Legislation
RELEVANT LEGISLATION FOR THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SAFE OPERATION OF VEHICLES USED IN THE COURSE OF BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers to:
- provide a duty of care to employees, and to the general public
- establish and communicate a Health & Safety policy
- provide safe handling and maintenance of work articles
- provide necessary information & training on the above
and requires employees to:
- take reasonable care of their own health & safety
- take reasonable care of others who may be affected by their actions or omissions
Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires employers to:
- complete a suitable & sufficient risk assessment of every risk to employees, and others not in their employ (Regulation 3)
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1999/19993242.htm#3
- establish effective monitoring & reviews of all preventative and protective measures (Regulation 4)
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1999/19993242.htm#sch1 .
- provide appropriate health surveillance where necessary (Regulation 6)
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1999/19993242.htm#6
- provide relevant information to their employees about the risks identified by the assessment (Regulation 10 {1})
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1999/19993242.htm#10
- provide relevant training on recruitment, or on a relevant change of responsibility/risk
- repeat relevant training periodically
- train during working hours
- take into account capabilities of employees when allocating tasks (Regulation 13)
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1999/19993242.htm#13
- use all work equipment in accordance with any training or instruction given, and must inform employers of any shortcomings (Regulation 14)
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1999/19993242.htm#14
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 also states that
- all employees should have adequate training to operate any work equipment
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1998/19982306.htm#7
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1998/19982306.htm#9
The Road Safety Act 2006 contains certain relevant updates of existing legislation
- a new offence of causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving, which will carry a custodial sentence of up to five years
- the penalty for careless or inconsiderate driving doubles, from £2500 to £5000
- using a hand held phone whilst driving and, as a result, failing to have proper control of the vehicle, will attract three penalty points and a £60 fixed penalty fine
- there will be graduated fines for speeding offences, dependant upon the actual speed recorded within a specific limit, although the parameters for these have yet to be finalised at the time of writing
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/20060049.htm
The Health Act 2006 also has implications for those responsible for business vehicles
- Smoking is not permitted in vehicles that are likely to be shared by more than one employee
- There is a mandatory requirement to display approved 'No Smoking' decals visibly in each compartment likely to carry personnel
