Collision Management

The 2006 Department of Transport figures show UK road collision casualties as 3,201 killed and 28,954 seriously injured. It is suggested that around 30% of collisions involve people who are at work, although some would say a more realistic estimate would be nearer 50%, and that company car drivers are nearly twice the collision liability.

Even at 30% road collisions whilst at work account for 960 fatalities and over 8,500 serious injuries, whilst provisional figures for workers fatally injured in all other work activities in 2006/07 is 241.

This highlights the need for road collision management to be higher up the agenda for organisations whose employees drive as part of their work.

Many organisations’ vehicles are managed by departments and individuals that have, historically been unconnected with fleet management and may lack the expertise to correctly classify collisions and effectively identify trends as a consequence - ‘what you don’t measure, you can’t manage’.

There is more to collision management than recording brief details, arranging recovery and repair, and completing the insurance claim. Organisations need to be sure that all collisions are reported as soon as possible, all relevant information is recorded, and incidents are investigated, categorised and classified. Trends can then be identified and easily attributed to particular departments and individuals if appropriate.

Where a good collision management structure exists, incident and claim levels can often be reduced by simply reviewing processes, procedures and work schedules.

All this, of course needs to be done against a background of realistic occupational road risk assessments where targets, already set for improving medium and high risk identified areas and activities, are included in an effective work related road safety policy.

Auto Risk Solutions is committed to making your work related road safety policy a practical, effective, cost efficient, and straight forward process, that helps keep your drivers safe and your company’s health and safety responsibilities fulfilled.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of all employees while at work. This includes driving. There is also a responsibility to ensure that others are not put at risk by work related driving activities. Does your organisation’s health and safety policy include work related road safety? Remember contravention of these regulations and those of the Road Traffic Act may leave the organisation open to prosecution and sanctions now available under the new Corporate Manslaughter Act is conviction and a fine that may have such severe consequences from which there may be no recovery.

As we mentioned in our last email the 2006 Department of Transport Road Casualties Report show UK road collision casualties as 3,201 killed and 28,954 seriously injured. It is suggested that around 30% of collisions involve people who are at work. This would account for 960 fatalities and over 8,500 serious injuries. The figure for workers fatally injured in all other work activities in 2006/07 was 241. This clearly shows that driving whilst at work is a high risk activity.

What, then is occupational road risk and what does an occupational road risk assessment mean?

Occupational …….. relating to any activity as an employee/employer, or engagement in a particular occupation, or relating to the activity or business for which you are trained
Road …….. an open, generally public way for the passage of vehicles, people, and animals.
Risk …….. the chance, high or low, that someone will be harmed by a hazard, where hazard means anything that can cause harm.

Occupational Road Risk therefore means anything connected with work that occurs on a road that may cause harm to anyone. A fairly wide ranging definition that certainly includes anyone who drives in connection with their work.

A risk assessment is nothing more than a careful examination of what at work activities can cause harm to people. Risk assessments for any work-related driving activity should follow the same principles as risk assessments for any other work activity. They normally follow a five step approach:

Step 1 – Look for hazards that may result in harm when driving on public roads
Step 2 – Decide who might be harmed
Step 3 – Evaluate the risk and decide whether existing precautions are adequate or more should be done
Step 4 – Record your findings
Step 5 – Review your assessment and revise it if necessary

We can say therefore that an occupational road risk assessment is the assessment and management of potential risks to individuals who drive as a part of their work.

Taking into account the human, legal and economic implications…. it is likely that managing occupational road risk may be the greatest Health and Safety issue organisations now face. Whilst some will have a work related road safety policy in place they may not have carried out a formal occupational road risk assessment. The assessment is the process from which objectives can be set, comparisons made, improvements planned, and reviews carried out regularly. The assessment document is as important as the policy itself.

Auto Risk Solutions provides a simple and effective process for assessing occupational road risk which is both time and cost efficient.

Contact us for further information.

Are we uninformed or simply indifferent to the consequences of recent legislation regarding our duty of care responsibilities where occupational road risk is concerned? Is the information we receive scant and consequently our understanding vague, or have we been bombarded with the subject to the extent we no longer take a great deal of interest in it? One thing is certain, if we fall foul of these new laws we could be in for a rough ride legally, financially, and morally.

On the 8th November 2006 the Road Safety Bill was given Royal Assent and became the Road Safety Act 2006. The Act allowed the Government to introduce a raft of new measures, which have been coming into force during 2007. The new measures include:

• A new charge of ‘causing death by careless, or inconsiderate, driving’, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Dangerous driving has, by and large been difficult to prove, and without a lesser offence of causing death the alternative would have been a simple careless driving. These new charges will see an increase in drivers being convicted of and receiving custodial sentences for causing death offences. In the corporate world this will mean losing the services of employees, including highly qualified member of staff, for what could be a number of years. What HR arrangements will organizations have in place to deal with these circumstances? Do they keep the position open or does a criminal conviction mean severance. This could be a difficult position especially if it was proved that the organization had a part to play in the initial cause of the death.

• A new charge of ‘causing death by driving: unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured’, with a maximum penalty of two years in prison. Aimed at the not so law abiding elements of our society, and not a corporate issue you may think. But consider those company drivers who tot up their points and are disqualified for 3 to 6 months without your knowledge and continue to drive on your behalf; those employees who drive their own vehicles on company business without being insured for business use; or the younger employee who drives company vehicles without the appropriate category on their licence.

• An increased penalty for driving while using a hand-held mobile phone of £60 plus three penalty points. Should one of your drivers be involved in a collision whilst on the mobile phone to someone in the office, the Police and the HSE would be asking some awkward questions.

• Increasing the penalty points from 3 to 6 for failing to give information as to the identity of a driver. There may be issues here where family members are permitted to drive company vehicles.

New and significant Acts of Parliament on health and safety are not common place. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, which come into effect in April 2008, introduce a new offence for prosecuting companies where there has been a gross failing in the management of health and safety with fatal consequences. It is the most significant piece of primary health and safety legislation since the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Elements of the new act include:

• A focus on gross failures by organisations and the removal of the need to identify a "controlling mind", which previously prevented large organisations being successfully prosecuted. It will now be much simpler to prosecute companies and organisations for corporate manslaughter. This does not remove current legislation already in place where individuals can still be prosecuted. The result for the individual whose negligence can be linked to the death is prosecution for manslaughter and on conviction the likelihood of imprisonment.

• Failures within organisations will affect the way in which senior managers organise or

manage activities which fall below what could reasonably be expected in the circumstances. Whilst corporations do not intend to cause death, their intentional acts, such as failing to put into place a system to ensure the safety of people in their care, may lead to death. The sanctions now available for a corporation is conviction and a fine that may have such severe consequences from which there may be no recovery.

• Companies and other corporate bodies, such as local government and central government departments, are not exempt from the Act.

This is not sabre-rattling. This is the situation we now need to face. With statistics telling us that 3,201 people were killed and 28,954 people seriously injured on UK roads in 2006 we should be raising an eyebrow especially when we look at other available statistics:

• approximately 3 million company owned vehicles in the UK and 7 million involved in work-related driving

• 66% of company cars subject to an insurance claim and 50% of all company vehicles likely to be involved in a road collision every year (ABI)

• 25 –30% of all fatalities in crashes involving vehicles being driven for work (RoSPA)

• company car drivers: nearly twice the collision liability, and more people killed and seriously injured in ‘at-work’ road crashes than in all other ‘at work’ events put together (TRL)

Statistics, statistics I hear you cry. Yes, but when the real cost of road crashes are between 4 and 32 times the ‘bent metal’ cost (£750 per car, £1300 per light commercial and £4500 per heavy commercial) perhaps they are statistics we’d best keep from the Finance Director. Unless of course you are the Finance Director and you are responsible for the fleet!

Calculating the real cost of vehicle collisions can be a frightening experience. The tragic personal consequences and the anguish set aside, as well as the cost of re-appointing and retraining key personnel, the practical day to day costs can soon mount up. The cost of repair or replacement vehicle, increase in insurance or risk fund premiums, time and money lost in post collision administration, lost production, sales, and repeat business. The effect on bottom line figures could mean the difference between an annual profit or an annual loss. Consider the increased business necessary to produce enough profit to pay for the total cost of ‘at fault collisions’ (as a conservative example; a 75 vehicle fleet with an annual collision rate of 5; Average bent metal cost = £750; Real cost = £750 x 4(minimum) = £2,800, x 5 = a total cost of £14,000. What turnover is required to achieve a £14,000 profit).

This is before we go into the realms of fines and litigation for ‘at fault’ collisions. Remember it may not only be the Police or the HSE who will impose a financial penalty, nor indeed the ‘third party’ driver/passenger/pedestrian who will sue , it could be your own employee!

The real cost to society of 1 fatal crash is in excess of £1.3m with the reported total cost to the UK of road crashes somewhere between £13 and £16 billion. And this is with 81% of crashes unreported.

What then, do we really mean by ‘duty of care’, occupational road risk assessments and work related road safety (WRRS)? Formally they mean:

• a duty of care is a legal obligation imposed on an individual or organisation requiring that they exercise a reasonable standard of care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others

• risk assessment includes; identifying the hazards, deciding who might be harmed and how, evaluating the risks and deciding on precautions, recording the findings and implement them, and reviewing the assessment and updating if necessary. Risk assessments for any work-related driving activity should follow the same principles as risk assessments for any other work activity.

• Any company with more than 5 employees is legally obliged to possess a comprehensive health and safety policy. This should include a general statement of intent (This outlines, in broad terms, the organisation's overall philosophy in relation to the management of health and safety, including reference to the broad responsibilities of both management and workforce), organisation - people and their duties (This outlines the chain of command in terms of health and safety management), arrangement - systems and procedures ( This part of the policy deals with the practical arrangements by which the policy will be effectively implemented). Work Related Road Safety should be part of the organisation’s generic health and safety policy.

In reality they mean:
Looking at the on-road operation and considering the best and safest use of vehicles, drivers, and the journey or work they are expected to carry out on behalf of the organisation.

Vehicles:
Which best suites the organisation: Company car/Lease car/Cash for car/Own car.
Does it have a handbook, proper documentation, and is it regularly maintained.
Is it fit for purpose, fitted with load protection, and will it comply with potential load, weight, or towing limits

Does it have or need specialist or extra equipment and ancillaries – are they fitted according to the manufacturers recommendations?
Does it have a good NCap rating?
Have ergonomic considerations been taken into account?

Driver:
Carry out employee inductions
Check on driving history
Ensure driver fitness and health
Warn against effects of alcohol and drugs
Confirm currency of driving licence – validity/categories
Categorise driver risk
Decide if any intervention required
If necessary carry out appropriate training
Supply driver support services – seminars/literature/on-line education

Journey:
Is it necessary?
Is there an alternative mode of transport?
How long is it?
What time of the day is it likely to be?
Is there a route or journey plan?
Has the weather been taken into consideration?
Is the work schedule realistic?
What are management expectations?

Management:
Prepare a company policy – include for example; use of mobile phones, drink and drugs advice, overnight procedures, breakdowns.
Communicate the policy throughout the organisation.
Prepare and issue driver information handbook
Investigate and record collisions and where possible near misses
Identify trends
Consider disciplinary actions
Source victim support and bereavement counselling
Prepare a disaster plan
Ensure the policy is reviewed regularly.

If you’re looking at developing a Work Related Road Safety Policy consider the following points during your preparation:

• identify who deals with the fleet
• is that person/s equipped to deal with fleet issues
• examine damage/claims history
• identify any obvious trends
• decide on the most suitable vehicle scheme
• decide on the most suitable type of vehicle
• include appropriate criteria on ECOS schemes
• work with vehicle providers for good handover procedures
• examine driver qualifications, ability, and skill
• categorise driver risk
• consider need for driver assessment/training
• examine and re-consider work schedules
• look at routes, journey times and rest periods
• carry out a risk assessment
• develop and publish a road safety policy
• communicate policy to management and staff
• ensure the policy is implemented and maintained
• review the policy regularly
• develop partnerships with road safety providers
• ask contractors for their WRRS policy

Remember:
Before you embark on a programme of driver profiling and training that you may not necessarily need, carry out a risk assessment, prepare a work related road safety policy, measure its effect and then, and only then consider any further action you feel may be necessary.

Don’t think that Work Related Road Safety is a big scary animal! It’s not! There’s no secret! It’s not magic! It’s a straight forward, common sense, health and safety approach to making the best use of your drivers and vehicles

Tom says:

Do we look seriously at alternatives to driving? Could you suggest to your customers that as part of your contribution to reducing your carbon footprint you are curtailing your use of vehicles and would prefer to hold meetings via video conferencing etc.

We should be simplifying WRRS not overcomplicating the issue, and we should be helping companies to put into place a straight forward process and policy – not capitalising on the situation and offering services they may not need.

Include WRRS in the company ‘disaster plan’ or Business Continuity Plan. Will customers, partners and suppliers still want to do business with you if you are the subject of negative media attention or a high profile court case.

Remember:
What you cannot measure – you cannot manage
What you cannot manage – you cannot mitigate
What you cannot mitigate – you cannot mediate...

Auto Risk Solutions is an independent work related road safety consultancy and Tom Jones has many years experience in the industry in the UK and abroad.

Email: tj@tjars.eu

Web: www.tjars.eu