The facts
- Up to a third of road collisions involve someone who is at work at the time. For most people, the most dangerous thing they do at work is drive.
- Road collisions are the biggest cause of work-related death. Between 800 and 1000 people are killed on the road every year compared to around 250 non-driving deaths.
- Business drivers are 30 to 40 per cent more likely to have a road collision than private drivers.
The law
Some employers think that if their vehicles have an MOT and their drivers hold a valid licence, they have met their responsibilities.
But, health and safety law applies to driving as it does to other areas of work. So large and small employers need a proactive, positive road safety culture. As well as being a social responsibility, this makes economic sense as road collisions cost time and money through absent staff, lost output, increased insurance and damage to reputation.
A company director or manager has corporate responsibility for employee safety. If you don’t have effective procedures, you could face prosecution if a vehicle is involved in a serious crash.
If a driver is in in a fatal collision, company directors can potentially be charged under corporate manslaughter legislation. Penalties can include imprisonment for the employer as well as the driver.
Financial penalties issued to a company are, typically, significantly higher than those issued to a named individual.
The advice
To avoid risk, it’s your responsibility as an employer to:
- carry out risk assessments for drivers and make sure they are fit and have sufficient skills
- keep vehicles well maintained
- set realistic schedules, which don’t require drivers to go too fast
- allow drivers to make overnight stays rather than drive through the night.
See the government document, Driving at work: Managing work-related road safety. It lists the responsibilities of employers and describes how to manage work-related road safety and how to on integrate it into existing health and safety arrangements.
Find out more
See more advice from the Health and Safety Executive related to road safety
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Learn more about getting to Co-op Live
Travel included with Co-op Live tickets
Co-op Live ticket holders can travel on the tram and new city centre shuttle buses.
-
Learn more about new Starling Bank Bikes
New sponsor: Starling Bank Bikes
We’re delighted to welcome Starling Bank on board as the new sponsors of our bike hire scheme.
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Rate your journey
Rate your journey
We want to hear your views to help us deliver a better Bee Network for Greater Manchester.
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Learn more about the Bee Network
Say yellow to the Bee Network
Buses in Oldham, Rochdale and parts of Bury, Salford and north Manchester joined the Bee Network on 24 March.
-
Find full details of the bus routes, ticket fares and timetables
Manchester City Matchday Buses
We've teamed up with Manchester City to launch a large-scale bus trial helping fans from across Greater Manchester and nearby areas to travel to and from the Etihad Stadium on a matchday.
-
Find out about planned works on the tram
Planned engineering works on Metrolink
Visit our dedicated webpage to find out how the works could affect your journeys.