Legislation: the key laws fleets need to know about

There are a range of laws that fleet decision-makers need to adhere to.

These range from road safety laws such as speed limit regulations, drink- and drug-driving legislation and minimum vehicle standards to health and safety regulations in the workplace and even anti-smoking laws that apply in company vehicles.

Some of the key legislation is:

 

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

The Health and Safety at Work Act is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in Great Britain.

Employers have a ‘duty of care’ for the safety of employees at work, regardless of the type or size of business. There is also a duty of care to others who may be affected by their business activities which, in the case or driving, means all other road users.

 

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

These require a risk assessment to be carried out to identify the nature and levels of risk associated with a work activity.

Appropriate precautions need to be taken to eliminate or control these risks. A proportionate response according to the risk is required. The higher the level of risk identified through the assessment, the greater the measures that will be needed to reduce it.

Risk assessment provides the basis for safe systems of work to eliminate or reduce risks as far as possible. Safe systems of work are formal procedures which should be followed to ensure that work is carried our safely.

They are necessary where risks cannot be controlled adequately by other means. Employers must ensure that the systems of work to be followed are properly implemented and monitored, and that details have been given to those at risk.

Employers are required to carry out risk assessments, make arrangements to implement necessary measures, appoint competent people and arrange appropriate information and training.

 

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998

These regulations apply to all work equipment and they require that:

• Work equipment should be suitable for the purpose for which it is used or provided, and should be properly maintained and inspected at suitable intervals.
• Where the use of work equipment is likely to involve specific risks, the use, maintenance etc of that equipment is restricted to people given the task of using and/or maintaining it; and users, supervisors and managers have receive adequate training for purposes of health and safety, including:
• Training in the methods which may be adopted when using work equipment; any risks which such use may entail.

The regulations also require that lift trucks which carry a seated ride-on operator should be fitted with a restraining system, such as a seatbelt, if risk assessment indicates that there is a risk of the vehicle rolling over and the operator falling from the operating position and being crushed between the truck and the ground.

Regulation 9 requires that operators of rider-operated lift trucks are training to use the equipment safely.

The Regulations ensure work equipment is suitable for its intended use, safe and inspected, and properly maintained. They also require those using the equipment to be properly trained.

 

The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1996

These set out the standards for vehicles on UK roads.

 

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992

These regulations cover a wide range of basic health, safety and welfare issues such as ensuring workplaces are organised so vehicles and pedestrians can move around sites safely, including providing sufficient lighting and the organisation of traffic routes.

Drivers must also have access to welfare facilities in the premises they visit as part of their work.

 

Drivers’ hours

Even though the UK has left the EU, organisations may still need to follow EU rules on drivers’ hours and tachographs.

The EU rules apply if the maximum weight of your vehicle or vehicle combination is more than 3.5 tonnes and you’re driving either in the UK or to, from or through an EU country.

Driving hours

The main EU rules on driving hours are that you must not drive more than:

• Nine hours in a day – this can be extended to 10 hours twice a week
• 56 hours in a week
• 90 hours in two consecutive weeks
• You must record all driving you do under EU rules on a tachograph.

Breaks and rest

The main points of EU rules on breaks and rest are that you must take:

• At least 11 hours rest everyday – you can reduce this to nine hours rest three times between any two weekly rest periods
• An unbroken rest period of 45 hours every week – you can reduce this to 24 hours every other week.
• A break or breaks totalling at least 45 minutes after no more than four hours 30 minutes driving
• Your weekly rest after six consecutive 24-hour periods of working, starting from the end of the last weekly rest period taken.

If you’re driving goods vehicles on an international trip, you can take two consecutive reduced weekly rest periods (less than 45 hours) as long as these are taken:

• N outside the UK
• N outside your country of residence.

 

GB domestic rules

The GB domestic drivers hours rules apply to most passenger-carrying and goods vehicles that do not have to follow the EU rules.

If you drive a goods vehicle, there are rules you need to follow on duty time, daily driving limits and daily duty limits.

Duty time

If you work as a driver for a company, duty time is any working time. If you’re self-employed, duty time is only time you spend driving the vehicle or doing other work related to the vehicle or its load.

Daily driving limit

You must not drive for more than 10 hours in a day on a public road or off-road if not during duty time.

Off-road driving counts as duty time if it is for agriculture, quarrying, forestry, building work or civil engineering.

Daily duty limit

You must not be on duty for more than 11 hours in any working day. This limit does not apply on any working day when you do not drive.

You must record your hours on a weekly record sheet or on a tachograph.

Some vehicles are exempt from the duty limit.

You’re exempt from the daily duty limit if your vehicle weighs less than 3.5 tonnes and you are using your vehicle:

• as a doctor, dentist nurse, midwife or vet
• for inspection, cleaning or maintenance work
• as commercial travellers when carrying goods (other than personal effects) only for the purpose of soliciting orders
• while working for the AA, RAC or RSAC
• for cinematography or radio and television broadcasting .

Exemptions to all GB domestic rules

You do not need to follow the GB domestic rules if you

• are dealing with an emergency – for example, a major disruption to public services or danger to life
• are using the vehicle for private driving and not for work
• drive off-road or on private roads during duty time
• drive a vehicle used by the armed forces, police or fire brigade.

 

 

Exemptions to all GB domestic rules

You do not need to follow the GB domestic rules if you:

• are dealing with an emergency – for example, a major disruption to public services or danger to life
• drive for less than four hours a day in a week – this is only during the week you are driving less than four hours a day.
• If you drive for more than four hours for up to two days a week, you do not need to follow all of the rules. You need to:
• follow the rules for daily driving limits and length of working day.
• start and finish all your duties within a 24-hour period
• take a rest of 10 hours before the first duty and immediately after the last duty.

If you work overnight and the rules applied on the day your shift began, you must follow the rules for your entire shift – even if your shift finishes during a week in which you are exempt from the rules.

 

Road Traffic Acts, supported by the Highway Code

It is an offence for an organisation to set driver schedules that may cause them to break speed limits and/or have reward schemes that in any way incentivise them to do so.

 

Drink-driving regulations

It is against the law to drive or be in control of a vehicle if you have 80mg of alcohol or more per 100ml of blood, 35mcg per 100ml of breath or 107mg per 100ml of urine. In most other European countries, the limit is less, usually 50mg per 100ml of blood. However, the rules are currently being revised CHECK

Drug-driving

It’s illegal to drive if you are unfit to do so because you are on legal or illegal drugs, or you have certain levels of illegal drugs in your blood (even if they have not affected your driving).

The police can stop a driver and make them do a field impairment assessment if they think they are on drugs.

This is a series of tests, for example, asking the driver to walk in a straight line. The police can also use a roadside drug kit to screen for cannabis and cocaine.

If they think the driver is unfit to drive because of taking drugs, they will be arrested and have to take a blood or urine test at a police station.

Legal drugs are prescription or over-the-counter medicines. Talk to your doctor about whether you should drive if you’ve been prescribed any of the following drugs:

• amphetamine, for example dexamphetamine or selegiline
• clonazepam
• diazepam
• flunitrazepam
• lorazepam
• methadone
• morphine or opiate and opioid-based drugs, for example codeine, tramadol or fentanyl
• oxazepam
• temazepam

You can drive after taking these drugs if:

• you’ve been prescribed them and followed advice on how to take them by a healthcare professional
• they are not causing you to be unfit to drive even if you’re above the specified limits

 

Smoke-free legislation

The Smoke-free (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2006 came into force in July 2007. It banned smoking in company vehicles that are used by one or more people (as driver or passenger) in the course of paid or voluntary work, regardless of whether they are in the vehicle at the same time.

Therefore, smoking will be prohibited in all vehicles which are used primarily for business purposes by more than one person. Vehicles used primarily for private purposes only by the driver are exempt and employees can smoke in those vehicles.

 

Using a hand-held phone or sat-nav while driving

It is illegal to hold a phone or sat nav while driving or riding a motorcycle. You must have hands-free access, such as:

• a Bluetooth headset
• voice command
• a dashboard holder or mat
• a windscreen mount
• a built-in sat-nav.

The device must not block your view of the road and traffic ahead.

You can get six penalty points and a £200 fine if you use a hand-held phone when driving. You will also lost your licence if you passed your driving test in the past two years.

You can get three penalty points if you do not have a full view of the road and traffic ahead, or proper control of the vehicle

You can also be taken to court where you can:

• be banned from driving ro riding
• get a maximum fine of £1,000 (£2,500 if you’re driving a lorry or bus)

 

Tyres

The legal limit for minimum depth of the tread on tyres is 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the tread around the complete circumference of the tyre.

Lumps, bumps and bulges could mean the tyre is structurally damaged, while any cut or tear bigger than 25mm, or 10% of the tyre’s width, can mean tyres are not legal.

 

Do I need a tachograph?

Tachographs record information about driving time, speed and distance. They are used to make sure drivers and employers follow the rules on drivers’ hours.

Tachographs must be fitted to vehicles over 3.5-tonnes

If you use a smaller vehicle for towing, you’ll only need a tachograph if its total weight is more than 3.5 tonnes.