Occupational or 'at work' road risk in respect of ALL vehicles and drivers needs to be managed in exactly the same way as any other heath and safety at work problem, following modern risk management principles as described in Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and British Standards Institution (BSI) guidelines.
Companies that FAIL or REFUSE to co-operate may be issued with an improvement notice compelling them to take action.
Equipment provided for use at work, which INCLUDES MOTOR VEHICLES, must be suitable and safe for the intended use and should only be used by persons who have received ADEQUATE INSTRUCTION / TRAINING
Everyone who uses the public highway must comply with road traffic legislation which is managed by the Department for Transport (DfT).
Whilst the principal pieces of legislation governing road safety are the Road Traffic and Road Vehicle (Construction and Use) Acts supported by the Highway Code, it needs to be borne in mind that where vehicles are being driven on the road under a contract of employment, there are many other relevant items of legislation.
There is no doubt that the failure to carry out a proper risk assessment
COULD FORM THE BASIS OF A PROSECUTION
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Particular reference to Sections 2 and 3, which essentially require that employers should assess risks and ensure they have ‘SAFE SYSTEMS OF WORK’ in place, which reduce work related risks to employees and others ‘SO FAR AS IS REASONABLY PRACTICABLE’
THE MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK REGULATIONS 1992
This introduced for the first time the concept of risk assessment for drivers and was updated to become
THE MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK REGULATIONS 1999
requires every employer to carry out an assessment of the risks to the health and safety of their employees, or themselves, whilst they are at work and to other people who may be affected by their work activities. THIS INCLUDES DRIVING ON THE ROAD.The regulations require the risk assessment to be reviewed periodically to ensure that it remains up to date and valid.
THE PROVISION AND USE OF WORK EQUIPMENT REGULATIONS 1998
This should not be forgotten requiring that equipment provided for use at work, which includes motor vehicles be suitable and safe for the intended use and only used by persons who have received adequate information instruction & training.
The HEALTH AND SAFETY (OFFENCES) ACT 2008
The Health & Safety (Offences) Act 2008 does not create any new offences, but raises the maximum penalties available to the courts in respect of many health and safety offences.
