Employers to set road safety rules

ALMOST HALF of all employers have no "driving for work policy", leaving them partly liable for up to 100 road deaths and many times that number of serious injuries each year, according to the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

The RSA, which recently launched guidelines for employers, said there were "massive implications" for the 42 per cent of employers who fail to set a safe usage policy for company cars, or private cars used on a mileage basis by employees.

The RSA, in partnership with the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), warned that though employers appeared to be broadly aware of their obligations in regard to providing safe vehicles and limitations to drivers' hours when it came to vans, lorries and trucks, there was widespread ignorance of obligations to other employees who use road vehicles for work.

RSA spokesman Brian Farrell said middle management personnel in particular were often expected to drive long distances for conferences and seminars. He said this frequently involved driving for six or more hours a day, on top of an eight-hour working day.

In addition to the new guidelines, both authorities are now contacting individual employers to ascertain their level of compliance - and even knowledge of their obligations - under existing health and safety legislation.

While little research has been carried out in the Republic, safety authorities in the UK have found company cars are involved in up to 40 per cent more collisions than ordinary cars. This finding was based only in part on increased time on the road, but also on fatigue and lazy driver habits, said Farrell.

The RSA said up to 100 people using work-related vehicles are killed each year, comprising more than one-third of the Republic's annual road deaths.

But the HSA added that if figures on site-related vehicle incidents in places such as construction sites were included, the death and injury rate would be more severe. Farrell said employers can be held "partly responsible for the 100 road deaths" and revealed the RSA is talking to the HSA and the Garda about enforcement.

RSA chief executive Noel Brett said many employers failed to fulfil their legal obligations to ensure the safety of those who work for them in vehicles. He said the authorities' guidelines on driving for work are available on CD from rsa.ie.

"For every €1 claimed on insurance arising from work-related road incidents, companies may have to pay a further €8-€36 for uninsured losses," said Brett.