ROAD SAFETY WEEK 2022

Road safety week is an annual road safety event organised by the road safety charity Brake.

Brake has now announced that this year’s event will run from 14th to 20th November and will be themed around the concept of “Safe Roads For All”.

The campaign will aim to raise awareness of key areas of road safety, including safe vehicles and speeds, the recent update to the Highway Code and the new hierarchy of road users, and the importance of inclusivity to keep us all safe on the roads, no matter who we are or how we travel.

Different days will see a focus on different audiences including:

• Cyclists, walkers and horse riders
• Disabled road users
• Children, families and teachers
• Motorcyclists
• Employers
• Drivers, and
• Road accident victims

If your employees drive as part of their work, it is important that you have robust policies and procedures in place to manage the risk. You will need to take into account the drivers themselves e.g. are they suitably trained and competent, the vehicles they drive e.g. are they correctly maintained and suitable for the task and the journeys that drivers make e.g. do you allow sufficient time, planning for breaks etc.

The HSE have a Safe driver, Safe vehicle, Safe journey approach to managing work related road safety.

Safe driver involves considering such factors as:

• Are drivers competent and capable of doing their work safely? e.g. do you check driving licences? How do you check drivers have the right skills and expertise for their role? How do you make drivers aware of company policies?
• Are drivers properly trained? More than just do they hold the correct licence, do you provide induction training, regularly assess training needs and provide regular refresher training?
• Are drivers provided with clear road safety instructions? e.g. do they know the rules of the road e.g. including lower alcohol limits in Scotland? do they know how to operate their vehicle correctly? Do they know how to carry out routine safety checks?
• Are drivers sufficiently fit and healthy?

Safe vehicle includes considering such factors as:

• Are the vehicles used fit for the purpose they are used for?
• Are vehicles maintained in a safe condition? This includes private vehicles used for work purposes.

Safe journey involves considering factors such as:

• Planning journeys
• Allowing enough time for journeys, including such factors as rest breaks on longer journeys, time to load and unload vehicles etc
• Setting realistic work schedules
• Allowing for poor weather conditions

At PIB Risk management our team can help you to develop and implement suitable occupational Road Risk / Safe Driving policies. Please speak to your normal PIB Risk management contact or get in touch using [email protected]  if you have any questions.