Safety pledges for business drivers

Fleet managers are being urged to encourage their drivers to sign safety pledges before the Corporate Manslaughter Act comes into force.

A number of large companies have already asked their drivers to sign documents saying that they agree to abide by the rules of the road and drive sensibly.

Although such driver pledges are primarily designed as part of a wider training programme, they also offer a double benefit by providing legal protection to organisations in the event of a health and safety investigation.

The Association of Car Fleet Operators’ (ACFO) regional secretary, Philip Somarakis, is reported as saying that businesses need to think more carefully about what their drivers are doing on the roads and getting them to sign something is a good idea.

He said the pledges are legally binding in the sense of being evidence that a fleet manager has acted in a diligent way towards his driver.

Whilst the pledges do not absolving employers of their duty-of-care responsibilities, they do serve as evidence, in the eyes of the law, that a company has put a particular driver through training and done its best to honour its obligations.

Template pledges are available from the road safety charity Brake.