MSM Fleet Driver Training

Statistics and Information

Managing Occupational Road Risk Is Your Responsibility!

Research shows that every week 20 people are killed and a further 250 seriously injured while using a vehicle for work purposes. This makes driving one of the most dangerous work activities in the UK.

Did You Know?

Drivers who cover more than 20,000 miles have a 1 in 8000 chance of serious or fatal accident
Company vehicles are involved in 20 deaths and 250 serious injures each week
33% of all company vehicles will be involved in some form of road accident within the next 12 months
Five times more people are killed while driving for work than any in other industrial accident.

Work Related Road Safety - Employers Responsibilities

Some employers believe incorrectly that provided they comply with certain road traffic law requirements, such as ensuring that company vehicles have a valid MOT certificate, they are doing all that is necessary to ensure the safety of their employees when on the road.

Health and safety law requires employers, and the self-employed to ensure, so far as is reasonably practical, the health, safety and welfare of all employees, at all times. Employers also have a responsibility to ensure that others are not put at risk by the work activities of their employees.

Although the driver is ultimately responsible for how a vehicle is driven on the road, the employer can have a significant influence on what the driver does. For example, the imposition of unrealistic delivery schedules, inadequate training and failure to properly maintain vehicles all increase the risk of road accidents.

As part of our Government's Strategy to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on Britain's roads they are pursuing a programme of driving assessment and, if necessary, re-training for drivers who are potentially at higher than normal risk.

Its a fact that 20 road deaths a week involve people at work and this has not escaped the notice of the legislators.

In an effort to reduce fleet accidents and fatalities the Governments' work related Road Safety Task Group has advised that the H&S commission should tighten driving for work regulations. The recommendation is that existing Health & Safety in the work place laws should be applied to on-the-road working activities.

Fleet driver training courses are a vital part of commercial driver training and driver improvement. Without such a training programme in place, companies expose themselves to ever more stringent enforcement, both from the health and safety authorities and police.

In 2001 between 862 and 1035 people were killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents involving somebody who was at work. (Health and Safety Executive)
60% of the 3 million company owned vehicles in the UK are subject to an insurance claim every year.
Company car drivers have nearly twice the accident liability of drivers in general.
It is likely that more people are seriously injured in 'at work' road accidents than in all other notifable (RIDDOR) events put together.
Evidence suggests that investing in defensive/advanced driver training may reduce blameworthy accidents by between 30-70% in the first 2 years.
Over a 4 year period one organisation, that invested in driver training, saw a reduction in frequency of fleet vehicle accidents from 40 to 9 accidents per million miles, despite a 70% increase in annual mileage.

Source: ROSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents)

« top of page