P&H has halved its accident rate in just three years

“Employers can no longer ignore occupational road risk. They have a responsibility to keep their employees and other road users safe”

Palmer and Harvey McLane Ltd (P&H) of Hove are the first winners of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents award for Managing Occupational Road Risk (MORR).

The judges were impressed by the strenuous efforts that the wholesale and distribution company make to ensure the safety of their fleet of 900 trucks and 450 cars, which has seen P&H almost halve its accident rate in recent years.

It employs 4,000 people and covers 40 million km a year to make nearly two million deliveries. P&H received the award from Lord Brougham and Vaux, vice-president of RoSPA, at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole Hotel at the NEC in May.

Initiatives employed by the company include: computer-based driver assessments, driver training targeted to individual branch needs, driver assessors based at all main branches and discussions on route scheduling and planning. Improved control measures have also allowed them to adopt a far greater level of self-insurance.

A quarterly “accidentfree” bonus scheme is linked to RoSPA’s National Safe Driving Award scheme.

Ray Ward, group transport manager for P&H, says: “In just over three years, we have almost halved our accident rate and dramatically reduced our costs.

“We are proud to be the first recipients of this award as it demonstrates that hard work and commitment to the cause of occupational road safety pays off by benefiting not only the company, but its employees and all road users.” RoSPA wants companies and organisations that are proud of the safety performance of their drivers to bid for the Managing Occupational Road Risk Trophy.

Charles Davis, RoSPA head of Driver and Fleet Solutions, says: “We decided to introduce this new award to celebrate the work being done to reduce the number of people killed or injured as a result of occupational road accidents, which are a major problem in this country.

“Employers can no longer ignore occupational road risk. Entering for this award is an ideal way for them to prove to their own workforce and the outside world how seriously they take fleet safety issues. They have a responsibility to keep their employees and other road users safe.

“P&H is a shining light to other fleet operators on how to manage safety. We hope to see many others following its lead.”

Charles Davis adds: “We know there are some wonderful examples of fleet safety management. It is time they were given public recognition.” Highly commended in the MORR award scheme were Glasgow-based ScottishPower Fleet Business. The RoSPA MORR Award is open to all types of road fleet, including company cars, trucks, vans and motorcycles.

Entrants are asked to provide evidence of: a road risk management policy, staff organisation, standard setting, monitoring and measuring performance (including accident records) and review and audit procedures.
They need to demonstrate a consistently good or continuously improving road risk management performance over a given period.

For more information and entry forms for the scheme,
contact Charles Davis on 0121 248 2149.


National Safe Driving Award Scheme
The RoSPA National Safe Driving Award Scheme (NSDA) used by P&H is a low-cost accident recording and rewarding system suitable for any organisation with a fleet of vehicles.

The original NSDA scheme was launched back in 1918 to provide professional drivers with an incentive to improve and maintain their driving standards. Although the organisation of the scheme has changed since then, the principle of providing an incentive for employee drivers remains the same.

People driving a vehicle on behalf of a company are still at work and, therefore, owed the same duty of care as any other employee. Road accident deaths and injuries are the “hidden epidemic” that increases a company’s work-related injury absences and increases direct and indirect business costs.

Lord Brougham and Vaux, vice-president of RoSPA (left) presents Ray Ward, P&H Group Transport Manager, with the RoSPA award

“We know there are some wonderful examples of fleet safety management. It is time they were given public recognition”

The system used to manage the NSDA scheme can form part of a modern approach to managing operational road risk. It will help to integrate road risk safety objectives into a company’s health and safety policy and operating protocols. The scheme is open to all employees who spend part of their working day driving on the road, whether they are executives in company cars, or distribution drivers in vans.

The scheme will track a driver’s accident record and award a certificate for each year free of a blameworthy accident. Distinctive lapel badges are used to mark five-year milestones, and the ultimate award is an engraved crystal chalice for those who complete 40 years of driving without a blameworthy accident.

Companies who register with the RoSPA NSDA scheme will receive a certificate of membership, a handbook on how to assess blame, safety posters and a template for developing a company driver’s handbook. In addition, a bi-monthly package of road safety publications is sent out for distribution to the company’s drivers.

RoSPA sees awards as a way of encouraging health and safety improvement within organisations and allowing them to celebrate health and safety achievement. They also provide an example to other businesses to ensure there is an ever-growing number of positive role models for others to follow.

About 1,100 businesses and organisations receive occupational health and safety awards from RoSPA annually. The way they manage their fleets is taken into account along with other areas of their health and safety practice.