NEWS ROUND-UP
On the following pages, we take an in-depth look at current safety-related issues that are making the news

RoadSafe joins eSafety Aware campaign

In-vehicle and roadside eSafety technologies are set to come to the fore in the near future and RoadSafe has joined the awareness crusade.

The organisation has become a member of the recently-launched eSafety Aware initiative, which seeks to accelerate the market introduction of safety technologies by organising information campaigns and dedicated events aimed at creating awareness of safety benefits among policymakers and end-users.

The communication platform is open to all with an interest in eSafety, and includes members from industry, public authorities and user organisations. The European Commission is also a strong supporter of the initiative.

The group’s first major public awareness campaign will be launched in April 2007 and will focus on Electronic Stability Control (ESC) – a technology which has been billed as three words that could save your life and the most promising eSafety technology on the market.

The core activity of the ESC information campaign will be the organisation of a large-scale event, aimed at raising awareness of the benefits of eSafety technologies in general and ESC in particular.

Despite important improvements in road safety, each year more than 40,000 people die and 1.7 million are injured on Europe’s roads. In 2001, the European Union therefore set a target of halving the number of road deaths by 2010. However, that ambitious target remains some way off and eSafety supporters say more has to be done to prevent crashes from occurring in the first place. This, they say, is where intelligent vehicle safety systems, so called eSafety systems, can make a huge contribution.

“Electronic Stability Control has been billed as three words that could save your live”

eSafety Aware is chaired by David Ward, director general of the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), and UK members also include the Department for Transport and Thatcham. Other members include European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), ERTICO – Intelligent Transport Systems and Services Europe, Robert Bosch and Valeo. Further details at www.esafetysupport.org

Motorpoint becomes first car dealer to back RoadSafe

Motorpoint, the UK’s largest car supermarket group, has become the first retail motor group in the UK to become a supporter of RoadSafe, the road safety partnership of leading companies in the motor and transport industries.

Motorpoint will work closely with RoadSafe to promote and extend the RoadSafe objectives and road safety messages to the 30,000 customers that buy cars and vans from the four Motorpoint locations throughout the UK in Derby, Burnley, Glasgow and Newport, South Wales.

“Motorpoint will work closely with RoadSafe to promote and extend the RoadSafe objectives to its 30,000 customers”

The group will develop campaigns, for instance, to explain and improve the awareness of the importance of active safety systems in vehicles and their ability to prevent road accidents. Other campaigns will be developed with the help of RoadSafe and will be announced over the next few months. RoadSafe director Adrian Walsh says: “We are delighted to welcome Motorpoint as a RoadSafe supporter.

This is a significant development for us and provides an important opportunity to be working, for the first time, with a retail operation to promote road safety messages at the point of sale directly to drivers.” Motorpoint managing director David Shelton says: “We recognise and accept that we do have a responsibility in terms of road safety and working with RoadSafe, we believe, represents a major step forward on behalf of the retail trade to promote safer driving.”

Trade association supports daylight running lights to stay safe

The Fleet Safety Association (FSA) is hoping that one of the highest risk groups of motorists in the country – high-mileage business drivers – will accept the added safety benefits of European Union plans for mandatory all-day headlights and set an example by complying.

Last month, the Department for Transport said it was inevitable that UK drivers were going to have to accept the directive, probably by 2008. FSA spokesman Steve Johnson says: “After all, what are the downsides of having dipped headlights on at all times? Some so-called experts have claimed that by having headlamps on all the time, fuel consumption rises. That may have been the case decades ago, but, with the advent of new-generation bulb technology and charging system management, the added electronic consumption is barely measurable.

“Also, drivers should remember the many other factors that can increase fuel consumption and then put daylight running lights into perspective. Due to variable tyre rolling resistance drivers will use more fuel when it’s raining, when it’s cold and certainly if they don’t check inflation pressures regularly.

“Evidence showed 42% fewer people were killed or seriously injured in crashes at sites that had fixed speed cameras”

“Driving style has a huge impact too and courses run by Association members can pay real dividends in this respect.”

There will be huge safety benefits to the requirement for all vehicles to have headlights on at all times, says the FSA, which highlighted that last month’s DfT report on road casualties in 2005 showed that the most common cause of crashes was “failing to see properly”. Mr Johnson says: “It stands to reason that vehicles with headlights on will be easier to see and therefore react to.”

MPs demand more speed cameras and extra police to improve road safety

More speed cameras and additional traffic police to reduce the number of crashes on Britain’s roads have been demanded by MPs on the all-party House of Commons Transport Committee

Speed cameras save lives was one of the key conclusions of the Committee’s latest report, “Roads Policing and Technology: Getting the right balance”, which called for greater use of technology to tackle driving offences, saying that speed cameras were proven to save lives by acting as an effective deterrent to drivers breaking the speed limit.

In its report, the Committee pointed to evidence which showed that 42% fewer people were killed or seriously injured in crashes at sites that had fixed speed cameras. The Committee wants to see more funding made available so that more sites that meet the existing camera guidelines can also be covered. The report said it was “a disgrace” that the existing Department for Transport guidelines required preventable deaths and injuries to have occurred in a location before cameras could be installed.

The report said that the relationship between speed and collisions was so well proven that the casualty criteria requirement was unnecessary and even irresponsible. Evidence of excessive speed was evidence of danger and there was no need to wait for somebody to die in order to take action intended to slow vehicles.

The Committee also criticised the government for failing to fund the type-approval of evidential roadside breath testers, such as “alcolocks”. However, the Committee said that the efficiencies that technology could bring must not be taken as an opportunity to cut the number of roads police officers. Instead the Home Office should increase the priority it gives to traffic law enforcement overall.

Committee chairman Gwyneth Dunwoody says: “Compared to other aspects of daily life, travelling on the roads continues to be an extremely high-risk activity. In 2005 there were 32,155 deaths and serious injuries. In London, the number of “hit and run” incidents has doubled over the last decade.

“We deplore the long-term marginalisation of roads police officers. Their efforts can be facilitated through the introduction of new technologies – but officers must not be replaced by such inventions. Technology must support roads police officers, not replace them.”

Referring to the need to cut drink-driving and drug-driving, Ms Dunwoody says: “More than one in six people killed in road crashes are the victim of drivers over the permitted alcohol limit. The number of drink-drive casualties has increased in recent years as the number of road policing officers has fallen.

“Drink-driving offenders continue to kill 560 people each year. Police enforcement has a crucial role to play. As the number of breath tests carried out dropped, so the number of drinkdrive casualties increased. There must be systematic enforcement of drink-driving and drug-driving laws. This doesn't need to be complex: it is simply a case of doing more of the same.

“Technology cannot yet detect all types of traffic offence. Drivers holding a mobile telephone conversation are four times more likely to be involved in a crash, but technology does not yet detect this offence.”

In calling for more cameras, she says: “It is clear that cameras are effective, good value for money, and well accepted by the public.”

New London-based freight scheme aims to improve road safety

Transport for London (TfL) has teamed up with the police and the freight industry to develop a new scheme that could reduce operator’s costs by 10% while driving down road crashes and vehicle emissions in the capital.

The Freight Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) set up by TfL’s Freight Unit aims to offer incentives and other encouragement to freight operators who adopt best practice, while addressing illegal and dangerous road behaviour. Around 70 operators are involved in the scheme’s six-month pioneer phase, which runs until March 2007, to help TfL shape the best scheme for everyone.

“Advice and training on journey planning and the way in which a vehicle is driven can cut operator’s costs by up to a tenth”

Evidence from the Department for Transport shows that advice and training on journey planning and the way in which a vehicle is driven can cut operator’s costs by up to a tenth. Experts are advising operators on improving fuel efficiency which, in turn, will see vehicle emissions reduce.

The pilot initiative also sees the Commercial Vehicle Education Unit of the Metropolitan Police working with freight businesses to tackle illegal use of hand-held mobile phones, unsafe vehicles, excessive driver hours and issues around unfit or incompetent drivers.

Police officers are also giving guidance on areas of legal compliance, such as vehicle servicing requirements and licensing as well as work-related road safety. Additionally, TfL’s Freight Unit is carrying out research around lorry parking, both for drivers to take statutory breaks and the safe loading and unloading of vehicles.

Metropolitan Police Traffic Unit chief inspector Ian Brooks says: “By supporting and providing tailored advice to freight companies on legal compliance, this innovative scheme will help to reduce deaths, injuries and fear on our roads.”

Last year, there were 36 fatalities as a result of road collisions involving goods vehicles – 17% of the total deaths on London’s roads. In total, there were 3,260 road collisions involving goods vehicles – 7% of all collisions on London’s roads.

Following the spring 2007 completion of the pilot programme, the Freight Unit will analyse feedback and results with the aim of developing a tiered membership scheme offering incentives to operators and making freight transport more sustainable.

Pioneer (basic) members of FORS will receive information on:

Small fleets neglect duty of care

Decision-makers in charge of small fleets fail to rate at-work driving health and safety as highly as do their counterparts in larger fleets, according to a survey by Network, a specialist division of LeasePlan that provides small businesses and private individuals with vehicle leasing solutions through a network of franchisees.

“Duty of care is one of the biggest issues facing the industry as a whole right now”

The research consisted of a series of in-depth interviews with decisionmakers for small, medium and large fleets throughout the UK. When asked to rate the importance of driver health and safety, those with control over smaller fleets of sub-10 vehicles gave it an average score of just 4/10. With 93% of fleet customers running less than 20 vehicles, this is a huge sector of the fleet market. Even fleets with 50-100 vehicles only rated the importance of duty of care at 7/10.

Christophe Desplace, head of Network, says: “Duty of care is one of the biggest issues facing the industry as a whole right now, but the 1-10 vehicle end of the market seems to be slower than the rest in recognising this. There is often the attitude that it’s someone else’s responsibility, or that duty of care is simply a ‘big fleet issue’. For whatever reason, those involved in buying and managing small fleets simply don’t see duty of care as a prime consideration.”

According to the Health and Safety At Work Act 1974, employers must ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of staff while in the workplace. They are also responsible for ensuring that others are not put at risk by their employees’ work-related activities. What some still seemingly fail to realise is that any business-related car journey involves an employee “at work” and therefore comes under the scope of the Act.

Mr Desplace adds: “This situation clearly needs addressing. The rest of the industry has moved duty of care up their list of priorities, whereas smaller fleets continue to lag behind. It may be that only a road accident involving an employee and the ensuing legal implications will change their minds.”

ALD launches risk management initiative for staff using own cars on business

Long-standing corporate concerns over how to manage the road risk posed by employees who drive their own cars on company business have been answered by ALD Automotive.

The contract hire and leasing company, which offers a range of car funding solutions including personal contract purchase and employee car ownership as well as affinity programmes, has launched a unique initiative called Car Allowance Road Risk Solution (CARRS).

The programme has been developed as an integral part of DriveSafe, ALD Automotive’s comprehensive one-stop shop menu of risk management initiatives embracing solutions for all employees who drive on business, which was launched earlier this year.

ALD Automotive sales director Mel Dawson says: “Unlike their colleagues driving company cars, personal use drivers are often excluded from occupational road risk policies – if any exist in the first place. “Our research and discussions with many companies have highlighted that numerous organisations allowing staff to drive their own cars on business and operating company car cash alternative policies are walking a health and safety tightrope.

“A company’s duty of care towards its at-work drivers is unchanged whoever owns the vehicle being driven. It is therefore vital that those organisations can demonstrate a duty of care towards employees driving their own vehicle on business as well as company car and van drivers. “With CARRS, ALD Automotive embraces car allowance drivers and all employees who drive private cars on business trips within an online risk management solution.”

CARRS provides essential management information on mileage reporting, driving licence validation, MoT reminders, driver and vehicle details, service information, road tax renewals and insurance validation. The technology also generates 30-day reminders of renewals to information such as Vehicle Excise Duty and insurance.

Mr Dawson says: “CARRS offers companies a peace of mind on-line risk management solutions for staff that drive their own cars on business. Our recommendation is that companies do not allow staff to drive their own cars on business unless the driver provides the requisite management information.

“CARRS is available for any company where there are drivers who are paid a mileage allowance or are given a cash alternative to run their own personal vehicle on business, irrespective of whether the car is funded through ALD, another finance company or is owned outright by the driver.”

Jaama puts fleet on the road to safety with one-stop information website

Confused, concerned or unsure about managing the occupational road risk posed by your vehicle fleet and business drivers? Then a newlylaunched, information-packed best practice website that also specifically answers your personal questions is the solution.

Launched by risk management and fleet software experts Jaama, the new website – www.key2roadsafety.co.uk – is a one-stop shop of advice relating to vehicles, drivers and business journeys. The click-through menu directs users to best practice information and provides a check list of actions, while fleet chiefs can get their fleet-specific questions answered by Jaama’s team of health and safety experts after registering on the site.

Jaama managing director Jason Francis says: “For years, there has been a stream of press coverage on corporate road safety and the importance of businesses managing their occupational road risk. “However, our research continues to show that many companies are unsure about exactly what measures they should put in place and how to implement those actions. Our new website provides a wealth of information and fleet decision-makers can ‘Ask Jaama’ and get their specific questions answered.”

Phase one of the website has now gone live and phase two of the development will see the raft of information extended to include advice relating to commercial vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes.

Additionally, the content will continue to be updated with weekly news feeds and case studies and enhanced when new data, information and legislation is published, for example the recently announced corporate manslaughter and corporate homicide legislation.

“Many companies are unsure about exactly what measures they should put in place and how to implement these actions”

To underline its duty-of-care expertise, Jaama has also signed up to the European Road Safety Charter – one of the main European Commission initiatives to reach its overall objective of halving the number of road fatalities by 2010 under its Road Safety Action Plan. Around 50,000 people are killed and 1.7 million injured annually on Europe’s roads.

Becoming a signatory to the Charter supports Jaama’s commitment to promote occupational road risk management in and across Europe and to help reduce the number of atwork driving incidents on the UK’s roads, estimated to result in around 1,000 deaths and 100,000 injuries a year. For almost two years, Jaama has also been holding regular health and safety seminars and has so far trained around 500 companies in at-work driving best practice.

Mr Francis says: “Many of these companies operate small and medium-sized fleets and there is no full-time fleet professional managing the operation. Many of the seminar delegates – HR directors/managers, finance directors/managers and transport and procurement managers not only want initial guidance but also on-going help. We view the new website as a ‘full-time risk management assistant’ available 24/7.”

Fleet chiefs should focus on financial wins to secure safety backing

Fleet operators must focus on delivering a consistent and frequent safety message to company directors by concentrating on best practice and the benefits being obtained by other fleets – particularly financial.

That’s the view of Terry Bartlett, managing director of Inchcape Fleet Solutions, which operates more than 53,000 vehicles in the UK. He says: “We have established a programme of risk management seminars that we promote to customers with our risk management partner RoSPA. The seminars are delivered at customers’ premises and senior management are invited to attend.

“Many companies are unsure about exactly what measures they should put in place and how to implement these actions”

“We then explain both the legal and financial arguments for implementing a risk management strategy through case studies and by highlighting best practice. We then follow the seminars up with regular information bulletins and advice. “We find this approach works as too many bosses find safety a turn-off because they argue that as their firm has not been involved in an incident the implementation of risk management measures is an irrelevance.

“Therefore, by focusing on the long-term financial benefits, taking seminars to their offices and dripfeeding information and advice to them the message eventually gets through.”

Skidding accidents double as weather turns

Road accidents involving cars skidding will almost double during the winter months, following the end of the 2006 Indian summer, according to Cooper Tire and Rubber Company Europe.

Stopping distances are at least doubled in wet weather as opposed to dry, with the driver of a car travelling at 50mph needing to increase their stopping distance from 53 metres (175 feet) to 106m (350 feet).

Malcolm Jones, product planning manager for Cooper Europe, says: “Unfortunately, too few of us change our driving style to accommodate the more treacherous conditions under the tyre at this time of year.” Of cars involved in accidents in wet conditions, 18.7% slew across the road, as opposed to 10.5% in fine weather. The figure is higher for motorcyclists, with 27.2% sliding under locked brakes in rainy conditions.

Cooper Europe’s top five safety tips for driving in the rain are:

  1. Check tyre pressures – underinflated tyres sustain excessive wear, causing aquaplaning and unpredictable handling.

  2. Check tyre tread. Legally, tread must be at least 1.6mm deep but stopping distances increase significantly when the tyre is worn down to 3mm.

  3. Keep speeds down and remain well back from the vehicle in front. This will allow time to see further and plan ahead.

  4. If steering becomes unresponsive, it probably means drivers are going too fast for the tyre to grip. Ease off the accelerator and slow gradually.

  5. Make sure the vehicle has plenty of windscreen washer, as spray from vehicles in front of will smear the windscreen and will impair vision.

Fleets using “sticking plaster” approach to risk management

Around a third of fleets are getting caught up in the details of risk management and using a “sticking plaster” approach without getting their overall policies in place first.

That’s the claim of fleet software company cfc solutions, which has identified the problem from recent research into the duty-of-care work undertaken by fleets so far. Andy Leech, sales and marketing director at cfc, says: “Our research indicates that about one third of fleets are putting in place token risk management measures such as driver licence checks but without having a proper policy in place.

“In effect, they’re putting sticking plasters on some aspects of the more obvious fleet safety problems without first checking whether the patient has a pulse. “Not only does this approach fail to meet health and safety guidelines, which stipulate that a comprehensive risk policy is needed, but it means that any measures they do take will almost certainly have a limited effect.

“Additionally, they are not accessing the savings that most fleets see when they start to take risk management seriously, with cost reduced in areas ranging from insurance premiums to fuel consumption.” Leech says that fleets were failing to see the bigger picture and micro managing when a macro policy that tackled fleet safety issues was required.

He says: “Fleets attempting to meet the duty-of-care guidelines must look at all the aspects of fleet safety and draw up a policy before taking any action.

“There must be ‘buy in’ at a corporate level to fleet safety and an understanding that this will lead not just to improved fleet safety but to a measurable reduction in fleet costs. Risk management is a step-by-step process that must follow a logical path.”

Concern increases over driving dangers caused by common medicines

Millions of drivers could be at risk of accidents this winter due to the symptoms of common colds and the medication taken to relieve them, according to latest research.

With more than half (54%) of British motorists likely to take to the roads while feeling under the weather or on medication, nearly a fifth admitted their driving had been negatively affected as a result during the past 12 months.

One in 10, the equivalent of 3.3 million drivers, lost concentration at the wheel due to an impaired reaction caused by illness or medication. Despite the side effects, such as drowsiness, that everyday cold or flu remedies can have, a quarter of drivers admitted to rarely or never checking the side effects of their remedies before setting off, and a third of drivers said there was nothing wrong with driving while on this type of medication.

Conversely, 8 in 10 drivers would amend their behaviour if they discovered a medicine they were about to take might affect their driving, with a third holding off taking the medicine until after having driven, and a quarter not driving at all. Kate Syred, marketing and commercial director of Privilege Insurance, says: “Medicines are clearly labelled for a reason, and those drivers who aren’t taking the time to check for side effects could be putting themselves and other road users at risk.

“On the plus side, it seems that the majority of drivers do take heed of warnings once they are aware of them.” Driving when affected by medicines may increase the risk of causing an accident, which could result in a motorist getting points on their licence, or losing it altogether.

Possible side effects that may occur as a result of taking medication include: feeling tired or lethargic, dizziness, blurred vision, nausea and an inability to maintain attention span. Motorists should pay particular attention to warning labels when taking medicines for complaints such as: coughs, colds, flu and allergies, high blood pressure and heart conditions, depression and anxiety, arthritis, diabetes, pain – headaches and period pains – epilepsy, sleep problems and travel sickness, nausea, vomiting.

Norwich Union launches telematicsbased fleet insurance scheme

Norwich Union has launched a telematics-based insurance scheme to help fleet operators manage corporate road risk more effectively and comply with their duty-of-care obligations.

Using telematic devices, provided free of charge, which feed data to Norwich Union via satellite, Fleetwise Care will enable fleets to obtain comprehensive duty-of-care reports. These provide information about driver behaviour, including journey times, types and mileage covered, coupled with claims information.

“Regardless of how well fleet managers think they know their drivers, they can’t be everywhere at once”

The information will help fleet managers to identify where the potential risks are in their fleet, review individuals’ driving performance, develop ways of improving overall risk management to enable them to comply with their duty-of-care responsibility thus keeping vehicles on the road and their drivers safe. Mark Hynes, director of trading at Norwich Union, says: “Regardless of how well fleet managers think they know their drivers, they can’t be everywhere at once. And with almost a third of UK road deaths involving company car drivers, they clearly need to know what their drivers are doing behind the wheel.

“Businesses have a duty-of-care responsibility under the law to protect others from harm, which includes managing the safety and welfare of their drivers. The duty-of-care reports will give the fleet operator a window on this previously ‘unknown’ information, leading to a meaningful conversation with their drivers where specific instances have been pinpointed based on information provided.”

Alongside the telematics devices – installed and maintained free of charge – and the duty-of-care reporting, Fleetwise Care provides risk management advice from Norwich Union.

“Only 21% of organisations have a formal policy towards sat nav systems”

This involves dedicated risk advisers working both on-site and via telephone to help companies minimise potential problems. In addition, fleet managers can use Norwich Union’s on-line Roadsense risk management tool kit, which gives expertise and guidance and a range of usable documents aimed at the three key risk management areas of the driver, vehicle and journey.

Fleets using Fleetwise Care receive two years’ fixed premium rates, designed for car, van and truck fleets with 25-plus vehicles. Another key feature of the telematics device is the direct claims reporting button. This enables the driver to immediately report incidents to Norwich Union’s 24-hour Fleetline claims line and Norwich Union’s approved repairer network and thirdparty care team.

IAM Fleet celebrates 10-year road safety partnership with BP

IAM Fleet has presented BP with a certificate in recognition of the 10-year road safety partnership between the two bodies – a unique relationship that has already seen over 7,000 BP employees undergo IAM driver-training programmes.

In presenting the framed award to Simon Gates, BP’s UK car fleet manager, IAM Fleet’s business development manager Sue Pesch (both pictured below) says: “BP’s attitude towards road safety is a model for all companies. It employs a director of road safety [Ken Shaw] and rules that nobody can drive a BP company car without first undergoing at least some level of extra driver training.

“For the past two years it has operated a stringent programme known as the Driving Safety Standard (DSS). This and the related driver training are understood to have notably reduced serious incidents involving BP’s very sizeable car fleet.” Such enterprise has not passed unnoticed with the outside world, and last year BP received the premier 2005 Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for its pioneering work (RoadSafe: winter 2005/06).

“Sat-nav” technology can aid road safety, says new report

Company bosses and fleet operators have adopted a laissez-faire attitude to driver use of satellite navigation systems that can result in irresponsible driving instead of improved road safety, according to a new report by Professor Peter Cooke.

Professor Cooke, professor of automotive industries management at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, believes that current practices around the use of satellite navigation mirror those of mobile phone use in cars a decade ago. However, used correctly “sat nav” can aid both business efficiency and driver safety.

He concludes in the report entitled “Satellite Navigation Systems and Fleet Safety” sponsored by Blackspot Interactive: “Little consideration is being given to the type of ‘sat nav’ fitment – whether as a factory option or as an aftermarket purchase. In particular, the majority of organisations are overlooking the residual value and duty-of-care consequences.

“There are many best practice precedents to follow in ensuring that the responsible use of sat nav systems is the norm. As such, the system must be used as it is intended as a driver and road safety awareness enhancement tool rather than as an aid to irresponsible driving.”

Research for the report among 241 directors and HR professionals reveals that:

The report also suggests that employees rather than employers are “overwhelmingly” driving sat nav demand, although companies recognise the efficiency benefits offered by the technology.

While sat nav systems are no panacea for road crashes, the report says they can offer another potentially cost effective tool to help reduce incidents by helping drivers to find the most effective or direct route and, as such, reduce mileage and time on the road.

Professor Cooke says: “Properly designed and implemented, a formal sat nav policy provides the opportunity for the internal and external marketing of a ‘good corporate citizen’ message to employees and the wider community. One that promotes better road safety with an environmental, moral and legal conscience.”

Steve Salmon, managing director of satellite navigation systems provider Blackspot Interactive, says: “In 2006, the functionality of the business car is taking another leap forward with satellite navigation systems, speed camera detectors and personal digital assistants having the potential to divert a driver’s attention away from the road ahead.

“It is our view that there are clear parallels with the situation of a decade ago regarding the use of mobile phones while driving. Currently there are few policy guidelines and no specific legislation relating to their installation and operation.”

The report outlines a series of initiatives that companies can take to help them implement an in-car navigation system policy.

New £4m road safety scheme launched

A new £4 million road safety scheme has been launched by Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman.

The Road Safety Partnership Grant Scheme will provide funding to approximately 20 local highway authorities in England who are taking an innovative approach to improving road safety.

“With nine people killed each day in road accidents, important work remains to be done”

The scheme will promote a collaborative approach to all aspects of delivering enhanced road safety. In particular it aims to encourage partnerships between traditional road safety professionals and other service providers including the education sector, the health sector, the fire service, the youth service and the voluntary sector. It also hopes to stimulate road safety schemes which produce environmental and regeneration benefits.

Dr Ladyman says: “The government is on course to meet its commitment to cut the number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents by 40%. But with nine people killed each day important work remains to be done.

“I want this new money to stimulate imaginative and innovative schemes that will help us to drive down road casualties everywhere.” Applicants who wish to bid for funding are invited to apply before 2 January 2007, with successful applicants notified by the end of March.

Tyre check demand increases as fleet focus on safety, says Kwik-Fit

Demand for tyre safety checks to be carried out is increasing as businesses get to grips with implementing occupational road risk best practice advice.

Kwik-Fit Mobile is now carrying out 1,200 visits and checking 36,000 company cars and vans in an average month – about a third up on 12 months ago – resulting in 20% of the company’s 200-strong mobile van fleet now being dedicated to tyre safety checks.

The checks, increasingly being demanded by safety-conscious fleet operators and undertaken in company car parks or the driver’s location of choice, initially result in about 20% of vehicles requiring attention. Extrapolated across the UK’s three million-strong company car and approximately one million van parc it means that up to 800,000 vehicles could be running on at least one unsafe tyre.

Typically tyres may be under or over inflated; tread may be below, or close to the 1.6mm legal minimum across the central three-quarters of the breadth of the tyre and around the entire circumference; tyre wear may be irregular which may indicate a wheel alignment or vehicle loading problem; or the wall of a tyre may be damaged.

The current fine for driving on illegal tyres is £2,500 per tyre as well as three points on a driving licence. British Gas recently signed a new three-year solus fast-fit contract with Kwik-Fit Fleet and tyre checks on its fleet of 10,000 light commercial vehicles are a major feature of the deal.

Kwik-Fit Mobile technicians will undertake quarterly tyre wearand- tear checks on all vehicles, to assist British Gas comply with its at-work driving duty-of-care responsibilities.

British Gas general manager fleet Colin Marriott says: “It is also vital that we meet all our at-work driving health and safety obligations and the unique tyre inspection service that Kwik-Fit is providing will help achieve that aim.” Safety checks from Kwik-Fit Mobile can be booked on 0800 425262.

RoSPA renews campaign for MPs to see the light and save lives

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has renewed its call to make the government see the light over the way Britain changes its clocks in a bid to save 450 deaths and serious injuries on the roads each year.

RoSPA wants backing for its campaign for lighter evenings all-yearround and pressure to be put on MPs to support a switch to a new system. RoSPA wants the UK clocks to stay one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time in the winter and two hours ahead in the summer. It says the move would lead to around 450 fewer deaths and serious injuries, including between 104 and 138 fewer deaths. In essence, the change would mean moving an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening so that it would not go dark so early in the winter.

In 2005, deaths and serious injuries among pedestrians rose from 609 in October to 738 in November, after the clocks had changed – this included a jump in the number of children being seriously hurt or killed from 165 to 186. The accident rate for all road users also showed a big increase with the number of people killed on the roads going up from 287 to 319.

“The extra evening daylight would increase opportunities for outdoor activity, helping to promote fitness and health”

Kevin Clinton, RoSPA’s head of road safety, says: “Ministers at the Department for Transport and the Department of Trade and Industry (which is responsible for the way clocks are changed) have accepted the road safety arguments for a change. But they remain unconvinced that there would be enough public support for a new system.

“As well as protecting vulnerable road users such as children and the elderly, who are much more at risk during dark evenings, the extra evening daylight would increase opportunities for outdoor activity, helping to promote fitness and health and tackle our growing obesity problem.

“It would save energy and fuel costs, and so reduce the UK’s energy consumption and emissions. The commerce, sports, leisure and tourism sectors of the economy would also benefit.”

Masterlease targets van drivers with secure load safety initiative

A new safety initiative has been launched by contract hire and leasing company Masterlease aimed at encouraging van drivers to “obey the laws of physics” and secure loads.

The company has some 15,000 light commercial vehicles on its books and has launched a “Fit For Purpose” campaign to encourage businesses of all sizes to ensure loads and tools are always secured. The consequences, the company argues, is that their vehicles become mobile missile launchers that could cause death or serious injury to drivers, their passengers and workmates, other road users and pedestrians.

Eddie Parker, Masterlease’s head of commercial vehicles, says: “It’s the simple law of physics. If you are carrying a simple bottle of drink, it becomes a 30kg missile if involved in an accident. If you have chisels loose in the back, the vehicle is instantly transformed into the House of the Flying Daggers.”

Crash tests have proved that when a vehicle with a payload weighing 100kg collides at 50km per hour, the load becomes 40 times its weight on impact and this would have lethal consequences as it catapulted towards the driver. Mr Parker says that with increased van numbers – there are currently three million registered in the UK but, due to an increase in internet shopping, this figure is rising by almost half a million a year – companies should add van loading to their risk management training packages.

He adds: “With corporate manslaughter regulations now a firm commitment, there is even more onus on businesses to take a long hard look at their risk management policies. “There is plenty of emphasis upon corporate driver training for van drivers, there is little or no business guidance on loading a van that includes securing consignments and tools correctly.”

Masterlease has teamed up with Bott Special Vehicle Operations, an LCV fitting specialist firm, to educate businesses on how to secure loads. Together they have produced the van of the future which, as well as including a bespoke interior that ensures tools are transferred safely, also includes new visual safety features including new high-visual luminous shapes livery graphics to replace the traditional luminous chevrons.

Brian Eldridge from Bott says: “Drivers seem to take little notice of chevrons warning of dangers on the back of vans – indeed, there is evidence that they actually attracted cars to drive closer.

“With Masterlease we have devised a more visual reminder to drive home a reminder about the dangers that vans’ contents can pose.”

Driving licence points “swapping” highlights corporate risk blind spot

Businesses must tighten up their risk procedures to make sure employees cannot engage in illegal “point-swapping” scams to avoid licence penalties and driving bans.

AA Business Services (AABS) has warned companies to be on their guard against practices such as young apprentices taking speeding points to save senior members of staff from losing their licence as part of unofficial initiation ceremonies. This is a particular problem with vans or pool cars where there is no designated driver.

“Businesses must make it clear to employees that points swapping is illegal and has serious penalties for anyone who is caught”

AABS is also concerned about drivers who have opted out of company car schemes who may pass the points to a spouse or family member. Paul Holmes, head of risk management solutions at AABS, says: “This is a worrying trend and businesses must make it clear to employees that points swapping is illegal and has serious penalties for anyone who is caught.

“Lying about who was driving is seen as ‘perverting the course of justice’ and it could evven lead to a prison sentence.” There are also serious insurance implications, Mr Holmes says: “Insurance companies view motoring offences seriously and they invariably affect insurance premiums – especially for repeat offenders. Insurers would view points swapping as fraud and could invalidate a policy in serious cases.”

Drivers hitting stationary objects costs fleets thousands, says LeasePlan

More than 1 in 10 company car drivers (11%) who file an insurance claim have hit a stationary object, according to figures from LeasePlan, the world’s largest vehicle management company.

An analysis of 11,000 claims over the last 12 months revealed that more than 1,200 of the claimants (11%) had hit a stationary object, such as a bollard, wall or parked car.

A further 5% of the drivers involved in the research hit a third party whilst manoeuvring or reversing. The LeasePlan research analysed 233 companies, with the average repair costs of the claims being around £855. These figures translate into thousands in extra costs for companies who self-insure their fleets, as well as rocketing insurance premiums for those who use an outside insurance provider.

Sarah Easton, head of managed services at LeasePlan UK, says: “By their nature, accidents are difficult to predict and so many companies see them as an unavoidable cost of business. However, these figures show that a high proportion of accidents involve simple driver errors – errors which could be avoided through steps such as more effective driver-training.

“By adopting a more comprehensive approach to duty of care and accident management, fleet managers can reduce the numbers of these accidents and control the costs of those that do occur.” To meet this growing challenge, LeasePlan has launched a new product, SafePlan, which aims to enable companies to meet their duty of care in the most appropriate and effective way possible. Working with a client, LeasePlan will undertake a review of current practices and be able to recommend which services will be a best fit for the current fleet.”

LeasePlan has also launched a micro-site designed as a resource for fleet managers to find out about their duty-of-care obligations. It can be found at www.lpdriver.co.uk/safeplan.

GE Fleet claims “most complete” fleet risk management solution

GE Commercial Finance, Fleet Services is claiming that its new fleet risk management solution, developed following an in-depth consultation process with customers, is the most complete available. The initial impetus for the product came from GE Fleet Service’s UK Customer Advisory Board, where strategic customers of the company who act as a board of advisers asked for a fleet risk management solution.

The programme is designed to address the key “asks” from these fleet customers and others – from a succinct definition of the key legislative challenges at the start of the process to assessment of current fleet performance once all the necessary measures have been put in place.

The range of services provided include policy and procedure guidance, online risk assessment and e-learning modules, one-to-one driver training, corporate safety seminars, driver licence checking, vehicle inspection and checks, and postaccident reviews.

Bad eating habits put motorists’ lives at risk

Bad eating habits leave millions of motorists feeling sluggish at the wheel, posing a risk to their own and other road users’ safety, according to the RAC’s “Food on the Move Study”.

It is a comprehensive study of eating patterns amongst 1,000 road users combined with on-the-ground interviews at motorway service stations – highlighting a number of alarming and dangerous habits which place motorists at risk:

According to government advice, planned breaks should leave motorists refreshed. However, 84% leave service stations feeling unrefreshed and 66% of motorists admit to eating less healthily during long journeys. Good intentions are quickly left behind with more than one in 10 (11%) considering junk food to be a “key part” of being on the road. The same numbers actually crave such “fast food” whilst en route.

Sian Porter, registered dietician and consultant nutritionist who carried out the research at service stations, says: “Food we eat has to be suited to activities we engage in. Few people would eat a heavy meal before exercise and this same common sense must apply to driving.”

“Dangerously few motorists understand the detrimental effects of poor-quality food on their driving”

Dangerously few motorists understand the detrimental effects of poor-quality food on their driving, almost two thirds (64%) don’t consider the effects of foods they purchase on their ability behind the wheel.

Analysing the findings, Sian Porter has highlighted popular food choices that road users should avoid in order to stay alert and reduce their chances of having an accident:

Tips to help motorists make the best food choices and maintain driving alertness include:

Ms Porter concludes: “Motorists must realise that foods high in sugar, fat and salt can quickly reduce alertness. Choosing more carefully can significantly improve safety.”

Eating and drinking at the wheel doubles crash risk

Eating or drinking at the wheel dramatically increases the risk of a car crash, according to a study by safe driver champions, Privilege Insurance.

Tests have revealed that drivers are almost twice as likely to crash when eating or drinking as when driving normally. And although drivers try to compensate for eating and drinking by driving more slowly and carefully, they are often unable to brake in enough time to avoid a collision.

Privilege’s study found that drivers’ mental workload was significantly higher when eating or drinking, suggesting that the consumption of refreshments reduces a driver’s ability to deal with other events. So, although drivers were slowing down and steering more consistently they were still not compensating enough to avoid a crash.

The experimental research was conducted on a driving simulator to uncover just how distracting eating and drinking at the wheel can be. Participants were asked to drive an urban route once without eating, and once while eating from a bag of sweets or drinking from a bottle of water at two intervals, coinciding with a pedestrian stepping into the road.

The total number of crashes doubled during the food and drink trial. Nine in ten occurred at the point the driver was eating sweets or sipping water, resulting in a collision with a pedestrian.

“The results of our experiment strongly indicate that eating or drinking while driving increases the risk of a crash”

Dr Mark Young, a researcher and lecturer from Brunel University, who carried out the study, says: “The results of our experiment strongly indicate that eating or drinking while driving increases the risk of a crash. Drivers may not perceive the risk to be any higher than other menial in-car tasks, but the impaired reactions combined with the increased workload suggest drivers should exert caution.”

The research also revealed that eating and drinking at the wheel was more common than using the outlawed hand-held mobile phone – three quarters of drivers eat and drink at the wheel, compared with just a third that use a mobile phone. It is also seen as lower risk – equivalent to putting on a seatbelt or sneezing.

Report reveals the impact kids have on a driver’s concentration

The stress levels of Britain’s mums and dads have reached new, higher proportions thanks to their kids’ bad behaviour in the car, according to a report.

Three quarters of parents do not enjoy travelling with their children and, as a consequence, lose concentration when driving, creating potentially dangerous situations on the road.

The report, commissioned to support the launch of the new “family friendly” Kia Carens, explored parents’ attitudes to driving with children in order to uncover the problems they encounter, with the highest proportion of parents complaining that their kids’ behaviour in the car ruined their concentration (59%).

Despite the fact that half the parents surveyed travel with their children every day, 56% find car trips with children barely tolerable, while one in five describe them as stressful and 1% of parents found travelling with their kids unbearable. Child psychologist Dr Stephen Briers who analysed the results for Kia, says: “However experienced you are, driving demands complex mental activity – from monitoring the road, anticipating new developments and coordinating responses accordingly.

Add to that whingeing and squabbling kids and it can feel that there simply isn’t enough ‘processing power’ to go round. This is a sure-fire recipe for stress.” He suggests that stress can have a noticeable effect on children, saying: “If they tend to behave badly in the car, the chances are that their behaviour is a reliable indicator that they are feeling under pressure as well. Unfortunately in children, stress manifests itself in ways likely to increase pressure on their parents. It is a cycle that must be broken to ensure safe travel with children.”

Kia’s “Seven Steps to Kid Heaven” – the essential principles for successful family travel however long or short the journey – are:

A Kia spokesman says: “By understanding the importance of aspects like space and comfort we can go some way to creating the safest and happiest driving experience possible.”

 

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Roadsafe Winter 2006/07