Vehicle safety scheme appoints business champions
Almost 50 public and private sector fleets, including many of the UK’s leading commercial vehicle operators and Mercedes-Benz UK, are in the vanguard of a Government-backed drive to reduce the number of road crashes involving at-work drivers.
As ‘business champions’ for the Driving For Better Business campaign, they're showcasing their own best practice and encouraging other organisations to adopt safe driving management policies.
They include The Royal Mail, BT, Centrica, TNT Express, Tesco.com, Balfour Beatty Plant & Fleet Services, Atkins, Scottish & Southern Energy, United Utilities Operational Services, Wolseley and Britain’s largest vehicle rental company, Northgate, which operates a van-dominated fleet.
 Campaign director Caroline Scurr said: “Many of our business champions have found the guides on the Van Best Practice website useful and we actively encourage others to refer to the information. They’re an excellent example of some of the free advice available to van operators of all sizes.
“Evidence from the business champions supports a significant weight of industry research that concludes that investing in safety delivers financial savings of at least 30% from reductions in crash rates. Simultaneously, a safe driver is likely to be driving in a more environment-friendly manner and delivering further savings in fuel and emissions.
“All fleet operators should be striving to bring avoidable costs under control. Effective management of those who drive for work is an important element of general management - if it isn’t addressed properly, the negative impact on profit can be very significant.”
Among the key errors that van drivers make that result in road crashes are:
- Driving too fast for the road and weather conditions, or exceeding speed limits.
- Carrying loads that are too large or too heavy for the vehicle.
- Driving when tired.
- Failing to conduct regular vehicle safety checks.
The Van Best Practice programme has already launched a range of guides to help van fleets to improve safety, cut running costs and reduce environmental impact. Further publications are in the pipeline.
  
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