Road Traffic and Fleet Management News
Fleet Managers responsible for heavy goods vehicles have been urged to help reduce the number of road accidents caused by diesel spills.
Earlier this month, hundreds of motorcyclists lobbied parliament in a move supported by the RAC Foundation to raise awareness of this major problem for bikers.
Diesel spills lead to skidding and accidents on Britain’s roads but, according to the Kill Spills Campaign, most could be avoided. “Brimming, the practice of filling the tank to the very top, and then not ensuring that it is securely fastened with a proper filler cap, almost inevitably results in a diesel spill”, warned Sir Edmund King, the RAC Foundation’s Executive Director. The Kill Spills Campaign wants the Police to clamp down on this problem and has called on motorcyclists to report incidents whenever they see them.
PENINSULA COMMENT
Road traffic incidents are normally considered to be the domain of the Police; however there is a legal duty imposed in health and safety law for employers to ensure that they manage all aspects of their undertakings, including the activities of peripatetic workers such as drivers of company vehicles.
‘Driving for Work’ incidents account for 60% of fatalities that occur as a result of road traffic accidents (RTA’s). Whilst driver fatigue is the most common cause of RTA’s it is not the only cause.
Unsafe and unsecured loads, badly maintained vehicles, use of mobile phones, eating and drinking whilst driving, reading maps and addresses whilst driving, tyre blow-outs and fuel spillages are all contributing factors to the increasing number of RTA’s that occur every year.
The results of an RTA can be catastrophic. Loss of life, loss of limbs and permanent disabilities head the list of consequences. At the lower end, but more frequently occurring, there are ‘whiplash’ injuries that can result in a long period of absence from work and potentially the onset of more serious long-term spinal or musculoskeletal injuries.
But there are other consequences to an RTA that can have far reaching impacts on employers and their businesses. Damage to vehicles, loss of loads, loss of time, delays in delivering the loads can and does have a significant impact on your business; but also on other businesses with lost production time and point of sale replenishment delays being just two aspects that can result in significant financial loss for the businesses that are waiting for deliveries, that have been held up in the traffic jams, that occur after an RTA caused by your vehicle(s).
All of these are very real reasons for employers to ensure that the vehicles they use are properly maintained, driving times are properly managed and the drivers themselves observe safe practice requirements whilst in control of company vehicles.
Health and safety law no longer accepts the excuse that “it was some-one else’s fault”. The onus of responsibility rests upon the employer to ensure that their employees are provided with safe systems of work and that they comply with them.