By incorporating the four essential principles – Plan, Do, Check, Act – into your safety management system, you can reduce potentially fatal accidents and expensive costs.
Plan, Do, Check and Act Now to Manage Driving for Work Plan
- Start by consulting workers and carrying out a risk assessment which considers: the vehicles, journeys and any drivers who might increase your overall level of risk.
- From this, identify any priorities for action and keep a record of your findings. Plan for driver emergencies, such as vehicle breakdowns, bad weather, etc.
- Develop a policy on how your company will manage road risk and ensure it is communicated to your workers.
Do
- Consider drivers’ attitudes and competence on recruitment by asking about their driving history and any penalty points they may have.
- Ask to see their original driver’s licence at least annually and keep a copy on file. Ensure they meet the DVLA’s medical fitness standard.
- Consider further driver training, particularly if you employ younger drivers and workers who drive for long distances.
- Make sure vehicles are right for the job and that they are maintained and serviced regularly. Where vehicles are owned by employees, request copies of MOT certificates and maintenance logs and evidence of tax and motor insurance, which includes business use.
- Ensure drivers plan their journeys, following the safest route, and plan breaks from driving at least every two hours. If a journey is excessively long, it’s safer to allow your workers to stay overnight.
- Consider using public transport as this may allow employees to carry on working, e.g. using a laptop when travelling by train.
Check
- Check drivers’ licences to see if drivers are entitled to drive the class of vehicle to be driven.
- Ensure all accidents and near misses are reported, recorded and investigated to monitor trends.
- Develop daily and weekly vehicle safety check lists and ensure they are completed.
Act
- Review your progress periodically to identify if you need to take further steps to manage driver safety and develop an action plan for improvement.
- Remember to share any lessons learned from experience with your workforce to promote safer driving.
Manage your driving activities now if you want to avoid criminal convictions, financial penalties, negative publicity and serious accidents.
