Thousands Of At-Work Drivers Fail To Put Safety First

04 May 2004

Thousands of company car and van drivers are exposing themselves and other road users to unnecessary risks, according to statistics obtained from 10,000 employees who have undertaken DATA Programmes' CD-Rom or online fleet risk assessment

DATA Programmes Ltd was launched in 2002 and is a member of the Fleetsafe Group of companies, which also includes long-established driver training company DriveTech (UK) and total vehicle risk management solutions company Risk Answers.

More than 10,000 occupational drivers - those who drive company vehicles and/or their own vehicles on business trips - have been given a risk rating after completing the assessment.

The assessments take into account a driver's age, the type of vehicle they drive and journeys they usually make. The rating is calculated according to the answers given to a range of multiple choice questions based on assessing the risks they face on the road when confronted by various incidents using real-life and stage-managed video clips.

Of the drivers assessed to-date:

• 5% of drivers were classed as high risk
• 20% medium to high risk
• 30% medium risk
• 45% were rated low to medium risk

Steve Harris, the recently appointed chief executive of DATA Programmes, said: ‘We would recommend driver training for employees who receive a medium to high risk rating or higher. The training maybe specific to one aspect of their driving, for example reversing or how to assess appropriate speed or hazard perception.

‘Employees who are given a medium risk rating will be offered additional e-training or classroom-based seminars to reduce their risk rating, while drivers with a low or low to medium risk rating will receive on going awareness information from ourselves.

‘Having undertaken an assessment the follow-up approach is very bespoke to each client depending on their objectives.’

He added: ‘Historically the approach to driver training has been that staff will have been involved in an accident(s). Now we are trying to get to drivers before they are involved in an accident so as to mitigate and reduce the risk.

‘Many people consider themselves to be good drivers. However, having undertaken our risk assessment programme a large number are amazed that they are rated as medium to high risk or higher.

‘As can be seen less than 50% of the drivers assessed so far are classified as low risk. It is therefore not surprising that the Government calculates that occupational drivers are involved in a third of all death and serious injury accidents on Britain's roads.

‘By assessing a driver's awareness of the risks they face on the road and encourage them to think of circumstances they may face before they are confronted with them accident levels will reduce.’

However, DATA Programmes says that the number of fleets that have so far assessed the driving competence of their staff is miniscule.

Mr Harris concluded: ‘To-date we are looking at the tip of the iceberg. The vast majority of employees assessed come from health and safety conscious fleets. Evidence suggests that most of Britain's fleets have so far failed to focus on risk management and therefore the risk rating of many employees yet to be assessed will be high.

‘Not only are these drivers putting themselves and other road users at risk, but companies are increasingly putting themselves at risk of criminal or civil prosecutions in the event of a road accident involving an at-work driver.’