RAC Duty of Care

The Duty of Care legislation applying to employees driving on company business is in fact an integral part of the Health and Safety at Work Act. In simple terms the act requires employers to be responsible for the Health and Safety of its employees whilst at their place of work.

Any vehicle in which an employee carries out business on behalf of the company or their employer is regarded as a place of work and is, therefore, subject to the current legislation.

However, many employers are still regarding this issue with apathy to such an extent that the Transport Minister has stated that, where risk management is not high on the company agenda, attitudes must change.

Employers who view this legislation as an issue that simply increases cost should take another look. The financial implications of one single accident can be enormous and companies should adopt a more positive stance by recognising that the introduction of the necessary policies and procedures required to comply with the legislation will actually reduce costs.

A more certain route to drastically increased costs is to ignore the legislation because, in the event of a serious incident where any blame can be attributed to the operating company involving one of their employees driving on company business, the courts can hand down massive financial penalties for non-compliance, negligence or even manslaughter.

There are approximately 3,500 fatalities and ten times as many injuries on our roads each year. Statistics show that one in three of these deaths could have been prevented if only drivers had slowed down.
Certain groups of drivers, for example male drivers, young drivers and high-mileage drivers are more likely to speed than the average driver. Research shows that a driver who regularly breaks the speed limit is 50% more likely to be involved in an accident than is a compliant driver.
The Government is starting to crack down and target high accident factors such as pedestrian casualties and its goal is to reduce speed-related accidents by 40% by 2012. Many Police Authorities want to make exceeding the speed limit as anti-social as drink-driving.
Speed related road traffic accidents cost the NHS £100 million per month.

For several years now up to a third of all road traffic accidents involve somebody who is driving on company business. However there does appear to be light at the end of the tunnel with recent estimates showing a slight improvement in casualty figures for 2007. There were 2,943 people killed in road traffic accidents, which is a fall of 7 percent on 2006. Overall casualty numbers - deaths and injured - fell by 4 percent on 2006. This small decline in numbers is encouraging but is no reason to become complacent.

Some employers believe, incorrectly, that provided they comply with certain road traffic law requirements, e.g. vehicles used on company business have a valid MOT certificate and that a driver holds a valid licence, this is enough to ensure the safety of their employees, and others, when they are on the road. This could not be further from the truth.

For most companies requiring employees to drive on company business, accidents are virtual certainties – not IF but WHEN – and you must be ready for any subsequent investigation and any consequences resulting from such an investigation. Drivers on the road on company business are generally regarded as being the most likely to be involved in a serious or fatal accident and yet 56% of companies carry out no form of driver training or assessment whatsoever. Would you fly with an airline with the same policy on training for its ‘drivers’ – the pilots?

Any company allowing employees to carry out a business journey – no matter how trivial – in any vehicle needs to be well informed on the Duty of Care legislation. Given current statistics it is not difficult to see why the Government and its agencies believe that the focus for reducing road accidents should be directed towards at-work drivers. The cost to industry resulting from the consequences of such accidents is estimated to be between £2.6 and £2.9 billion per year.

Industry figures vary on how many companies have put into place a risk management strategy with regard to employees driving on company business. However, it is clear from the numerous estimates issued that there are many more companies without such a strategy than companies with one, which as a consequence puts them at serious odds with the legislation. ROSPA figures reveal that employees who drive more than 25,000 miles a year have a one in 8,000 chance of dying behind the wheel of a vehicle whilst on company business which, with the demise of heavy industry in the UK, means that day-to-day driving on our roads is the most dangerous occupation we can undertake.

It is not only the UK government who are cranking up the pressure. The European Union (EU) has issued a raft of proposals aimed at improving road safety and driving behaviours throughout the EU by 2010. Whilst the UK, along with Sweden and the Netherlands, are generally seen to be the safest countries in Europe, the EU parliament is busy with proposals that will have an effect on any UK employer that fails to take serious note of any new EU legislation. The introduction of cross border enforcement is believed to be one of the first instances where the EU will illustrate its interest in road safety. This will stop the syndrome whereby motorists committing offences in a country other than their own often feel confident that they will get away with it. With 40,000 deaths and 1,700,000 injuries every year on the roads of Europe every year, we should not be surprised at the increased level of activity by the EU.

Evidence continues to show that, with regard to polices and procedures for employees driving on company business, the ‘ostrich syndrome’ is alive and well when Duty of Care legislation is considered. Do not fall into the trap whereby you feel safe on the grounds that you cannot be expected to know what each and every driver is up to whilst on company business, or that any vehicle used for company business is up to the required safety standards. Your company is expected to know, and prosecutions and convictions are increasing against those companies who believe that keeping a low profile (head in the sand) equals immunity from such risks. It is therefore staggering to see statistics that constantly report that a large number of companies/employers still refuse to take the issue seriously. Whilst most of these companies are in the small to medium sector there are companies with fleets exceeding 500 vehicles that still regard the whole issue as a nuisance and choose to ignore the legislation in the belief that it will never affect them.

It is vital to understand that it is a mistake to believe that you only need to comply with the legislation if you operate ‘company cars’. Any vehicle, regardless of ownership, that is being driven by an employee on company business is subject to the legislation. (Company Business in Private Vehicles) If you need any evidence that this legislation has to be taken seriously take a look at the Case Studies. (Case studies, speeding and penalty points) Adhering to the Duty of Care legislation may appear to be a daunting task and will prove to be so unless you apply the required policies and procedures. dutyofcare.com will provide and apply such requirements.

In recent years the most important factor to any company operating company cars or allowing employees to drive on company business has been cost. It could now be argued that the requirement to comply with the Duty of Care legislation should shift the emphasis of your policies and procedures away from cost towards one of safety. You must, therefore, develop an anti-accident culture. The policies and procedures within the dutyofcare.com programme will achieve this objective for you.

We simply cannot go on believing that the high fatality and casualty rates in the UK and in Europe overall are something to be taken for granted. All companies requiring employees to drive on company business have a moral responsibility to ensure all employees driving on company business do so in a safe and considerate manner.

dutyofcare.com are experts in the field of the legislation applying to employees driving on company business and their system can ensure that you are set up with policies and procedures that will satisfy any HSE investigation, as well as catering for the daily administration of the legislation within your business.