Mechanic

Assessing risks on the road

You need to carry out a risk assessment of each of your organisation's work-related driving activities. Risk assessment sounds like a complicated business - but it is actually quite straightforward.

Most of us are subconsciously carrying out risk assessments as we go about the business of our daily lives. You’re already halfway there if you’ve ever asked yourself a question like ‘Am I likely to fall asleep at the wheel if I drive for four hours without a break?’

Before writing a risk assessment report, you need to understand the terms 'hazard' and 'risk'.

A hazard is anything that can cause harm.

Risk is the chance – great or small – that someone will be harmed by the hazard.

You can work out the risk level for each hazard by deciding:

  • How likely it is that the hazard will cause harm.
  • Whether the consequences will be high, medium or low if the hazard causes harm.

High consequence – death, serious injury, prosecution, loss of business

Medium consequence - injury, loss of staff time, loss of vehicle time, insurance and repair costs, an accident investigation

Low consequence - minor injury, paperwork and administration

When completing an assessment, be sure to involve the employees who drive for you. They have first hand experience of the activities you’re assessing and may pinpoint hazards that you haven’t considered.

Below is our step-by-step guide to risk assessing:

Step 1 - look for hazards

You are looking for anything that might cause harm when driving on public roads. Your organisation’s accident and ill health records should tell you about some hazards that have caused harm in the past.

It is likely that each of the hazards will fall under one of the following three categories and they may help you to organise your thoughts:

  • The journey eg road type, speed limits, travelling time.
  • The driver eg competence, experience, training, qualifications, health.
  • The vehicle eg suitability for task, condition, safety equipment.

Step 2 - decide who might be harmed and how

This section is likely to include include the driver, passengers and other road users. Consider if any groups – such a newly-qualified or long distance drivers - face a higher risk than others.

Step 3 -decide how to reduce or remove significant risks

Once you've decided which hazards pose a significant risk, you need to look at each one individually.

If you can’t get rid of a hazard altogether, you must find a way of reducing the risk that it causes until it is as low as reasonably practicable. In your written report, you should explain the actions you have taken to reduce or eliminate risks.

Step 4 - record your findings

Step 5 - Review your assessment and update if necessary

This should be done at regular intervals (at least once a year) and also when things change – if, for example, a new route or type of vehicle is introduced.

If you do make changes following a review, make sure your employees know about them.

For more details about our free service, contact the partnership's work driving officer Glenn Benson:

Tel: 01773 525029
email: glenn.benson@derbyshirecountypct.nhs.uk