WRRR-Work Related Road Risk
As work-related road traffic accidents are a significant cause of preventable death and injury, both employee's, other road users and members of the public should be protected from the hazards involved. Employers should ensure that they produce a policy for managing work-related road safety and that they communicate it effectively to their staff.
IOSH and the HSE recommend that Road safety policies should cover:
- Suitable and properly maintained vehicles
- Driver suitability, fitness and training
- Realistic timescales for journeys, to prevent stress or pressure to take risks.
Companies should also have documented policies and processes to ensure that the risks are effectively managed as part of the day to day running of the operations.
- Management systems
- Structure and responsibilities
- Management of Regulatory Licences
- Communications
- Document and version control
- Management of Non-conformances
- Keeping up to date with industry changes
- Vehicle and fleet management systems
- Vehicle maintenance planner
- Defect reporting
- Insurance
- Safe vehicle operation
- Driver management systems
- Licences and Fitness to drive
- Driving standards
- Driver Induction and professional development
- Drivers Hours and Infringements
- Driving Infractions
- Operational management systems
- Routing and scheduling
- Special Operations
- Incidents, collisions and near-misses
Effectively this means that a Safe Driver and a Safe Vehicle undertake a Safe Journey.
Smarter Transport Solutions have the Policies and Procedures available that can enable effective integration of Work Related Road Risk management into your wider health and safety management system.
The policies and procedures are exactly aligned to the FORS standard, and following implementation a company would then be ready for an external accreditation audit from the Certifying Body.
- Fleet Compliance Manual
- Drivers Handbook
Each of which would, as part of the implementation process, be tailored to an individual company needs.
3 Reasons why you must have effective management systems in place for WRRS.
1) Employers have duties under health and safety law for on-the-road work activities. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSW Act) states you must ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of all employees while at work. You must also ensure that others are not put at risk by your work-related driving activities. The self-employed have similar responsibilities.
So far as reasonably practicable means balancing the level of risk against the measures needed to control the real risk in terms of money, time or trouble. However, you do not need to take action if it would be grossly disproportionate to the level of risk.
2) The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1993 require you to manage health and safety effectively. You must carry out an assessment of the risks to the health and safety of your employees, while they are at work, and to other people who may be affected by your organisation?s work activities.
You must consult with your employees and, where applicable, their health and safety representatives, on health and safety issues, including:
- Risks arising from their work
- Proposals to manage and/or control these risks
- The best ways of providing information and training.
3) You also have duties under road traffic law, e.g. the Road Traffic Act and the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations, which are administered by the police, and other agencies such as the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).
In most cases, the police will continue to take the lead on investigating road traffic incidents on public roads. HSE will usually only take enforcement action where the police identify that serious management failures have been a significant contributory factor to the incident.
If one of your employees is killed, for example while driving for work, and there is evidence that serious management failures resulted in a gross breach of a relevant duty of care, your company or organisation could be at risk of being prosecuted under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.