Fleetworld1 reported in a recent article that Nextbase for National Dash cam Day 72% of drivers have had near-miss road accidents but most have never reported illegal driving.
Nextbase research found that motorists see an average of 14 separate instances each week. The most common offending being
- 67% speeding
- 60% failing to indicate
- 52% tailgating
- 52% dangerous driving
More alarmingly 36% of incidents reported were near-misses which had a collision occurred would have resulted in serious if not fatal injury.
However, 75% of the drivers did not report the incidents, primarily because it was too much hassle and they did not know how to report any incident to the police.
The incidents reported above are all motoring offences which can result in fines, points and disqualification, and in the case of dangerous driving, imprisonment as well as a disqualification with an extended re-test.
It is apparent that the risk of potential collisions and prosecutions is alarmingly high and as an employer that risk needs managing.
An employer with more than 5 employees must have written risk assessments, policy and procedures in place. Incidents and accidents must be recorded and evidence in writing.
If your vehicles have trackers and dashcams the incidents recorded will need addressing. The intervention and outcome will need recording.
Even if you have less than 5 employees you still have a duty of care to your driver and members of the public.
Nextbase are calling for the public to make us of its National Dash Cam Safety Portal which enable a motorist to submit their dashcam evidence online. This is now used by all but three UK forces. According to Nextbase motorists have already submitted over 57,000 incidents, of which, 70% have led to further action from the police in terms of fines, warning letters and prosecution.
These are incidents which the police would never have been aware and therefore no action would have been taken. The ease at which the portal enables submissions to be made means that there will be an increase in action being taken by the police for incidents reported.
What does this mean for fleet managers?
79% of SME’s do not think that they have to manage driver risk. Few realise that the road is a workplace for those driving for businesses and it is the most dangerous workplace, which Nextbase findings demonstrate. Research shows that only 1/10 drivers would report any endorsements or disqualification to their employers, which makes their business extremely vulnerable to prosecutions and claims.
So, what should businesses do?
Those with 5 employees or more should arrange for a risk assessment of their driving activities, have a review of their policy and procedure or have one written if not in place.
More importantly, businesses should ensure that they have legal support to manage all potential prosecutions. We have vast experience in dealing with prosecutions which we can manage cases from the notice of intended prosecution (NIP) stage. Many drivers think they have to reply immediately to NIPs and just await the police decision on prosecution. That is not the case. We can make representations to the police which can result in
- No further action at all
- FPT/course instead of charge
- Much lower charge than indicated on the NIP
As part of our fleet management legal support package we offer the following legal services for offences:-
- Written advice at NIP stage to driver and employer
- Written advice for any motoring incidents/accidents whether during business hours or private
- DL checks cross referenced with insurance policies to check they are still valid
- Written plea and mitigation to single justice procedure notices
- Motoring risk assessment
- Written policy and procedure documents
- Written advice on health and safety prosecutions
These services are all included in our fleet management package. For more information call 01270 509496 or
https://roadtrafficdefencelawyers.co.uk/auriga-fleet-training-management/
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