Work vehicle accidents

The Department of Transport's annual Road Casualties Great Britain 2005 statistics have revealed that 'work vehicles' were involved in over 54,000 accidents in 2005 or 150 per day.

According to the DTI's road traffic statistics a quarter of crashes involve vehicles being driven for work-related reasons, with one in seven vehicles (15%) being driven for work, and a further 9% involved in crashes being driven either to, or from, work.

Jools Townsend, Head of fleet safety at national road safety charity Brake, comments:

"Road safety campaigners have suspected for many years that a large proportion of road crashes involve people driving for work. These figures demonstrate how important it is that, firstly, the Government takes corporate responsibility for at-work driving seriously and, secondly, all employers take the life-savings steps of educating employees on safe driving and effectively managing their road risk."

Response to high number of vehicle work accidents

In Workplace Law's Driving at Work 2007: Law and Practice Special Report the chapter 'Driving at work policies' looks at what a policy should contain and how that should be effectively communicated to employees.

The chapter comments: "policies are difficult documents to create, as they need to be short enough for employees to read - and sign to say they have read them - but long enough to show the company is taking safety seriously ... employees must understand that the policy is not just a piece of paper, but a live policy that is enforced by management, including any penalties that have been set down."

Workplace Law's Driving at Work 2007: Law and Practice Special Report can help you understand the law surrounding, and your obligations regarding, driving at work. Written by experts in the field, the special report is packed with extensive, up-to-date, high-level research and provides a unique insight into practical measures required to comply with the law.

If you or someone you know has been effected by a similar incident, our solicitors can help claim for compensation. Fill in our online claims form for free advice.