Driving at Work: Lax Attitude to Safety Liability

Up to two thirds of local authorities and NHS Trusts may have failed to make provisions for new corporate killing laws in relation to driving at work, research suggests.

Fleet and vehicle management company Automotive Leasing found that almost half of those questioned (47 per cent) had not yet tackled the key issues surrounding corporate liability, such as hours spent on the road and driver training.

Its research shows that more than 40 per cent of bodies have yet to implement procedures to limit the number of hours spent driving and that 66 per cent of public sector organisations do not currently provide driver training.

Lesley Slater, director of Automotive Leasing, said: "Despite the Government postponing its corporate killing legislation until autumn, organisations should be introducing best practice risk management policies now. This is especially important bearing in mind that the public sector has seen an increase in company car use.

"Public sector organisations must quickly adopt safety and training procedures or risk being found negligent in the event of a big corporate liability case. Fleet managers need to concentrate on safe driving hours and mobile phone usage, as well as ongoing vehicle maintenance and servicing."

To mitigate risk, Automotive Leasing advises that organisations adopt the following six-point strategy to tackle the issue:

- Analyse insurance claims, looking for areas where accidents often occur and could be prevented for example times of day, driver job roles, vehicle usage;
- provide driver training for employees who are likely to spend long periods of time on the road;
- ensure all employees' cars are roadworthy and checked regularly;
- ensure all new employees provide up-to-date driving licences and claims histories;
- ensure existing employees' driving licences are checked on a regular basis; and
- ensure all employees are aware of the safety issues when driving.
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