Defensive - Fleet Driving

Defensive Driving Courses

Research shows that on average 20 people are killed and a further 250 seriously injured every week, while driving a vehicle for work related purposes. 95% of all road accidents or traffic offending incidences are caused by human error or an inappropriate personal decision. This makes driving one of the most dangerous activities in the UK. However, health and safety associated with work-related driving is often unsatisfactory or neglected by employers and employees alike.

The cost of a road traffic accident or incident stretches far beyond the expense of vehicle repairs, fines, penalty points or a driving ban. Lost production and business, medical costs, missed opportunities, sick pay, increased administration and the cost of higher insurance premiums all add to the overall bill. Health and Safety regulations are also tightening, forcing company drivers and fleet operators to look more carefully at their 'duty of care' when driving on company or organisation business.

DrivingSafe.co.uk can provide interactive risk reduction programmes for individual drivers' and organisations', designed to change driver attitudes and behaviours and help reduce the risk of involvement in actual or potential accidents and incidences. DrivingSafe provides drivers' with the information they need to stay safe, together with an action plan to reduce their own personal risks.

Courses can by arrangement be delivered to any location in the UK and run for either a half or full day. DrivingSafe can arrange for individuals or nominated drivers to undertake their driver training programmes within agreed timescales which can be adapted to suit individual or company operating and manning requirements.

A Driver Profiling Inventory (a computer or paper based questionnaire) is usually completed prior to any in-vehicle or theory sessions, and forms part of the individual driver safety audit and assessment process. On road in-vehicle driver training over a variety of routes is recognised as the single most effective way to reduce driver related incidents and provides a learning environment which encourages clients to identify areas of strong and weak driving performance.

Each Training Day typically consists of the following:

• Introduction and completion and/or feedback of driver profile questionnaires
• What is defensive/supportive driving?
• Hazard Perception
• Vehicle Checks
• Assessment Drive
• In-Vehicle Driver Development
• Course de-brief and driver report

If required additional training can be arranged to prepare candidates for an IAM or RoSPA advanced driving test.

Contact Us for more information

Fleet and Work Related Road Safety (WRRS)

Managing a fleet of company vehicles of any size involves a wide range of responsibilities, over and above the financing and operating costs. Companies and organisations must also consider areas such as 'duty of care' and HSE 'risk assessment and management' protocols.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 outlines the responsibility of an employer in carrying out 'risk assessments' whilst they are at work, and extends this 'to other people who may be affected by their work activities'. Health and safety legislation applies equally to both the on-road activities of a company driver, as it does to conventional work place activities. This applies regardless of whether an employee uses their own vehicle for company business (e.g. employees who have opted to take cash as an alternative to a company car) or one provided by their employer under a contract hire or lease agreement.

With this level of responsibility it is vital that businesses ensure that they are aware of the inherent risks in operating their fleet, and of their responsibilities in ensuring that all company drivers' are correctly assessed and trained in safe working practices. HSE legislation requires employers to review risk assessment procedures periodically, and this applies to all companies and organisations without exception.

Solution

DrivingSafe specialises in the provision of risk management programmes for SME's struggling to manage the multi-faceted nature of occupational driver risk. We can provide an effective programme of risk management solutions, including cost effective individualised 'driver profiles' utilising our computer or paper based Driver Risk Assessment Questionnaire (DRAQ). The DRAQ risk assessment profile is completely in line with current Health and Safety Executive thinking as it allows company/organisation management to show clear and demonstrable audit trails for all company car drivers and the action which has been taken to reduce driving risk for each individual driver. The DRAQ profile can help in identifying, prioritising, and targeting resources towards 'at risk' drivers, and can be used as a screening measure when recruiting new drivers. Practical 'on-road risk assessments' can then be tailored appropriate to the needs of the drivers' and the company or organisations' work related road safety policy.