Warning over business not adopting driver risk management

1. You can obviously afford to pay for spiralling insurance costs. Most fleet insurers recognise the value of a professionally delivered programme of driver risk management and will offer improved insurance terms that reflect an improved claims record. 2. You don’t believe that a serious road incident will have far-reaching effects on your business, in terms of lost orders, replacement staff, replacement vehicles, business disruption etc. Research over many years has suggested that the real costs of a business vehicle crash is between eight and 32 times the so-called ‘bent metal’ cost, which is currently reckoned to be £750 for a car. 3. You do not believe that a serious road crash will make it into the media and tarnish your brand’s reputation. Vehicle crashes nearly always make the local media but they are increasingly reaching the attention of the national media and business-to-business press, particularly if a fatality or serious injury is involved. The advent of blogging is also opening up a whole new communications medium which, when a prominent brand is combined with controversial content, spreads faster than a bush fire. 4. You are quite happy to pay for higher fuel bills than you need to. A well-known by-product of fleet driver training is a measurable improvement in fuel consumption. Fleet Safety Association members have customers who have experienced annual fuel savings of between five and twelve per cent. 5. You are quite happy to pay for higher wear and tear costs than you need to. Trained drivers have more mechanical sympathy and put their vehicles under less strain. Typically you will find that tyres, brake pads and brake discs last longer, there is less damage to wheel rims and fewer of the type of bangs and bumps that are not practical to claim through insurance. 6. You are not concerned about the residual value of your vehicles at time of disposal. Because vehicles tend to be better cared for by drivers who have some form of driver training, they are often worth more when they come to be replaced. 7. You do not believe that you can influence staff morale through making them safer drivers. Driving is a life skill. Although making your drivers safer will assist your business in many ways, the less obvious benefits are equally as important. Employees feel valued and appreciated, which in turn increases commitment and loyalty. Improved driving attitudes and skills often get passed onto other family members, further enhancing the employer’s reputation. 8. You believe that you have no obligation to look after the welfare of your drivers. A fundamental tenet of health and safety legislation is that employers have a duty of care towards their staff in the workplace. They may well be individuals who have the capacity to dictate their own destiny but whilst they are at work you have a responsibility to equip them with the means to remain safe. 9. You believe that current health and safety legislation is toothless and irrelevant. Current health and safety legislation is quite robust and applies equally to the business driving environment. In addition, the Police have increased powers to investigate serious incidents at the scene and will determine if driving for work purposes was a factor in the causes of a crash. Also, The Road Safety Bill, which is due to become law in early 2007, provides the courts with increased powers to penalise errant drivers. 10. You don’t believe that the new corporate culpability law could affect you. Admittedly this new Bill, which is also likely to become law during 2007, is principally aimed at the type of organisations which interact with the public at large but this statute will enable the courts to identify individuals who are responsible for health and safety failings, something that has not been possible up to this time in the UK. Are you willing to risk going to court and having the finger pointed at you personally on behalf of your employer? Additional information on the Fleet Safety Association can be obtained from the website: www.fleetsafetyassociation.co.uk