Collisions involving vehicles driven for work purposes have been estimated to cost society £4.4billion every year – the South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership (SYSRP) tells unLTD how they are helping businesses and organisations to effectively manage work-related road safety.
Did you know, before COVID-19, every week in the UK around 20 people were killed and 220 serious injuries were sustained in collisions involving someone who was driving for work?
Collisions involving vehicles driven for work purposes have been estimated to cost society £4bn each year.
The South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership (SYSRP) can help businesses and organisations to put policies and procedures in place to reduce collisions and effectively manage work-related road safety thanks to an award-winning training session.
And this is no ordinary classroom session or PowerPoint. The Safer Driving at Work initiative transports employees into an interactive scenario, featuring a mock-up fatal road traffic collision that takes participants through the collision investigation process, the court proceedings and, following the conviction of the driver for death by dangerous driving, their first day in prison.
SYSRP manager Joanne Wehrle said: “Driving is one of the most dangerous work activities your staff will undertake. It’s estimated that more than a quarter of all road traffic collisions may involve someone who is driving for work at the time.
“Employers have a legal duty to ensure that employees are not put at risk due to work-related driving activities – in the same way as any other Health and Safety issue – to protect them and non-employees alike.
“As COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease and employers start to return their operations back to ‘normal’, we are urging businesses to consider the safety of their staff who drive for work purposes.
“Our Safer Driving at Work session is designed to be hard-hitting and thought-provoking to encourage drivers to consider the far-reaching consequences for them, their families and the company if they make the wrong decisions or display the wrong behaviours while driving.”
The interactive sessions are delivered on the purpose-built set at the Lifewise Centre in Hellaby, Rotherham.
Each session is bespoke to the business, with our presenters working alongside you to tailor the content, making it specific to the individual organisation.
Information supplied, such as data about the number of on-road incidents involving company vehicles, can be used to help devise the presentations.
Organisations can also illustrate the much wider costs associated with even minor bumps and scrapes and use this on-road incident data to make ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparisons to evaluate the effectiveness of the session.
“Organisations taking part have seen real results and benefited from significant cost savings as a result of fewer on-road incidents,” added Joanne.
“While its impact is hard-hitting, it is successful in addressing attitudes and subsequent driving behaviour among employees, as shown by telematics data from company vehicles.
“Excellent feedback from participants encourages other employees to attend and helps sessions to become embedded into an organisation’s training programme, making this a ‘must attend’ event.”
Whether businesses attend a Safer Driving at Work course or not, they can help to safeguard their employees by ensuring they are competent and capable drivers and are given the correct training and instruction.
It’s also important to know drivers are sufficiently healthy to drive safely without putting themselves and other road users at risk. Ensure all vehicles (regardless of whether they’re owned by the company or the individual) that are used for work are properly maintained and fit for purpose. Finally, help to minimise risk through careful route planning and organising a realistic schedule.
In 2015 The South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership won a prestigious Prince Michael International Road Safety Award, which recognises outstanding examples of road safety initiatives from across the globe. The Safer Driving at Work initiative was singled out for particular praise in respect of sessions provided for First Group, who worked with the Safer Roads Partnership to develop courses for their bus drivers.
Joanne added: “We think that once you have attended the first session, and experienced for yourself the impact it can have on staff, you will agree that it is very cost-effective and worthwhile training and will want to purchase further sessions.”
A typical one-day course at the Lifewise Centre runs from 9am-3pm and costs from £1,525.50 + VAT for up 25 participants (includes hire of Lifewise, presenters’ fees, refreshments and simple buffet – other buffet options are available).
However, thanks to a grant from the Safer Roads Partnership, discounts are available for the first session. Talk to us about what we can offer but don’t delay – we have a set amount of grant for the year and it is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
To see a short video of what the session entails please visit: www.sysrp.co.uk/saferdrivingatwork.
For more information or to arrange a tour of the Lifewise Centre and discuss a session for your organisation, please contact: enquiries@sysrp.co.uk or 07794 074 492.
You can also follow us on social media:
Facebook: @SYSaferRoadsPartnership
Twitter: @safer_roads
Instagram: @safersouthyorks
