‘Health & Safety’ Archive

Fleet News 18/08/2010

The latest company car trends report from GE Capital Fleet Services, in the UK, suggests that smaller fleets are neglecting their duty of care obligations.

When it comes to risk management and duty of care, many smaller fleet operators have failed to recognise the importance of these issues compared to their larger counterparts, claims GE Capital Fleet Services.

Just over three in five (63%) see the significance of duty of care, a marked difference from the three-quarters (76%) of larger fleets that deem this important. Furthermore, a little over half of smaller fleet managers (56%) are actively taking action to ensure they have a risk management programme, in comparison to seven in ten (70%) of larger fleets who already have a solution.

The study has also shown that just one third of operators (33%) looking after fleets of under 100 vehicles currently consider driver training to be important – in contrast to one in two (50%) managers of fleets sized with more than 100 vehicles. In addition, less than three in ten (27%) small fleets actively have a solution in place to train their drivers, and one quarter (25%) have no concrete plans to ensure that their drivers are sufficiently trained in the future. This is in comparison to nearly three in five (57%) of larger fleets already having a driver training scheme in operation, while only one in seven (13%) have neither a solution nor plans in place.

Gary Killeen, UK fleet commercial leader, GE Capital Fleet Services, said:  “It is somewhat alarming to see the failure by many small fleet operators to recognise the value of duty of care and driver training. While times are tight for many companies, safety, training and ultimate duty of care should be of the highest priority. What’s more, at a time when financial considerations are to the fore, an effective duty of care programme can be as much about delivering cost savings as it is about health and safety.”

Fleet News, 13/07/10

Fleet managers and decision makers are losing out financially by overlooking safety, says RoadSafe.

Research by eSafetyAware, shows 60% of fleet managers in the UK believe safety is an important consideration when procuring vehicles. However, further responses in the survey of more than 100 fleet managers and decision makers in the UK, show many are not acting on their beliefs.

Less than a third (28%), said they look for a Euro NCAP rating when purchasing cars and vans. Only 42% said their policies considered duty of care. 41% said there were no requirements for specific safety equipment in vehicles, and substantial numbers were unaware of, or uninterested in, the latest electronic safety technologies.

In the UK, more than 150 vehicles driven on company business crash each day. Every year, an estimated 7000 deaths and injuries on UK roads involve at-work drivers. Business pays for this.

Adrian Walsh, RoadSafe director, says, “Fleet decision makers rightly focus on driver behaviour, but many seem to overlook the importance of buying or leasing safe vehicles.

“They must look out for those equipped with the latest technology, such as Electronic Stability Control, and those with the highest Euro NCAP ratings. There is a strong business case for investing in eSafety in fleets. Evidence from our campaign partners proves this.”

RoadSafe runs the government-backed campaign, Driving for Better Business. The programme is supported by organisations, which recognise the benefits of procuring vehicles with eSafety systems.

Arval UK is one such business. The fleet and fuel management company only purchases vehicles for its drivers that have ESC, and it provides a strong business case for employing eSafety.

Between 2007 and 2009, the number of incidents in Arval’s fleet fell from 40% to 25%. Since 2003/04, this ongoing decline has helped cut fleet repair costs by more than 50%.

Arval says investment in eSafety technologies has helped to achieve this. Compulsory extras in its fleet already included Advanced Braking Systems and reverse parking sensors, and in July 2008, ESC was also made a mandatory safety feature on all new company cars.

Arval fleet & road safety manager, Tracey Scarr, says, “Around 40% of fatal road accidents are a result of skidding and studies show that ESC will dramatically reduce this. Obviously, there is no substitute for careful driving, but this is a valuable safety feature that will help reduce the risk of death or serious injury for our drivers.

“The benefits are broad as ESC does not just make drivers safer, it also helps fleets meet their ongoing duty of care responsibilities, and reduce their accident costs. With this in mind we believe that fleets should be making the technology a standard requirement when selecting vehicles.”

The Irish Times – Wednesday, March 24, 2010

COMMERCIAL VEHICLE drivers should be subject to specialised drink driving enforcement as they are more likely to be involved in a collision that results in a death – based on kilometres travelled – than other motorists.

The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) in a report, Drink Driving in Commercial Transport , said that even though commercial drivers were less likely to drink and drive than private motorists, the size and weight of lorries, trucks and buses meant crashes involving such vehicles were more likely to result in a fatality.

Along with stricter enforcement, the ETSC has also called for alcohol ignition locks to be installed in the vehicles of first-time drink driving offenders found significantly over the limit.

The ETSC cited research collated by the European Traffic Police Network (Tispol) which gathered data on the prevalence of drink driving from national police forces, including An Garda Síochána, in June last year.

It found the percentage of all driving journeys associated with alcohol – including commercial and private vehicles – ranged from 0.2 per cent in Norway to 8 per cent in Cyprus.

In Ireland it was over 3 per cent. According to the ESTC, “while the prevalence of drink driving among commercial drivers is lower than for drivers of private cars, it can be expected that they follow a similar pattern when it comes to differences between countries”.

The ETSC used the example of the UK where research shows that for every 200 million miles travelled by HGVs they are involved in three fatal crashes, while buses and coaches are involved in four. The equivalent figure for cars is less than two.

According to the Road Collision Facts 2008, published by the RSA, 82 commercial and public service vehicles were involved in a fatal crash that year, compared to 234 cars. That year, 279 people were killed on the roads.

As far back as 2001, the European Union recommended the allowable blood alcohol limit for commercial drivers be reduced at 20mg.

While states are free to set their own limits, the EU said a 50mg limit should be the highest allowable.

Ireland, the UK and Malta are the only states in the EU 27 to still have an 80mg limit.

Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey decided to reduce the alcohol levels for drivers last year and also to introduce a 20mg/mls limit for professional drivers.

The legislation providing for these changes, the Road Traffic Bill 2009, is due to come before the Dáil this term.

Among the other recommendations in the ETSC report is that testing for drink driving form part of every police checkpoint for driver behaviour and that all collisions dealt with by police lead to a mandatory alcohol test for the drivers.

This recommendation is subtly different to the approach being taken by the Department of Transport.

The Road Traffic Bill 2009 provides for mandatory testing at crashes where someone is injured.

Road safety agencies including Public Against Road Carnage (Parc) have called instead for mandatory testing of all drivers at crash sites.

The Irish Times, Wednesday 24th February 2010

Hyundai Motor will recall 47,000 of its new Sonata sedans to fix faulty door latches, seeking to avoid the damaging criticism Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp faces for its handling of a series of safety problems.

The South Korean automaker announced the voluntary recall after earlier saying it would suspend US sales of its 2011 Sonata, a move analysts said was in contrast to Toyota’s sluggish response to concerns about sudden unintended acceleration.

“Recalls have become a highly sensitive issue since Toyota’s recall,” said Yim Eun-young, an analyst at Dongbu Securities. “Hyundai seems to have decided to deal with these issues as fast as they can.”

Hyundai, which was the only major automaker to increase sales in the battered US market last year, has targeted Toyota customers rattled by the acceleration problems linked to dozens of crashes and the recall of more than 8.5 million vehicles.

Shares in Hyundai Motor fell as much as 4.3 per cent in early trading and ended down 2.6 per cent versus a 1 per cent drop in the wider market. The stock had risen 13 per cent since Toyota’s recall woes spiralled in January.

Stephen Ahn, auto analyst at LIG Investment & Securities in Seoul, said the recall would undermine Hyundai’s image at a time when customers were sensitive to quality following Toyota’s mass recall. “But given that the flawed part is a not a key function such as the accelerator, powertrain or electronic controls, it will have little impact on Hyundai’s sales,” he said.

The Sonata and Elantra are the two top selling models for Hyundai.

“We have upgraded quality problems to a safety problem and decided to make a voluntary recall,” the company said in an emailed statement in Korean.

The recall will affect about 1,300 of the 2011 Sonata sedans built through February 16th at Hyundai’s plant in Alabama and sold to customers, plus 46,000 YF Sonata units produced through December 6th in South Korea. The new model started to be sold from September 2009 in South Korea and this month in the United States.

Hyundai notified dealers late on Monday of potential faults in the front-door latches of the new model that could affect 5,000 vehicles, and the stop-sale order was put into effect at US dealers on yesterday, a spokesman said.

It will notify South Korea’s transport ministry and the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this week of the decision to recall the cars in March. The company said it received complaints from customers but no reports of accidents or injuries related to the model.

The South Korean automaker is targeting 4.5 per cent market share in the United States this year, helped by popular new product launches and aggressive marketing.

Hyundai plans to launch the new Accent and a revamped Elantra this year, which competes against the Corolla and Honda’s Civic.

With the new models, Hyundai aims to increase global sales in 2010 by 11 per cent to 3.46 million vehicles.

Hyundai’s US sales rose 8.3 per cent to 435,064 units in 2009, while industrywide US sales fell 21 per cent. Its US market share increased to 4.2 per cent from 3 per cent in 2008.

The Irish Times, Feb 1st 2010

Toyota will today outline plans on fixing the accelerator pedals behind a series of crashes and the global recall of millions of vehicles as it scrambles to put its worst public relations crisis behind it.

Toyota, whose reputation of quality and reliability helped it overtake General Motors as the world’s top car maker, is facing criticism of moving too slowly to address a sometimes deadly problem of unintended acceleration in many of its cars.

Including recalls in China and Europe, some 7.9 million Toyota vehicles are up for repair globally, including a separate problem involving floor mats and pedals.

Toyota, which reports its third-quarter results on Thursday, has been forced to halt sales of eight recalled models in North America, including the top-selling Camry, until it comes up with a fix.

Yesterday, Toyota also kicked off a media blitz with full-page ads in major US newspapers alerting consumers to the recall and production shutdown that will last at least a week.

The recall, which covers almost 1.9 million cars in Europe and China that use faulty accelerator pedals made by U.S. supplier CTS Corp, has spread to some PSA Peugeot Citroen cars made at a joint Toyota-PSA factory in the Czech Republic.

Toyota said today an unknown number vehicles in the Middle East were also fitted with defective accelerators, but the problems seen elsewhere were unlikely to occur there because of the difference in climate.

Toyota said it was studying the necessary remedy for the two models in the Middle East.

The remedy being readied by Toyota and CTS elsewhere involves a shim, also called a spacer, that will be placed in the accelerator to keep it from sticking when affected by condensation, sources said.

Fears of a heavy and protracted blow to Toyota’s sales and bottom line have knocked off about $20 billion from its market value in the last week.

Reuters

With the cold weather set to continue, the SIMI is urging all motorists to take extreme care on our icy roads by taking on board these simple tips.

Before you begin your journey

• Check local weather and traffic reports
• Plan your route on major roads were possible as these are more likely to have been gritted

Checks

Tyres

• It is important that your tyre pressure is correct as tyre pressure decreases in colder weather and this affects traction. Check your tyre pressure when tyres are cold so that they correspond to your manufacturer’s specifications (found in manual or door pillar)
• Ideally tread depth should be in the region of 3mm as deeper tread depth is more effective in clearing water on the roads
  Windows
• Don’t use water to defrost your windows. Hot water can crack your screen and it will just re–freeze as it cools, either on the screen or on the ground where you’re standing, which could prove dangerous. Use a scraper and de-icer  instead.
• Make sure wipers are in good condition and use screenwash with the proper additive, washing up liquid will foam up and can reduce visibility.

Lights

• Check that all your lights are working and make sure your headlights are properly aimed
• Clear any dirt or snow from headlights

Fuel

• Make sure you have plenty of fuel as you may need to reroute

Driving safely on icy roads

• Ensure your headlights are on
• Pull off in second gear
• Don’t tailgate – stopping distances are 10 times longer in ice/snow
• Avoid overtaking
• When driving on the flat, stay in the highest gear possible
• When driving downhill, choose 3rd or 4th gear
• Be particularly careful on tree-lined roads. Trees prevent the sun’s rays from reaching the road which could be still icy when everywhere else has thawed. Also, black ice is common in shaded areas
• Reduce speed on turns to prevent skidding
• If you are skidding/spinning, gently turn the wheel in the same direction as the skid
• If you see an icy patch ahead, brake before it
• Is your car front or rear wheel drive?
• Front-wheel drives handle better in ice and snow
• Rear-wheel drives can result in excessive sliding on corners 

ABS/no ABS?

• ABS will automatically prevent wheels from locking
• If you do not have ABS, gently but rapidly pump the brakes when the road is slippery
• Do not ‘jam’ on your brakes if you begin to slide as it may cause your wheels to lock and your car to spin

From SIMI

Fleet News, 25/09/09

High mileage business drivers who use high energy drinks to keep them going have been warned by IAM Fleet and Drive & Survive there could be hidden dangers in relying on caffeine drinks.

The US National Safety Commission (NSC) has issued an alert for those driving under caffeine intoxication, similar to warnings associated with drinking alcohol and driving.
Research has shown that just an hour after drinking a highly caffeinated and sugared drink, tired drivers can experience serious lapses in concentration and slower reaction times as the drink wears off.

Excessive caffeine consumption can cause similar symptoms to alcohol intoxication according to the American Food and Drink Administration (FDA) which has attributed symptoms such as irritability, nervousness, irregular or rapid heartbeat, muscle twitching and rambling speech to what it terms “caffeine intoxication”.

Managing director of IAM Fleet and Drive & Survive, Seb Goldin, said: “Having a high-caffeine drink is a one-off hit – you can’t repeat it, as this type of drink does not produce the same effect in a couple of hours’ time.”

Road Safety Authority & Health and Safety Authority Launch new ‘Driving for Work Guidelines’

Up to one third of all road collisions involve drivers who are using their vehicle for work. This means that around 100 people die in work related road crashes in Ireland each year.

This was the disturbing fact revealed at an International Conference on ‘Road Safety At Work’, which was hosted jointly by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) in Dublin Castle on Monday 15th June 2009.

The purpose of the conference, which features national and international speakers, was to inform employers of their responsibilities within the area of road safety, provide research and statistics on the incidence of work related road trauma, present successful employer case studies, and launch the RSA and HSA’s new ‘Driving for Work Guidelines’.

According to Noel Brett, CEO, Road Safety Authority, “The development of driving for work guidelines, a requirement in the Government’s Road Safety Strategy, will assist employers manage their staff’s road safety. It provides an overview of legislation, how to carry out risk assessments and highlights the significant benefits for businesses and the wider community when work related road safety is managed effectively.”

“Managing staff safety, while driving for work, makes good business sense, especially in the current economic climate as it protects staff and business profits. For example, for every €1 claimed on insurance, arising from work related road incidents, companies may have to pay a further €8 to €36 for uninsured losses.” He said.

The guidelines, published in CD Rom format are available free of charge from both the RSA and the HSA.

RSA Website 15th June 2009

A Grey Fleet relates to vehicles that are driven on company business related journeys but are not provided by the company. These would include privately owned vehicles or vehicles funded through an allowance.

Employers owe the same duty of care under Health & Safety legislation to employees driving their own vehicles for work, as they do to staff driving company vehicles. Companies need to ensure that ‘Grey Fleet’ drivers are no more at risk than if they were driving a company car.

Written Policy
Make sure that you have a detailed policy document in place that includes clear advice regarding the levels of maintenance and safety checks that you expect drivers to follow for vehicles that are used for work.

Ensure that all drivers receive a copy of this document and that they understand what is expected of them.

Driving Licenses
It is important that the company checks driving licenses regularly to ensure that they are in date and free from endorsements. Companies should also insist that they are made aware of any penalty points or endorsements, eg drink driving convictions

Insurance
It is vital that employees have the correct level of insurance cover for at-work driving in their own vehicle under their own policy. Companies should request a copy of the insurance certificate.

A Gloucestershire-based company has become the first to be charged under the Corporate Manslaughter Act since it came into force in April of last year

The company charged is Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings and this is following the death of a geologist on September the 5th 2008.

Charges have been brought against both the company and a director. If the company is convicted of the corporate manslaughter offence it faces unlimited fines. It could also face fines under health & safety legislation. Peter Eaton, a director of the company, has also been personally charged with the offence of gross negligence manslaughter and also with an offence under the Health & Safety at Work Act. In convicted on the manslaughter charge, Mr Eaton could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Fleets are even more venerable from a corporate manslaughter conviction through the actions of their ‘Grey Fleet’. The ‘Grey Fleet’ relates to any vehicles that are driven on business related journeys that are outside of the company-provided scheme. This includes vehicles funded by an allowance or where employees are paid an allowance. ‘Grey Fleets’ should always be included in any risk assessment programme as this is often where a company is most venerable.