safety
Page 52
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The letter of the Law
by V. A. Hackett, MIRSE
• The 1967 Road Safety Act has imposed more legislation on transport than on any other industry. The Act has also helped some accessory and equipment suppliers to make small fortunes out of the numerous items that have had to be purchased from them.
The purpose of the Act is to ensure that all commercial vehicles are satisfactorily maintained and equipped so that they may operate safely in today's very exacting conditions. While most of us welcome this legislation and agree that a lot of it is long overdue, it is not sufficient to just agree, comply and forget.
For example, it is not sufficient to fit seat belts to all. small vans and then do nothing to persuade or cajole the drivers to use them. It is not enough to carry out major repairs on a vehicle so that it passes its DoE test and then fail to make sure that the vehicle is maintained in this condition throughout the year. Preventive maintenance schedules must contain sections for all safety equipment to be regularly checked and these must be continually updated. After November 1, 1971, the maintenance schedules must include an item to check that the rear vehicle marker plates are correctly fitted and in good condition.
Even when a vehicle is perfectly maintained, accidents will continue to occur if the driver is not as road-safety conscious as his boss. You must do more than ensure that your driver has passed his appropriate driving test and has a current driving licence. Periodic inspections of his accident record will be a good guide as to whether refresher training courses may be required. It is also a good and convenient time to check that your driver's eyesight is up to standard and to watch for driving licence renewal dates.
Accidents are expensive items to the transport operator and driver co-operation in road safety is essential if costs are to be kept down. Pride of vehicle can often help and in this matter CM'S Lorry Driver of the Year competition is most useful. Despite its limitations, RoSPA's National Safe Driving competition can also be of great assistance and all drivers should be encouraged to participate, Many large firms now find that it pays to make monetary awards to drivers who have driven for a year without a blameworthy accident, particularly if the amount of the award increases along with the number of accident-free years. If, however, this scheme is adopted, it must never be forgotten that if you disqualify a driver from an award because he has had an accident which you consider to be his fault, you must allow him the right of appeal in order to maintain good industrial relations.