Duty of Care requirements when running your vehicle fleet
If you run one vehicle or more, and you are a company entity, you need to be aware of the complex Corporate Risk legislation affecting your business.
There are numerous pieces of legislation around this subject and you should ensure you have a comprehensive road risk assessment plan for your organisation.
This risk assessment plan should cover any employees that are known or believed to be driving at work in a company car or van, their own vehicle (grey fleet) or in a daily rental vehicle.
Key legislation includes;
- Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
- The Provision of Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
- The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986.
- The Workplace( Health and Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
- Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2008
- The Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008
The Government Department of Transport and Health and Safety Executive has published a useful publication to help you at: 
www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg382.pdf
The BVRLA (British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association) has also produced a useful Guide to Driving at Work document that covers all aspects of Health and Safety in the workplace.
The guide can be found at the Advice and Guidance section on their website.
Or our Contract Hire Partners will be happy to help and advise you on any questions regarding your duty of care responsibilities.
Are you currently compliant? Ask yourself these questions and if you answer no to any then you need to seek professional advice.
- Do you have a written health and safety policy that includes your vehicle fleet?
- Is your health and safety policy audited annually by you and continuously improved?
- Do you issue your drivers with a vehicle handbook containing the details of your policies or procedures?
- When leasing new vehicles do you investigate which are best for driving and for public safety?
- Do you have an accurate database for recording the drivers employed, vehicles and maintenance?
- Are your policies and procedures being followed correctly and how do you measure this?
- Are your policies and procedures adequate to protect you from all current legislation?
- Do you monitor actual driving hours per day, week and month?
- How do your drivers plan routes so that the safest routes are taken and do you allow realistic time for driver breaks, congestion and weather changes?
- Do you have a policy in place to govern safe and legal usage of mobile phones or satellite navigation devices whilst driving a car or van?
- Do you regularly check driving licences and the insurance details of all employees who drive cars or vans in connection with their work?
- Do you check whether your drivers are still healthy to drive i.e. their eyesight is okay or other medical ailments that may affect or impair their driving?
- Have your drivers been provided with training in the correct action to be taken in an emergency e.g. collision, breakdown, or if they feel unwell?
- Can you ensure that all your company vehicles are safe and roadworthy at all times including proving information on correct tyre pressures, head-light adjustment, working brakes etc?
- Have you got an audit trail to demonstrate all of the above?
Duty of care is a complex matter so ask for further information from one of our contract hire leasing finance partners, who will be able to help you formulate your own policy.
Compare Contract Hire Ltd cannot be held responsible in any way concerning the accuracy of the above information