httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD09R2JynkY Professional Drivers in Sussex were targeted recently in a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers faced by business drivers on the roads and Paul Gibson joined Sussex Police on the launch of the campaign.
More than four thousand drivers were stopped by Sussex Police in a one day exercise to drive home the message to business owners of their obligations under the Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act. COSTS, the Company Operator Safer Transport Scheme, has been specifically developed to address the dangers faced by business drivers on the roads of Sussex.
Between April 2007 and March 2008, more than 1,600 business drivers were involved in road traffic incidents on the roads of Sussex that led to injury or even death and, by targeting business owners and fleet managers, who have specific obligations set out in law, the campaign was aimed at promoting safer driving principles at all levels and reducing the death toll on Sussex’s roads.
The COSTS project focused on the implications of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2008, under which company owners, who have neither developed an occupational road risk plan nor driven its implementation, can be jailed for manslaughter, if one of their employees is involved in a fatal collision. Police provided owners and fleet managers with information regarding their responsibilities, as well as the opportunity to assess the support that they need to develop and implement an occupational road risk policy.
Sergeant Paul Masterson, from Sussex Police, told me, “If you employ somebody, you have an obligation to ensure that they are being safe and responsible, while on the road, and, if you have not put policies and procedures in place to cover yourself, it could result in you facing a court appearance for an offence one of your drivers has committed on the road.”
He added, “In these difficult times, there are so many things for business owners to be worrying about and, perhaps the use of their vehicles isn’t high on their list of priorities at the moment, but they really do need to consider the fact that, with the change in the law, they will be held as responsible, if anything happens to one of their drivers.”
Of the 1,600 accidents recorded, 17 involved a loss of life, 224 people were seriously injured and 1,416 suffered slight injuries. Apart from the sheer human toll, businesses will have had to pay out for vehicle repairs, insurance excesses and may have had to cover staff absences as well, something that, in these economically difficult times, few firms can afford to do, with any confidence.