Road safety charity Brake has published a new report focusing on the risks of inappropriate speed, and what steps fleet managers can take to improve the safety of the whole fleet, as well as protecting vulnerable road users.
The report also includes the results of a recent Brake survey of fleet managers, sponsored by Licence Bureau.
More than a quarter (26%) of survey respondents admitted to not knowing what proportion of their collisions involved one of their vehicles breaking the speed limit.
On-board monitoring technology can help fleet managers to collect this information, and it is being widely adopted.
Almost three quarters (61%) of managers operating a large fleet (more than 50 vehicles) said they monitored driver speed.
Vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists are put at particularly high risk by speeding drivers.
Fleet managers have a duty to ensure their drivers are driving slowly enough to protect vulnerable road users.
Encouragingly, two thirds (65%) of fleet managers surveyed said they educated their drivers on looking out for vulnerable road users.
Roz Cumming, professional engagement manager at Brake, said: "Speed is one of the biggest killers on our roads.
"Fleet managers not only have a duty to ensure the safety of their drivers, but also to protect vulnerable road users.
"Monitoring driver speed and reminding drivers to keep well within speed limits, and to slow down even further around vulnerable road users can help.
"This report shows that some fleets are already addressing this risk, but there is still more that managers can do."
Les Owen from Licence Bureau said: "We cannot deny that many of those who drive at work exceed the speed limit - many surveys support this.
"Speeding is a serious issue, not only in terms of collision frequency but correspondingly in terms of collision severity.
"Brake is addressing a real issue which can be managed.
"To reduce such risks, organisations should: have a clear policy that all employees adhere to speed limits; use realistic journey planning, taking account of congestion etc.; monitor compliance, for example through telematics; and challenge then address unsafe behaviour at both individual and organisational level."
The report is available for free to Fleet Safety Forum subscribers, or can be purchased for £5 by non-subscribers. Special offer: the first 25 non-subscribers to request the speed report will get a copy for free.
Please email admin@brake.org.uk or call +44 (0)1484 559909 to order.
Busterrabbit - 20/08/2013 12:36
Speed is not the primary factor in most accidents. Errors of judgement or inattention are more significant factors, but more difficult to prove. Anyone who drives every day sees the incredible number of people not paying attention to their driving, whether using a phone, nowadays as likely to be on facebook, twitter or emailing as actually talking. The middle lane hogger is breaking the law by "driving without reasonable consideration for other road users" and causes immense frustration on our overcrowded motorways, yet goes unpunished. Every morning I see mothers in their 4x4s spending more time talking to their kids in the back of the car than where they're going, 80% ofdrivers don't indcate correctly (if at all!) at junctions and in particular roundabouts. We all see similar actions every day and yet according to Brake it's speed that's the problem. Easier to Police, with a camera or radar gun yes, but the real problem, definitely not.