Driving safety:
Prevent workplace accident

Among work-related accidents, road accidents are generally the most serious. Driver safety is not only a concern for professional drivers, but also for all working people who use their cars to get to work. Road accidents can have both irreversible consequences for the worker and his or her family and can be detrimental to the company’s business. It is therefore essential to assess these risks and implement actions to limit them.

Assessing road risks to control them

The assessment of road risks is the starting point for the prevention process that is the responsibility of every employer. This identification must enable the employer to have an overall view of the risks within his company.

Generally speaking, driver safety covers all the risks associated with travel by employees in the course of their work. A distinction is generally made between

The road risk assessment can be carried out in several stages:

• Carry out an inventory of journeys: duration of journeys, working hours, types and characteristics of vehicles, traffic conditions, weather conditions, etc.
• Analyse trips and identify exposed employees: planning, organisation, etc.
• Examine the motives and characteristics of trips.
• Analyse accidents that have occurred in recent years

The involvement of all employees, particularly during the inventory, makes it possible to draw up an analysis that is particularly faithful to the company and its activity. This is all the more important as the stakes linked to risk assessment can be high for the company: preserved social climate, internal cohesion, controlled insurance premiums, guaranteed productivity, etc.

Preventing road risks

The prevention approach is a factor in the personal and professional development of employees. It helps to anticipate professional wear and tear, build employee loyalty and promote well-being at work. Preventing road risk means taking into account the drivers, the organisation of journeys and the condition of vehicles. The actions to be implemented may concern the management and organisation of human and material resources. There are four main areas, covering all the problems encountered by companies:

Work organisation

Planning the activity makes it possible to promote safe driving. The organisation of work rhythms, the notification of working hours, more regular working hours, allow for a family and social life and regularity in eating and sleeping. The mental load can be reduced by reducing the monotony of tasks. The overall management and planning of travel by the company is a decisive factor in reducing road risk. 

The vehicles choice

Whether in terms of equipment or ergonomics, the choice of appropriate vehicles represents a key point of success in the prevention of road risks. The vehicle must be fitted out and equipped according to the needs of the employees and the loads to be transported: 

• Separation between the driving compartment and the load
• Securing and distribution of loads,
• Vehicle capacity and power 

In addition to the choice of vehicles, companies that have a fleet must set up an organisation that ensures that vehicles are well maintained to limit road risks. 

Medical monitoring 

An annual medical check-up allows the compatibility of the state of health with the requirements of driving a vehicle to be verified. A certain number of employees must benefit, after evaluation, from reinforced medical monitoring: X-rays of the lumbar spine on a case-by-case basis for employees exposed to vibrations, blood tests including Gamma GT (screening for alcoholism), audiometry, etc.

Staff training 

Finally, it is essential to involve staff by raising awareness of driver safety. These awareness-raising actions can take the form of road risk training, information campaigns, events, safety meetings, etc. 

Although it is the employer’s responsibility to implement prevention solutions adapted to road risks, it is the employees’ responsibility to take them into consideration. A successful prevention policy necessarily requires the involvement of all employees. As a specialist in training and safety induction, EaySAFE offers e-learning modules to make your teams aware of driver safety. Discover them!

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