Work-Related Road Accidents – The UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimates that around a third of all road traffic accidents in Britain each year involve someone who was driving as part of their work duties. This equates to roughly 20 fatalities and 250 serious injuries per week, underlining the critical nature of fleet safety and compliance.
Research conducted by RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) found that companies can reduce accident rates by up to 20-40% through proper risk management and driver safety policies, which includes regular licence checks.
This means that businesses allowing employees to drive on their behalf face a heightened risk. Accidents do happen, and in many cases, they occur because of human error or lack of proper management. Checks get missed, documents expire, and drivers may even continue driving when they are not legally qualified to do so.
With central Government’s increasing focus on Duty of Care and corporate manslaughter, it is predicted that fleet operators will need to take action to ensure that their policies and monitoring systems will stand up to external scrutiny in the event of a serious accident involving employees on company business.
In the event of a worst-case scenario, where a fatal incident has occurred involving an employee without a valid licence, the employer would be required to provide evidence of the policies and procedures in place to try and prevent such an occurrence. A poor policy or substandard implementation could lead to an element of responsibility falling on the company or its relevant managers/directors under Duty of Care obligations. The best defence is, therefore, a robust and well-managed policy, which checks that all employees hold a valid licence and are eligible to drive the vehicles being used for company business. Such an approach should protect the company and its managers/directors, should the worst happen.
When evaluating risk under Duty of Care and health and safety legislation, many companies believe that having a detailed written policy is enough in itself. In reality, the policy is merely a guiding principle or statement of intent to address the potential risk, and as such, the existence of a clear policy in itself is not adequate.
A clear and unambiguous monitoring and control system must be implemented, to ensure that policy and practice meet the aims of ensuring that all drivers are checked for eligibility to drive the category of vehicle they operate. There must be demonstrable procedures and records that clearly show that some form of licence check is carried out on a regular basis and that where any checks have been omitted or have brought to light unacceptable risks, action has been taken to address the situation.
The potential costs associated with an accident involving an employee who turns out to be without a valid driving licence, particularly where a fatality has occurred, can be astronomical. In addition to the human tragedy, the company could find members of its management team or board of directors held liable, as well as the company being prosecuted under Duty of Care, and health and safety legislation. In addition, the amount of management time involved in accident investigations would be significant.
The Risks of Non-Compliance
Allowing an unqualified driver to operate a vehicle is a significant risk. If a driver’s licence, tachograph card, or CPC card expires, not only is the driver unable to legally operate the vehicle, but the operator could also face serious legal consequences. These include fines, penalties, or even losing their operator’s licence. It can also severely disrupt business operations, resulting in delays, loss of reputation, and unexpected financial costs.
Insurance Risks
Businesses that fail to carry out regular licence checks risk invalidating their insurance policies. According to AXA Insurance, 25% of all business-related vehicle claims are rejected due to non-compliance with fleet safety requirements, including driver licence checks.
Driver Licence Statistics:
According to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), around 9% of UK drivers have penalty points on their licence. This highlights the importance of checking licences regularly, as drivers may accrue points without informing their employer.
The DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) reported that approximately 1.2 million vehicles in the UK are driven for business purposes every day, reinforcing the need for consistent driver licence monitoring across all business fleets.
Each of these documents has its own expiration date and renewal process, and managing them is crucial for fleet operators. A common issue many operators face is drivers notifying them at the last minute about expired or soon-to-expire documents. In worse cases, some drivers may even continue to drive with an expired licence or card without notifying their employer.
The Law
Transport Operators and employers have clear legal obligations to ensure that anyone driving for them on business purposes holds a valid licence. This extends beyond just employees to include temporary staff and even people working on a voluntary basis.
Road Traffic Act 1988
The Road Traffic Act 1988 clearly states: “It is an offence for a person to cause or permit another person to drive on a road a motor vehicle of any class if that other person is not the holder of a licence authorising him to drive a motor vehicle of that class.”
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
This act reinforces the duty of care employers have to their employees and extends it to the vehicle as part of the workplace.
Organisations that require employees to drive as part of their work must monitor their employees’ entitlement to drive and verify their driving licences.
Under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, employers can be held liable for workplace fatalities, including those caused by unqualified or unfit drivers. Failing to conduct proper licence checks and maintain compliance can leave a business exposed to significant legal risks.
According to the Institute of Road Traffic Education, if a driver causes an accident while driving on an expired or invalid licence, both the driver and the operator may face penalties, including fines of up to £1,000 per offence for the operator and potential jail time for the driver.
Any organisation that allows its employees to drive on its behalf must have a structured process for regularly checking the validity, entitlements, and convictions linked to their driving licences. This applies across the board, regardless of the driver’s role or vehicle type. Companies need to prioritise minimising driver risk and improving safety through rigorous licence-checking protocols.
This act affects all companies and organisations regardless of size and the penalties for infringement are severe.In the event of a work related death attention will focus on the organisations senior management to see if they have put the correct procedures in place and that those procedures were robust enough, monitored and managed properly.
Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009
European legislation, Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 (known as the ‘admission to the occupation regulation’) came into force in December 2011 and introduced the concept of Most Serious Infringements (MSI). The regulations outline 7 MSIs which cover a range of transport law areas. One of the most serious of these is permitting an employee to drive without a valid driving licence.
The potential consequences of an MSI being detected are extremely severe and the loss of good repute by an undertaking or transport manager will be considered.
If the Traffic Commissioner finds that it would constitute an appropriate response, the MSI will result in the loss of repute and, in the case of an undertaking, the revocation of the operator’s licence.
Where a transport manager has lost repute, they will be declared unfit to manage transport activities and their Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) will no longer be valid in any member state.
The Health and Safety at Work Act
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 requires employers to take appropriate steps to ensure the health and safety of their employees and others who may be affected by their activities when at work. This includes the time when they are driving at work.
Companies have an explicit Duty of Care to all other road users while their employees are driving on company business: ensuring that employees are both able and eligible to drive is of fundamental importance.
By adopting the best practice techniques outlined in this guide, you will effectively reduce risk exposure and provide protection to:
- employees, as they will be driving legally and within their capabilities
- the employer, as they will be taking all reasonable actions to meet basic Duty of Care responsibilities
- shareholders/stakeholders, by reducing the likelihood of legal action against the company
- other road users, by removing the possibility of them becoming an accident victim of a driver who is neither competent nor qualified to drive a vehicle (and, therefore, not insured)