safety equipment appropriate and in good working order?

• Are seatbelts and head restraints fitted correctly and do they function properly?

THE VEHICLE- SAFETY AND CRITICAL INFORMATION

Are you satisfied that drivers have access to information that will help them reduce risks?

• Have you thought of ways that information can be made readily available to drivers? For example:
  • Recommended tyre pressures;
  • The action drivers should take if they consider their vehicle unsafe and who they should contact.

THE VEHICLE- ERGONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS

Are you satisfied that drivers’ health, and possibly safety, is not being put at risk, e.g. from an inappropriate seating position or driving posture?

• Do you take account of ergonomic considerations before purchasing or leasing new vehicles?

• Do you provide drivers with guidance on good posture and, where appropriate, on how to set their seat correctly?

THE JOURNEY

Routes

Do you plan routes thoroughly?

• Could you use safer routes which are more appropriate for the type of vehicle undertaking the journey? Freeways are the safest roads and although minor roads may be fine for cars, they are less safe and could present difficulties for larger vehicles.

• Does your route planning take sufficient account of overhead restrictions (e.g. bridges and tunnels) and other hazards, such as level crossings, which may present dangers for long vehicles?

SCHEDULING

Are work schedules realistic?

• Do you take sufficient account of periods when drivers are most likely to feel sleepy when planning work schedules? Sleep-related incidents are most likely to occur between 2 am and 6 am and between 2 pm and 4 pm.
• Have you taken steps to stop employees from driving if they feel sleepy even if this might upset delivery schedules?
• Where appropriate, do you regularly check tachographs to ensure drivers are not cutting corners and putting themselves and others at risk?

• Do you try to avoid periods of peak traffic flow?

TIME

Are you satisfied that sufficient time is allowed to complete journeys safely?

• Are your schedules realistic? Do journey times take account of road types and conditions, and allow for rest breaks? Would you expect a non-vocational driver to drive and work for longer than a professional driver?
• Does company policy put drivers under pressure and encourage them to take unnecessary risks, eg to exceed safe speeds because of agreed arrival times?
• Can drivers make an overnight stay, rather than having to complete a long road journey at the end of the working day?

• Have you considered advising staff that work irregular hours of the dangers of driving home from work when they are excessively tired? In such circumstances they may wish to consider an alternative, such as a taxi or public transportation.

DISTANCE

Are you satisfied that drivers will not be put at risk from fatigue caused by driving excessive distances without appropriate breaks?

• Can you eliminate long road journeys or reduce them by combining with other methods of transport? For example, it may be possible to move goods in bulk by train and then arrange for local distribution by van or lorry.
• Do you plan journeys so that they are not so long as to contribute to fatigue?

• What criteria do you use to ensure that employees are not being asked to work an exceptionally long day? Remember that sometimes people will be starting a journey from home.

WEATHER CONDITIONS

Are you satisfied that sufficient consideration is given to adverse weather conditions, such as flooding or high winds, when planning journeys?

• Can your journey times and routes be rescheduled to take account of adverse weather conditions?
• Are you satisfied that drivers understand the action they should take to reduce risk? Eg do drivers of high-sided vehicles know that they should take extra care if driving in strong winds with a light load?

• Are you satisfied that drivers do not feel pressured to complete journeys where weather conditions are exceptionally difficult?

WHEN AN INCIDENT OCCURS

Do you have a system in place to respond to accidents? Are people designated as contact points so that someone is always available?

• Do you identify vehicles that carry dangerous or hazardous goods and have plans in place to secure/make safe such material.
• Do you have procedures to deal with staff injuries or fatalities?

• Do you have procedures to deal and accommodate employee’s family needs in the case of an incident?

To be read in conjunction with the ‘Activity/Procedure Matrix.