Driving at work

The HSE guidance, Driving at work: managing work-related road safety, is aimed at employers whose staff drive or ride a motorcycle or bike at work.

The guidance says that health and safety law applies to on-the-road activities as it does to all work activities. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 requires employers to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all employees while at work (See Chapter 1). Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers must assess risks to the health and safety of their employees, including while driving at work (See Chapter 3).

The HSE guidance makes a number of suggestions on how to prevent work-related road incidents. It says employers should consider alternative means of transport and “avoid situations where employees feel under pressure”, such as “making unrealistic claims about delivery schedules which may encourage drivers to drive too fast or exceed speed limits.”

Employers should organise maintenance work to reduce the risk of vehicle failure, and ensure vehicles are fit for the purpose for which they are being used. They should also ensure that seatbelts and airbags are correctly fitted and work properly. Cycle and motorcycle riders should be provided with crash helmets and protective equipment of the appropriate standard.

The guidance specifically addresses the issue of tiredness while driving. It asks employers: “Are you satisfied that drivers will not be put at risk from fatigue caused by driving excessive distances without appropriate breaks?” It also suggests employers should eliminate long road journeys and plan to avoid long days.

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has called for employers to report work-related road traffic accidents (RTAs) in the same way as other accidents at work. It says the government should make work-related RTAs reportable under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995.

Speaking during Road Safety Week in November 2012, head of policy and public affairs at IOSH, Richard Jones, said: “Employers have clear duties under health and safety legislation in this country to manage work-related health and safety risks, which will include their occupational road risks. Employers who do not ensure employees can drive safely for work are as much at fault as those who don’t ensure employees can use workplace machinery safely.”

According to latest provisional figures from the Department of Transport for the year ending June 2012, some 24,870 people were killed or seriously injured on the roads in the UK. In 2010 the government estimated that 24% of serious injuries, and 30% of road deaths could be linked to work-related RTAs.