New guidance issued to stay safe on the road

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) launches new guidance aimed at helping self-employed ‘gig economy’ and lone workers who spend a significant amount of time on the road.
The main focus of the guidance is the importance of staying safe while driving:

• Safe vehicles
  • Vehicle condition
  • Safe loading
• Journey planning and driver fatigue
• Fitness to drive
  • Eyesight
  • Alcohol
  • Drugs and medicines
  • Illness
• Safe driving
  • Speed
  • Seatbelts
  • Driving at night

The guidance is aimed at helping professional, self-employed workers, such as couriers and taxi drivers, who are less likely to work traditional fixed hour work patterns.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that driving is one of the most dangerous activities that a person can do. People who drive for work (e.g. consultants, delivery drivers, etc.) are more likely to be involved in a crash as they are constantly exposed to the risks involved with road travel.

The guidance also includes a reminder that handling a phone while driving is prohibited. This may be problematic for many professional drivers who use their phones to monitor workload or to communicate with customers/clients.

If you would like to read RoSPA’s guidance, it can be found here.

Note: As a reminder, don’t forget that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published a ‘Driving at Work’ guideline, stating that on-the-road work activities should be managed effectively within a health and safety system. This can be found here.