Chairman John Maxwell

“It is vital that the corporate sector recognises that the safety of employees who drive on business is their responsibility”

Fifty years ago more than 5,000 people were killed annually on the UK’s roads. Now there are 3,200 deaths a year in an era in which there are almost 33 million vehicles licensed in Britain.

Technological advancements in vehicle design and construction have undoubtedly played a role in reducing casualties alongside such automotive breakthroughs as ABS brakes, seat belts, airbags and, more recently, the introduction of lane departure warning systems and adaptive cruise control. In addition, improved street lighting and improvements in road engineering, legislation resulting in the compulsory fitting and wearing of seat belts and a crackdown on drink-driving and, more recently, safety cameras have all played a part in reducing death and injury on the nation’s roads. But, so has the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), which is this year celebrating its 50th anniversary and was the first advanced driving organisation of its kind in the world. The IAM’s founders recognised that it was drivers that caused crashes, not cars. Fifty years on that view has not changed and chairman John Maxwell is resolute in his belief that a better standard of driving will further improve road safety.

It is particularly vital, says Mr Maxwell, that the corporate sector as a whole recognises that the safety of employees who drive on business is their responsibility. “Large companies where there is a significant HR function means they are better equipped to recognise their responsibilities. It is the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) where entrepreneurs are struggling to build a business up that we must encourage a change in their current thinking. It is understandable that occupational road safety is not on their radar, but road safety is a critical part of business. Four times as many people are killed while driving for work than in the workplace and industry and business must understand that.” Forthcoming corporate manslaughter legislation could, says Mr Maxwell, be the catalyst for improving employers’ awareness and understanding of their responsibility towards their at-work drivers.

He says: “Too many employers have taken the view that they are not responsible for the health and safety of their drivers. For example, in many cases information and advice is not available and there is no control over private vehicles driven on business. “Legislation, such as the Corporate Manslaughter Bill, will act as an additional driver on companies to take action in terms of the health and safety of their atwork drivers. As awareness of employer responsibilities grow then the marketplace for driver training and risk assessments is likely to expand. We think we are very well placed to take advantage.”

Given the current focus on corporate road safety, motorists could be forgiven for thinking that the UK’s accident record is shocking. But, recent European Commission statistics confirm that in terms of the annual number of victims per million inhabitants and per million private cars, the UK’s performance is among the best. Indeed, in 1956 there were around seven million registered vehicles with more than 5,000 people were killed on the UK’s roads. That figure fell to 3,221 in 2004, the latest year for which data is available, although deaths topped almost 8,000 in the intervening 48 years. If road deaths had risen in line with the number of vehicles on the roads, the toll would be 25,000 lives a year.

However, says Mr Maxwell, IAM chairman for two years, complacency is the enemy and he is adamant there is much to do within the corporate sector. Driver error causes more than 90% of crashes and at-work drivers are responsible for/involved in a disproportionate third of road deaths and a third of the almost 300,000 casualties a year on the roads. IAM through IAM Fleet and sister organisation Drive & Survive, which the IAM bought last year, says it has a 35% share of the corporate occupational market putting it in an influential position. The on-going focus on occupational road risk has resulted in huge demand for on-line and e-learning risk management products, a market segment currently growing at 40% per annum.

“As awareness of employer responsibilities grow then the marketplace for driver training and risk assessments is likely to expand”

He says: “The marketplace is growing and IAM is well placed to deliver through its strength, reputation and success on the road. But we must find new ways of tackling the SMEs which appear to be the most reluctant to engage in occupational driver training.” Coincidently, 2006 is the 20th anniversary of the launch of IAM Fleet, which, through a programme of both classroom and on-the-road tuition, has worked with well over 1,000 companies of all sizes and operating in all commercial sectors both at home and abroad. An increasing focus on the corporate sector, through both IAM Fleet and Drive & Survive, will contribute to the organisation achieving a raft of five-year goals revealed in its golden jubilee year.

The IAM bills itself as the “UK’s leading road safety charity dedicated to raising driving standards” and has published a five-year strategy – “The IAM: Today and into the Future” – which focuses on a major expansion. The key objectives are:

• Introduce new methods of recruiting more people to learn the IAM driving technique and to pass the advanced test; and new methods of making contact with those who will not
• Become more influential in the promotion and development of road safety through an increased commitment to influencing policy and practice, at all levels of government
• Within five years to double its current size – both turnover and membership numbers
• Be influencing the road-using behaviours of at least 10% of people on the road, whether by direct contact, or through other communication and awareness programmes
• Develop strategic partnerships with organisations that can communication what the IAM has to offer as a benefit to its own members, readers or customers

“At-work drivers are responsible for/involved in a disproportionate third of road deaths”

IAM Fleet and Drive & Survive use professional trainers to provide a raft of occupational driver training for company vehicle drivers. IAM Fleet typically undertakes 10,000 on-line assessments each year in the corporate sector plus almost 12,000 practical on-the-road sessions. Meanwhile, Drive & Survive undertakes approximately 10,000 drives a year and last year completed more than 37,000 on-line assessments.

A “small percentage” of drivers who undergo driver training go on to take the IAM advanced driving test, but says Mr Maxwell: “It is not a hard sell. We encourage drivers on a softly softly basis to take the test, but again it is about improving recognition and awareness.” The IAM does not just highlight the need for driver skill by encouraging motorists and motorbikers to take an advanced test that puts the emphasis on safety and smoothness, it also has a long history of campaigning, that will continue as the organisation heads towards its centenary.

“Too many employers think their responsibility for employees when they’re at work ends at the front door or the factory gate”

Mr Maxwell, who joined the IAM as a council member in 1997 when chief executive of the AA – a post he stepped down from in 2000 when the AA was sold to Centrica to concentrate on a non-executive career – says: “One of our strategic goals is to raise our public profile and influence in government so we are viewed in the frontline along with the AA Motoring Trust and RAC Foundation. We need to become more directly relevant to a higher proportion of road users “By raising our profile and becoming an even more major influence on the development of road safety policy and practice we will start to change the attitudes of more drivers on the roads. It is driver attitudes and driver consideration that will improve driving standards of both corporate drivers and private individuals.

“To-date, there has been a lack of understanding, a lack of publicity and a lack of awareness of where responsibility lies for corporate road safety and one area of risk management that has been less emphasised in the corporate sector is in the area of health and safety on the road. We are all to blame for that lack of understanding which needs addressing through a range of initiatives and programmes.”