Driver Management

This is a crucial part of the Company policy. Most employees will consider themselves to be good drivers when in reality most are not as good as they think they are! Roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined. Company policy, particularly on drugs & alcohol and the use of mobile phones should be made abundantly clear. Here are some examples of the requirements that might be considered in the recruitment process:

Driving Vetting & Selection

Firstly nominate a competent person to carry out the vetting procedure and licence checks.

Many vehicle fleet operations do not have a dedicated fleet manager. Therefore, the role of vetting drivers is often delegated to supervisory staff or administrators. It is often the case that staff with this delegated responsibility have little knowledge of what they are checking for!

From experience, a typical ‘check’ by a non-fleet manager involves sight of the original driving licence, ensuring that it has ‘full’ marked on it and a photocopy being taken for recording purposes.

But does the person checking the details really know what category of licence is required for the vehicle to be driven? Also, can they recognise if the applicant’s licence has the correct categories?

To ensure that your vetting procedure is effective you might want to consider the following:

Does the checker know how many points can be accumulated before the driver loses their licence?
Do they know what a CD10 endorsement code really means?
Does the ‘checker’ know what kind of driving the job entails? Specifically, could they identify from their own knowledge and experience what type of licence/category and possibly additional training would be required to fulfil the driving requirements?

If the answer to any of the above questions is no, then your company is failing in your ‘duty of care’ obligations and may be increasing the potential for accidents to occur through lack of risk management at the vetting stage.

Driver Vetting & Selection Considerations

Authorised driver personal details
Ordinary driving licence details
LGV/LCV licence details
Use of drivers from other E.U. member states
Additional qualifications/experience
Specific details of endorsements/convictions, including suspensions
Specific details on any traffic accidents during the last 5 years
Driving experience
Specific medical conditions
Additional drivers details
References from previous employers/organisations
Drivers declaration and signature
A Highway Code test
A practical competency check in the type of vehicle to be used
Agency drivers – Recruitment

Driver Induction

A considerable number of businesses and those responsible for the operation of a company vehicle(s) are not covering one or more of the four most important risk management procedures:

New driver vetting including licence checking
Driver induction procedures
Issuing a driver handbook
Post incident investigations

Driver induction is your opportunity to confirm health and safety policy, lines of communication and procedures.

It helps new drivers get to grips with the way you like to do things, early on. Staff induction should follow a documented programme including:

Details of the company health and safety policy and arrangements
Vehicle checks and restrictions, e.g. mobile phones, authorised drivers, driving and fatigue
Guides on what to do in certain situations e.g. accidents, breakdown and reporting of defects

Commercial drivers, including agency and part-time drivers, should take a test drive as part of their induction. Where appropriate, non-commercial drivers should also take a test drive, particularly young drivers.

The induction gives drivers the information they need in case of emergencies and communicates a sense of responsibility, which will be reflected in driving standards.

The driver’s handbook is a key feature in getting these points across. Everyone who drives on company business should be given a copy, which is a key part of the induction.

Licence Checks

Licence checks should be carried out every 6 months by the fleet administrator. Drivers failing to produce their original licence (not a copy) within 14 days of request should, subject to agreement on company policy, be suspended without pay until the licence is produced. When presented with a “duplicate” licence and an explanation of why the original is not available, the DVLA should be contacted by telephone and the person who holds the licence should be present. The DVLA will carry out a security check with the licence holder and then confirm details of any endorsements.

It is essential for all duplicate licences to be checked with the DVLA. The interviewer should clearly identify any physical or mental infirmities (particularly heart or diabetes problems which might increase the risk of an accident) and new recruits should always be subject to a medical examination to incorporate an eyesight test. To ensure that any eye defects are identified the examination should be preferably carried out by a fully qualified optometrist.

Drivers Handbook

With the increasing focus on Duty of Care obligations, employers need to ensure that employees are provided with clear guidelines on their responsibilities as a goods vehicle driver. Examples of what should be considered to be included in such documents are as follows:

1. Working Times

2. Operational Duties

3. Personal

4. Attachments

5. Licences

6. Annual Licence Checks

7. Drivers Hours Regulations

8. Tachographs

9. Road Traffic Act

10. Legal Costs and Fines

11. Speeds Limits

12. Vehicle ‑ Use and Care

13. Security of Vehicles

14. Semi-Trailers

15. Cleanliness

16. Unauthorised Use

17. Unauthorised Passengers

18. Breakdowns

19. Windscreens

20. Tyres

21. Loads

22. Motor Accidents

For your free insurance review Call David J Crowther and the team on 0116 272 0770