9 June 2004 - Occupational Road Safety Advice Published by RoSPA
With the support of the Department of Transport, RoSPA have published advice for Road Safety Officers and Employers - Driving for Work: Safer Journey Planner.
Road safety officers and employers can find advice on issues such as:
-
driver fatigue
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raising awareness of safety issues among staff
-
reducing distances
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controlling hours spent on the road
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reviewing shift arrangements
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using alternative forms of transport
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video-conferencing
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safer routes
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promoting safer driving.
Almost
1,000 people per year are killed in work-related accidents. Approximately 20
each week are killed and 250 severely injured in work related road
accidents.
Kevin Clinton, RoSPA Head of Road Safety commented:
"Employers
have a clear legal duty to manage the safety of their employers on the road.
They should ensure that their organisations road journeys are properly
planned and safely completed. This applies to all at-work drivers,
whether they are behind the wheel of a company car, driving on a mileage
allowance, riding a motorcycle or in charge of a lorry."
Mr Clinton added:
"Every
journey should be a managed journey. Employers have a moral and legal
obligation to protect their employees, but it also makes good business sense
to manage Occupational Road Risk. Road accidents cost money not just
for repairs, but in lost staff time, bad publicity and legal expenses.
Managers need to ensure that they prepare schedules which allow sufficient
time for drivers to take account of reasonably foreseeable weather and
traffic conditions and to comply with speed limits. They should seek
to reduce night driving and having people on the roads at times of day when
falling asleep at the wheel is more likely."
The published planner is free to Road Safety Officers and Employers and can
be obtained from RoSPA
here.
