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Fit for the road
Page 34
Page 37
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Out on the highway drivers' health and safety remain the operator's responsibilities. Pat
Hagan identifies the 10 issues employers
must focus on to keep their drivers safe.
It's estimated that up to one in three road traffic accidents involves somebody who is at work. Or to put it another way, every week around 20 people are killed and 250 seriously injured just going about their jobs — it's just that they happen to be in a vehicle at the time.
These figures highlight just how dependent the economy has become on the road networks in order to function effectively. Whether the business is pizza delivery, online shopping or high finance, they all rely to some extent on road transport for success.
Yet some employers still fail to see vehicles — be they mopeds, company cars or 40-tonne HGVs — as an extension of the workplace. More to the point, they do not understand that the same health and safety legislation that covers staff sitting at a computer or working in a warehouse also applies to those who spend most of their time behind the wheel.
-Health and safety law applies to on-theroad work activities as well as to all work activities," says the Health and Safety Executive. "The risk should be effectively managed within a health and safety management system."
In short, operators have a duty to assess the risks that their drivers face and take steps to minimise them. There is no template for this and nowhere will you find an exhaustive list of the kind of dangers a driver might face.
Instead, it's up to individual employers to find out what health and safety issues are likely to arise in the course of a driver's work.
Then they should take reasonable steps to prevent them.
"The thing about risk assessment is that an employer's responsibility does not end,says Ian Gallagher. the Freight Transport Association's expert in workplace transport safety.
"It's a continuous process and an employer must do everything to minimise the risk, if not eradicate it."
Examples might include making sure drivers have suitable seating in their cab as vibration from the road and the driveline can be a contributory factor in back pain, or even taking steps to minimise their exposure to diesel fumes because of fears they can cause lung cancer.
1. Employers' responsibilities The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that, "so far as is reasonably practicable", employers must ensure the health and safety of staff while at work.There is also a responsibility to make sure others — ie pedestrians and other motorists — are not put at risk by work-related driving activities.
2. Risk assessment It's not enough to just tell drivers to "be careful out there". Bosses must be able to produce a paper trail that shows they assessed all the relevant risks, listed them, consulted with drivers and took action to minimise the risks.This is not optional; under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 all employers, except those with less than five staff. have a responsibility to do this.
3. Five steps
A risk assessment is nothingmorethan a careful examination of what activities can cause harm to people. It doesn't have to be too complex or technical, but should be carried out by a competent person with a practical knowledge of the activities being assessed. Break it down into five steps: looking for hazards; deciding who is most at risk; evaluating the scale of the risk; recording the findings; and reviewing the assessment every so often.
4. Benefits to employers Despite the bureaucracy involved, there are some tangible benefits for bosses who do a risk assessment. Research shows it leads to fewer days lost to injury, reduced risk of work-related ill health, less stress, fewer vehicles off the road for repair and fewer missed orders and business opportunities. "The true costs of accidents are nearly always higher than just the costs of repairs and insurance claims," says the HSE. -So the benefits from managing work-related road safety can be considerable, no matter the size of your business."
5. A truck is a workplace
Just because drivers may be away for days, or even weeks, at a time, does not mean their health and safety is not still the employer's responsibility. In fact, given the potential for harm to third parties, in some ways it makes sense for employers to focus more on drivers' health and safety than those in the relatively secure surroundings of an office or storage depot.
6. The risks vary
Much depends on individual drivers, the vehicles they drive and their schedule. But the health risks can be quite varied.A big problem is whole-body vibration, where drivers' backs can be damaged through months of constant exposure to movement caused by the engine.
Another is exposure to diesel fumes. Employers have a duty under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (CoSHH) regulations. to make sure drivers are not put at risk of diseases such as lung cancer from prolonged inhalation of diesel fumes.
Meanwhile, the road safety group Brake is supporting a campaign called Save Your Neck to reduce whiplash injuries,
7. Falling off vehicles
Drivers manually sheeting loads or climbing on trucks to secure loads can be at serious risk.
Where possible, minimise the risk of falls by providing steps to access the trailer and introduce an inspection, maintenance and report procedure for all equipment such as ropes. straps, curtains, sheets and nets.
8. Vehicle safety is paramount
Sending a driver out on the road with a defective vehicle amounts to negligence. Not only is it a threat to the employee's safety but to the public's too. Apart from routine servicing and maintenance, introduce daily 'handover' checks to vet the vehicle in the presence of the driver. This will also provide an opportunity for the driver to raise any health and safety concerns related to the vehicle.
9. Drivers' responsibility
Employers can go only so far in protecting the health and safety of their workforce. Some responsibility also falls on the shoulders of drivers themselves. For example. if a driver fails to report a fault on a vehicle to his boss and it consequently results in a road traffic accid it's hard to see how the employer conic found to be at fault — providing the truck been properly maintained in other respects
10. The consequences
Employers who fall foul of the Health Safety at Work Act can be fined up to £20.1 But if the case is so serious that it gets refet to Crown Court — where a jury decides outcome — employers could end up in ja found guilty. • FIND OUT MORE Health and Safety Executive: www.hse.gov.uk/haulage/lnformation in 08701 545500 HSE guidance on manual handling: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/manlinde,htm HSE guidance on diesel emissions: wvAchse.gov.uk/pubns/1ndg286.htm Freight Transport Association: www.fla.co.uk Save Your Neck campaign: www. save-yo neck. co . uk