Seven Steps To Driving Success
seven-7-steps-900px.jpg
Driving for Better Business (DfBB) is the government-backed Highways England programme to help UK employers reduce work-related road risk.
DfBB has now improved its 7-Step Process to help employers in both the private and public sector manage their drivers and vehicles to reduce risk, improve compliance and sustainability, enhance business efficiency and performance, and boost driver wellbeing.
DfBB's Seven Steps To Success:
Establish which employees are driving for work and why
Carry out regular licence checks, preferably via a third-party specialist
Check grey fleets are insured to drive for work
Download the HSE's INDG382 Driving at Work document
Draw up a watertight policy and a clear process for designating who is permitted to drive for work
Record everything you do and document future intentions
Engage with drivers; make sure they know road safety fundamentals and why it is important to you and them.
A recent study commissioned by DfBB, also highlights a concerning trend among UK businesses around the management of employees who use their personal car for work purposes – also known as ‘grey fleet.’
The report shows that over half are unaware that employees using their personal car for work are the company’s responsibility. Meanwhile, 6 in 10 company directors don’t know how many of their employees drive their own car for work purposes. The study also reveals a driver eligibility problem with 1 in 4 leaders are failing to check for valid driving licenses of their employees, and nearly a third admit to not giving a copy of the organisations driving for work policy to ‘grey fleet’ drivers.
Of huge concern though, is the fact that 1 in 3 staff who use their own car for work admit that they aren’t insured to make business journeys.
In a foreword to the report, Edwin Morgan, Director of Policy, Institute of Directors (IoD) commented: “Given the findings of this report, we would encourage our members and indeed all company directors to take the time to consider their firm’s exposure and approach to the issue of driving in business, not just to cover off the undoubted risks involved, but also the potential benefits that can come from giving your organisation’s road use policy an MOT.
Simon Turner, Campaign Manager, Driving for Better Business said: “The odds of winning the national lottery are 1 in 45 million and, every week, millions of people think it might be them. The odds of someone being involved in an injury collision whilst driving for work are 1 in 500, yet nobody thinks it will be them.
“Our research shows that many executive directors do not fully understand their legal responsibilities for managing staff who drive for work. The only way that companies can properly manage the people in their business who drive for work is by championing strong leadership to ensure the right policies and work practices in place and they are effectively communicated to the workforce.
The way to plug the holes is to apply criteria from more regimented aspects of employment to driving. The fact that it involves four wheels is "almost incidental", according to ACFO national chair Caroline Sandall.
"You need to think about it in the same way as recording people's legal right to work or if you are employing people that must have certain qualifications," she explains. "If you have got people who are servicing boilers or involved in gas or electric, they have to have particular qualifications to do their job - so how do you capture and record those?
Sources: Driving for Better Business and Business Car