The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has stated that it believes work-related road traffic accidents should be reported by employers to help cut the number of people killed or injured while driving for work.
In the midst of Road Safety Week 2012, IOSH has urged the Government to include work-related road traffic accidents in the accident reporting system, Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).
According to the latest provisional figures from the Department of Transport, in the year ending June 2012, 24,870 people are estimated to have been killed or seriously injured on the roads in the UK. In 2010 the Government estimated that 24% of serious injuries, and 30% of road deaths could be linked to work-related road traffic accidents.
Richard Jones, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at IOSH, said:
“In our latest response to the RIDDOR consultation, we have again called for the Government to make serious injuries and deaths from work-related road traffic accidents reportable under RIDDOR.
“Employers have clear duties under health and safety legislation in this country to manage work-related health and safety risks, which will include their occupational road risks. Employers who do not ensure employees can drive safely for work are as much at fault as those who don’t ensure employees can use workplace machinery safely.”
Mr Jones added:
“It is vital employers manage their occupational road risks just as they would any other health and safety risks, through good planning and by implementing sensible, proportionate precautions. As well as preventing enormous human suffering, it also makes good business sense.”
In my opinion the proposal is another indication of a complete lack of understanding of how we acheive better Road Safety. Whilst I would agree that injuries at work should be reported the fact that Road Traffic Collisions/accidents occur on the Public highway and can involve members of the public not related to their workplace means that reporting and accident investigation should remain under the remit of the Police and the Department of Transport; to enable easier prosecution of the Driver if appropriate.
The driving standard in the UK is poor and that is mainly due to a lack of education and poor standards of instruction only by targeting these areas will Road Traffic Collisions/Accidents be reduced and not by the addition of Work-Related Road Traffic Accidents being reported through the RIDDOR system.
Prosecution of road traffic offences should in my opinion stay with the police and department of transport, but also be reported under Riddor, so that the safety profession can understand the size of the problem or if in deed there is a problem involving persons for whom driving is a part of their work activities.
Taking Garys point about members of the public, if an incident occurred as part of another work activity that injured any member of the public it would be dealt with under Riddor, I can’t see any difference between an at work road traffic accident or an “traditional at work incident” after all a vehicle is just another piece of machinery being used during a work activity.
As far as driving standards are concerned I would agree they do seem to have deteriorated over the 30plus years I have been driving. But if driving was included in Health and Safety at work, there are various things an employer can do, on the basis of improving safety (which also can reduce their costs) that can decrease their likelihood of having an accident or reduce the severity of an accident should they have one. This in my opinion could not help but have an positive impact on the national level of accidents involving at work drivers.
On a more general note any person who is killed or injured whilst at work is in my opinion one to many, everyone has the right to go home at the end of the day fit and healthy and unharmed by the work they have been doing. In purely financial terms every incident costs i.e. sick pay, medical treatment, staff cover, compensation, fines, loss of economic output, etc etc. so in the sprit of the times let’s hope the government takes positive action to cut the numbers of these incidents and reduce the financial burden they create.
Am I assuming if a member of the public, not travelling on business, is at fault in an accident with one of our drivers this does not have to be reported or unless the outcome is 50 /50?
People can be injured in the work related injury during travelling as well. But question here comes is that to whom should the claimant claim. Experienced lawyers can help a person in telling the right way to go. For more information, you can visit this blog post: http://www.personalinjuryclaimsspecialists.co.uk/blog/making-a-personal-injury-claim/
Insurance Companies have the accidents statistics so they should deal with the reporting aspect and this will ensure that no accidents are ‘overlooked’. Any employer with company vehicles will make sure their vehicles are serviced and looked after by the driver in accordance with manufacturers’ instruction to reduce the inconvenience to their Customers and the loss of money of vehicles being off the road. Employers will also ensure that their drivers are capable of driving carefully as Insurance Companies increase their motor fleet premiums upon renewal if there is an increase of incidents during the year. IOSH seem to think that employers do not take into consideration the risk of driving for their employees. Companies have Vehicle Policies in place and written in these policies, is often that the driver will lose his job if they have too many road accidents. I am sure if comparisons were made with the number of drivers that do business miles compared to drivers that do social miles it will show that business drivers are far more careful.