13 Feb Driving for Work Campaign
The Road Safety Authority (RSA), Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and An Garda Síochána have launched a joint TV led campaign to underline the importance of putting proper measures in place to ensure the safety of all employees who drive for work. This includes both professional drivers and those who drive as part of their job.
It is estimated that 1 in 3 road collisions every year involve people who were driving for work at the time of the collision. This means that up to 63 lives could have been lost in work related road collisions in Ireland in 2016.
If an employee is driving for work it is the responsibility of their employer to ensure they have a driving for work policy in place to minimise the risks faced by their employees while on the road. The new campaign directs employers and employees looking for information on mitigating driving for work risks to the website www.drivingforwork.ie
While drivers are responsible for how they drive, the employer has a duty to the employee to make driving for work as safe as possible. Ultimately, employers have a duty of care to ensure that all work-related journeys are safe, members of staff are able to drive safely, and all vehicles and associated equipment are fit for use. All employees who drive for work should be provided with information, instruction, and proper training to ensure they are aware of the risk in driving for work to encourage them to actively mitigate all risk.
The Health and Safety Authority has developed a free online course on “Managing Driving for Work” in partnership with An Garda Síochána and the Road Safety Authority. The objective of the course is to educate employers about the risks associated with driving for work and how to manage employees, vehicles and work related journeys to prevent collisions on the road. The course can be accessed at www.drivingforwork.ie
Further detail on this campaign can be found here on the RSA’s website and the new advertisement can be viewed here. Further information on driving for work can be found at www.drivingforwork.ie
Source: rsa.ie