More than a quarter of all road traffic incidents may involve somebody who is driving as part of their work*
Health and safety law applies to work activities on the road in the same way as it does to all work activities and you need to manage the risks to drivers as part of your health and safety arrangements. Effective management of work-related road safety helps reduce risk, no matter what size your organisation is.
Effective management could result in:
- Fewer injuries to drivers
- Reduced risk of work-related ill health
- Reduced stress and improved morale
Health and safety law does not apply to people commuting (ie travelling between their home and their usual place of work), unless they are travelling from their home to somewhere which is not their usual place of work.
Safety on the road
As a business driver you may cover a very high mileage. While this gives you a lot of driving experience, it also puts you at more risk than many other drivers so you need to be aware of how you can stay safe on the road.
Your employer has a responsibility to keep you safe. This includes:
- Not asking you to use a mobile phone while you’re driving
- Not putting pressure on you to drive too fast in order to meet deadlines
- Not requiring you to drive for too long or too far, which could lead to you driving when you’re too tired to do so safely.
If you feel that your employer is putting you at risk, it’s your responsibility to speak to them about it: do not ignore the problem.
*Department for Transport figures.
