Car and van drivers who travel 25,000 miles a year as part of their job have a higher probability of being killed at work (one in 8,000) than construction workers (one in 10,000) and bear a roughly equivalent risk as miners (one in 7,100).
According to a recent publication by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), Managing Occupational Road Risk, up to 1,000 of the 3,600 road fatalities each year in Britain involve vehicles being driven for work purposes. Moreover, some 77,000 workers are injured in "at-work" road accidents each year.
As well as the human cost, occupational road accidents add costs to business. These include legal fees, higher insurance, vehicle write-offs, repairs, hire costs of replacement vehicles, lost time and orders, reduced staff morale and damage to a company's image.
In Ireland, as well as the duty of care which employers owe to employees, a "place of work" is defined in the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989, as including "a vehicle", so employers are responsible for the health and safety of employees on the road.
RoSPA urges employers to take a pro-active approach to the management of occupational road risk (ORR). It suggests managers identify features associated with an increased probability of road accidents and to rank each feature as "high", "medium" or "low". This approach is particularly relevant for regular journeys.
"Organisations using this approach will need to decide on risk levels triggering various kinds of action," advises the RoSPA. The approach enables managers to review vehicle movement data and patterns of risk control.
Based on the principle that "every journey should be a managed journey", the guide goes on to address control measures like: eliminating unnecessary vehicle movements; changing the mode of travel; avoiding driving in adverse conditions; reducing unbroken distances; controlling drivers' hours; avoiding high-risk hours; specifying "safest" routes; using "fit-for-purpose" vehicles; developing effective vehicle maintenance programmes; selecting appropriate drivers; setting driver fitness standards; issuing clear policies on alcohol and drugs; driver training and other measures.
The RoSPA guide exhorts managers to have effective systems in place so learning can occur. For instance, not only accidents but "near misses" should be reported on a "no-blame" basis in order to analyse and learn from these events.
Mr Michael McAleer, manager of fleet safety services at NIFAST (National Industrial Fire and Safety Training) in Dublin, says 95 per cent of road accidents are due to human error. In Ireland, most accidents happen on straight roads, in dry conditions and in daylight with good visibility. Most fatalities occur between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
A car breaking at 70 miles-an-hour will travel 315 feet or 25 car lengths before stopping. An experienced driver's reaction time is seven-tenths of a second. "In that time you've travelled 70 feet before you've done anything," he says.
"The sign of a really skilled driver is if your passenger doesn't feel you breaking or changing gear," says Mr McAleer. Smooth driving also reduces wear and tear on company vehicles. An aggressive driver will be on his third set of tyres while a colleague is only beginning the second set.
The RoSPA guide to managing ORR provides a checklist for drivers. The questions include:
Is the journey really necessary?
Can a safer alternative transport mode or means of communications be used (rail, air, teleconferencing)?
Has a safe journey plan been formulated (including adequate rest breaks, the safest route)?
Does it take account of environmental conditions (like daylight, weather forecast), driving hours, time of day associated with "sleepiness", accident "black spots" and traffic conditions?
Is the vehicle fit for the journey?
Has it been serviced?
Have pre-journey safety checks been carried out?
Is the vehicle one with which you are familiar?
Is it properly insured?
Is it appropriately equipped (for example, with a first aid kit, warning triangles, accident data forms, breakdown service details, essential phone numbers)?
Do you have a valid driving licence to drive the class of vehicle concerned?
Are you fit to drive?
Are you suffering from ill health, fatigued, highly stressed, taking medication or over the alcohol limit?
Are you in the right frame of mind?
Managing Occupational Road Risk is available from: RoSPA Customer Support, Edgbaston Park, 353 Bristol Road, Birmingham B5 7ST. Fax: 00 44 121 248 2050. Price: £20 sterling.
Meanwhile, Fleet Safety for Managers, a one day course to help develop a fleet management programme, takes place on July 29th in Dublin. For details, contact Ms Bridin Byrne, NIFAST, 46 Airways Industrial Estate, Santry, Dublin 17. Phone: 01 842 4333. The course costs £149.
