Analysis: Save lives – and money

Compared to other work environments, almost three times as many employees are killed or are seriously injured while driving on company business.

It is estimated that between 800 and 1,000 people die, and 90,000 to 118,000 are seriously injured in work-related road accidents each year in the UK.

“Around a third of all road accidents involve people driving for work and for every death there is an associated cost to the economy,” said Seb Goldin, managing director at the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

“By managing the risks of driving for work, avoidable costs can begin to be controlled and employers can play their part in both demonstrating their duty of care and an auditable compliance to recent legislation, while reducing the number of needless road deaths. Driver training is an essential part of this.”

Advanced training and careful, well-prepared assessment and monitoring techniques, can help drivers develop their skills, significantly reducing their chance of being involved in a crash.

And those benefits can also extend to the balance sheet with smarter driving also saving companies up to £220 a year in fuel for each vehicle, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

But Dr Will Murray, research director at Interactive Driving Systems, argued that driver training is “not the be all and end all of road safety”.

“In our view, it is one element of a holistic program focusing on company culture, drivers, vehicles, managers, journeys, routes and the company’s role in the communities in which it operates,” he said.

It’s an approach Tesco.com instigated and one which has nearly halved its crash rate per vehicle nearly halved, despite fleet growth of 25% in the past two years, saving it an estimated
£3.5 million.