Volunteer drivers provide a vital service for a wide range of organisations, transport groups and charities.

But how many of these employers have risk management policies in place with laid down procedures involving a comprehensive risk assessment of both the volunteer driver and their vehicle?

Voluntary organisations, just like businesses, have a duty of care under health and safety law to ensure the safety of their staff, including volunteer drivers, passengers and anyone else affected by their activities.

As a result, they should have policies in place to make sure that risks are properly identified and managed, says Fleet Support Group.

The Labour Party overcame any potential problem with its volunteer drivers during the build up to the recent general election by ensuring they were issued with a ‘Permit to Drive’.

For more than two years, 59 employees and their partners/spouses, as well as 81 occasional drivers, have been in the Permit to Drive system, which is part of the RiskMaster work-related road safety programme developed by Fleet Support Group.

During that time the Labour Party has recorded a 50% reduction in its crash rate with commensurate savings in its average insurance claim of just over £250 per incident.

More follows on page two...