Driving for work, as an employer, you need to make sure that your workers who drive a car or ride a motorbike, and other powered two-wheelers or bicycles on the road for work are safe and healthy. The same rules governing health and safety apply to work conducted on mobile sites as they do to fixed sites.
One of the most dangerous things employees do for work is to drive. With this guidance, you can avoid injuries, and fatalities. Following the guidance, it may also reduce stress and improve morale, as well as enhance operational efficiency.
This applies to both your staff and anybody you hire in the gig economy, such as, independent contractors and self-employed individuals.
Anybody who has driven for any length of time knows that driving is extremely risky. No matter how careful you are on the road, there will always be situations where you cannot predict or take into consideration the conduct of other drivers. Therefore, it seems sense that companies that require their employees to drive for work must take extra care to ensure fleet compliance. Both the possible consequences of not doing so and the consequences that offending businesses may face are severe.
Fleet operators can, however, utilise sufficient, consistent, and trustworthy driving licencing checking system like Safe2Drive to guard against possible problems. Many important questions about driving for work and driver licence and driver checks will be covered in this article.
How frequently should I check the driver’s licence of my employee?
A lot of companies examine each driver’s licence at least once a year. It is important to keep in mind, though, because drivers can accumulate penalty points rapidly. Thus, it’s a good idea to routinely verify employees’ driving licences in order to identify any drivers who are prohibited from operating a vehicle or who have accrued penalty points without disclosing them to their company. This way, any violations can be discovered sooner. For instance, employers may check drivers with points on their licences more frequently than those without. Regular (quarterly) licence checks should also be performed on drivers who are professional drivers or operate in highly risky roles.
The law applies to both business and grey fleet vehicles. An employee who drives and owns a grey fleet car for work-related uses should have their licence status checked. Grey fleet also includes automobiles used for cash allowance programs.
Commuting to work is not generally classified as driving for work, except where someone’s journey starts from their home and they are travelling to a work location that is not their normal place of work. Health and safety law does not apply to commuting.
As part of your health and safety arrangements, you must do a risk assessment. The main areas you should look at in your risk assessment are the journey, the driver or rider and the vehicle.
When driving for work, the following hazards run the risk of hurting the driver or rider, passengers, other drivers, and/or pedestrians:
- vehicle condition
- road construction, traffic, and congestion
- driver fatigue and distraction
- weather
- other road user behaviour
The risks to lone workers and other vulnerable workers should also be taken into account. “Someone who works by themselves without close or direct supervision” is referred to as a lone worker. This definition includes people who perform their job remotely, like delivery drivers or couriers.
Regarding health and safety, you should also confer with your employees.
You need to think about providing your drivers or riders with appropriate wellness amenities.
This is only an introduction to managing for health and safety. As a business, it’s advisable to Plan, Do, Check, and Act.