Health and Safety Consultants

Research conducted by the Institute of Advanced Motorists has found that more than three quarters of women who drive for work haven’t been offered driver training.  Only 22 percent of women who drove for work were offered driver training compared to 94% percent of men. In 2007 figures were published by the Department for Transport that showed that 530 women were involved in KSI (killed or seriously injured) accidents compared to 1640 men.

Many people believe that the reason fewer female workers are being offered driver training from their employers is because statistically women have less accidents and appear to be much safer drivers.

Simon Elston, Head of Training for IAM Drive & Survive said: “We know that women have fewer KSI accidents, but they are most vulnerable at junctions and are involved in more low speed accidents, which can result in hefty costs to employers. We would encourage female drivers to ‘speak up’ at work and request driver training as part of the employer’s duty of care. We encourage businesses to offer driver training and assessment to all their employees as best practice and a duty of care. Employers have a responsibility to take all reasonable steps to lower the risks to employees when behind the wheel.

Research published by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has found that 1 in 10 drivers in Ireland fall asleep at the wheel.  Almost half of the drivers knew that they should stop, drink coffee and/or take a nap if they felt sleepy at the wheel, but 42% admitted to ignoring this information and just opened a window to keep them awake.

Among the drivers who had fallen asleep at the wheel, one third had only been travelling for one hour when they fell asleep and 1 in 5 only realised they had fallen asleep when they had driven off the road.

Recent research among small businesses has shown that a significant number of driving offences are committed by employees.  According to the finding almost a third (31%) of employees using a vehicle for work committed an offence while driving on the road.

Speeding is the biggest offence (51%) followed by driving under the influence of drink and drugs (24%).  Other offences included a failure to pay a fixed-penalty notice (16%) and inappropriate insurance (10%).

Such offences could financially penalise employers through fines, administration costs and increased insurance premiums each year.

The Enterprise Rent-A-Car report states that 35% of workers use their own car for business purposes.  Employers have a responsibility to ensure that people are not put at risk by work related driving actions.  This includes company cars and private cars used for work related purposes. It is important to note that Health and Safety law covers work related driving, but does not apply to commuting unless the employee is travelling to a destination which is not their normal working address.

The driver, the condition of the vehicle and the task required should all be checked to make sure everything is in order. All organisations should have a standard safety policy which applies to all drivers using a car for work related purposes.  Management responsibility also covers ensuring that the driver has a valid driving licence and is fully insured to drive the vehicle for business purposes.  Safe driving practices should be encouraged, especially not drinking and driving which can be a temptation at this time of year.