The Vehicle

As an employer of someone who drives a vehicle for work, it is your responsibility to ensure that the vehicle fits the purpose for which it is used. It is important that the vehicle is safe and in fit condition and that there is required safety equipment properly fitted and maintained. These basic requirements, along with others below, will help reduce the risk to your employee who is driving as part of their job.

Modern vehicles now have a huge range of on-board safety systems available which can protect your drivers and help stop them having crashes. Some of these features are fitted as standard while others need to be specifically requested as optional extras. Understanding what these systems do, and fitting them to your fleet vehicles can save your business huge amounts of money.

Autonomous Emergency Braking systems, available for cars and car-derived small vans, has been proven to reduce at-fault rear-end collisions by 38%. Further developments of these systems allow the cruise control to maintain a safe speed and distance to the car in front, even in heavy traffic, greatly reducing the chances of your driver running into the rear of another vehicle.

If you have staff who drive their own cars for work and claim business mileage, we call this your grey fleet. However infrequently they may drive on business, employers have the same obligations to manage them correctly as they do those in company vehicles.

  • Specify and select vehicles that are suitable and safe for employees and the type of business trips they are expected to undertake; consider body style, ergonomics, equipment and visibility to ensure the selected vehicle is fit for purpose.
  • In the selection of cars consider the star rating that the vehicle achieved in the European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP) crash tests (see EuroNCAP website in the “useful contact” section for more details).
  • The following minimum secondary safety features (aimed at reducing the consequences of an accident if an accident occurs) should be installed and securely fixed in your vehicles:
    • Head rests.
    • Air bags (at least for the driver).
    • Anti-lock brakes.
    • Seat belts for all vehicle occupants.
  • All vehicles must have breakdown cover.
  • Any vehicle with a non-segregated storage area should be equipped with a cargo net or equivalent to separate the storage area from the passenger area.

  • Employers have the same duty of care under health and safety law to staff who drive their own vehicles for work as they do to employees who drive company owned, leased or hired vehicles.
  • Employees who opt out of a traditional company car and take the cash equivalent instead also need to be covered by the health and safety policy.
  • The standard set for “cash for car” vehicles should be equivalent to those for company vehicles (see selection of appropriate vehicles for minimum standards).
  • Privately owned vehicles must not be used for work purposes unless they are fit for purpose, insured for business use, have a valid MOT certificate, have a regular service record, and are roadworthy.
  • Conduct periodic (annual) checks  of MOT certificates, service records and motor insurance and vehicle excise duty.
  • Carry out regular visual inspections of private vehicles used for work (e.g. when parked in the car park).
  • Provide staff with check lists to conduct weekly checks of their vehicle, including tyre pressure, fluids, wipers, brakes, lights and indicators.
  • Advise drivers to conduct pre-drive checks of tyres, fluids, wipers, lights and brakes.
  • Require that staff involved in a work-related crash (including damage-only ones) report this to their line/transport managers even if the vehicle is privately owned.
  • Communicate the requirements for privately owned vehicles to your staff and ensure they understand their responsibilities to ensure their vehicles are legal, safe and well-maintained.

  • Have a planned approach to vehicle maintenance, including daily and weekly driver checks as well as planned maintenance programmes with clear standards and minimum periods between servicing (annually or every 10,000 miles).
  • Ensure mechanics working on your vehicles are fully qualified and experienced in maintaining those vehicles and follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.
  • Maintenance work should be regularly assessed to ensure it is of high standard.
  • Ensure quality replacement parts are used on your vehicles particularly for safety-critical elements such as brakes or tyres.
  • Monitor the durability of parts and any vehicle defects that occur, so that you can identify problems and trends in order to upgrade your vehicle choice, component choice or maintenance regime accordingly.
  • Reference to the vehicle manufacturer’s handbook is essential if servicing and maintenance is carried out “in-house”.

  • Train staff driving at work to carry out daily “walk round” or “circle” checks of their vehicles using a standard, written checklist. Checks should ensure tyres/wheels are in good condition and brakes, lights and wipers are working.
  • Provide checklists in all vehicles for drivers to conduct weekly checks of their vehicle, including tyre pressure, wheels, fluids, wipers, brakes, lights and indicators.
  • Safety-critical defects, e.g. brake failure, must be reported and corrected immediately.
  • A copy of the vehicle handbook should be carried in all vehicles.
  • Loose items should not be carried in the passenger compartment of any vehicle or must be firmly secured before starting a journey in such a way that they will not become a hazard in a crash (e.g. clamped behind the seat).

  • Require mechanics and drivers to report vehicle defects.
  • Reported safety-critical defects, e.g. brake failure or tyre damage, must be inspected by an expert, and the vehicle must not be driven until defects are rectified.
  • Minimum vehicle safety specifications.
  • Maintenance schedules.
  • Driver fitness standards.
  • Policies on drugs and alcohol.
  • Accident/incident notification, recording and investigation requirements.

Road risk key performance indicators might include:

  • Kilometres/miles per accident.
  • Total accidents per mile driven (by vehicle type, e.g. artic., rigid, car).
  • Shifts/months per accident.
  • Accidents per vehicle or per driver.
  • Average accident cost.
  • Accidents per £100,000 of turnover.

Road risk targets might include:

  • Reductions in fleet accident rates.
  • Elimination of high-risk journeys.
  • Reduction of penalty points on drivers’ licences.
  • Introduction of annual driver assessments.

Identify methods for implementing the plan and for the evaluation of the outcome.

  • All vehicles must be equipped with:
    • Fire extinguisher
    • First-aid kit and flashlight/torch
    • Suitable spare wheel and tyre or tyre foam kit
    • Disabled vehicle marker (e.g. warning triangle)

  • Ensure that all vehicles used at work, including private ones, are fitted with seat belts for all occupants.
  • Ensure that if your employees travel by coach, they comply with legal requirements to wear a seat belt if it is provided.
  • If you operate coaches in which seat belts are fitted, you must follow legal requirements to remind passengers to use them.
  • Ensure that any children who travel in cars and vans when driving at work are in the right child seat and that the seat is properly fitted. Do not allow a rear-facing baby seat to be on a front seat protected by an active airbag.
  • Drivers are required by law to use a seat belt if one is fitted; the only exemption being goods vehicle users undertaking deliveries or collections if they travel no more than 50 metres between stops.
  • Make the failure to wear a seat belt as driver or the failure to request passengers to wear a seat belt a disciplinary offence.
  • Advise drivers and front passengers to sit as far back as reasonably possible from the steering wheel or dashboard to reduce the possibility of serious head or chest injuries in the event of an accident.
  • Explain your policy in the driver handbook and communicate the need to use seat belts throughout all hierarchy levels of the company.

  • Operators must use analogue or digital tachographs when legally required to do so to record hours of driving, other work, breaks and rest periods (see the DfT website or the VOSA website in the “useful links” section for more information).
  • For analogue tachographs, drivers must carry their record charts for the current week and the chart of the last day from the previous week.
  • Employers must make sure drivers hand in their record analogue tachograph sheets within 21 days, keep all charts for at least one year after and be able to produce them for enforcement officers, make regular checks to see that drivers’ hours and tachograph rules are being obeyed.
  • From May 2006 onwards, all vehicles that require fitment of a tachograph first registered on and after 5th August 2004 will have to be fitted with digital tachographs.
  • For digital tachographs, drivers and operators will have to apply for a driver’s card/ company card at the DVLA at a cost of £38 for the initial card application and £19 for card renewal.
  • Digital tachograph information will be stored for at least 28 days on the driver card; and for at least a year in the vehicle unit. Copies of both need to be taken regularly and stored safely for at least a year.
  • All tachographs must be inspected at a Department for Transport approved tachograph calibration centre every two years to check the system is working properly.

  • Transport of dangerous goods must comply with the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2004. These regulations aim to protect everyone either directly involved (such as carriers) or who might become involved (such as Emergency Services or members of the public).
  • If your company deals with the transport of hazardous substances COSHH (Control of Substances that are Hazardous to Health) regulations should be covered in your policy statements.
  • A dangerous goods safety advisor should be consulted or employed.
  • You and your drivers must be fully conversant with the relevant regulations and need the appropriate vocational training certificate.

  • Ensure transport/line managers are familiar with all necessary regulations to ensure supervision, monitoring and auditing are carried out correctly. This includes licensing requirements, e.g. for towing trailers.
  • Advise drivers of cars, vans and trucks to ensure that all loose items have to be secured before starting a journey.
  • Advise your staff not to load or unload in places where they could cause a hazard and could put themselves or other road users at risk.
  • Ensure that drivers are fully trained in procedures to ensure load security and towing, including:
    • Regular inspections of couplings to identify damage or wear.
    • Regular inspections of load-bearing components and cross beams to identify wear-and-tear and corrosion.
    • Securing loads with equipment such as heavy duty strapping, lashing rings on the trailer floor and cargo nets running on inboard tracks.
    • Checking that vehicles are not overloaded either by their gross weight or by individual axle loads.
  • Training for tanker drivers should furthermore include:
    • The danger of roll-overs and wave effects.
    • Venting procedures and the need to follow the correct practice for the product and tanker.
    • The requirement to check for leaks from the tank, valves and pipe work before starting a journey.
    • Dangerous goods regulations.
  • Fit load restraint systems in your trucks, which are strong enough to prevent the load moving forward under severe braking or when steering on any journey.
  • Use truck bodies only if they are suitably reinforced to securely contain the required load.
  • If you operate vehicles that have an overall travelling height of more than 3 metres (10 feet) ensure that the overall travelling height of the vehicles is displayed inside the cabin.