Driving has become such an integral part of our way of life that we happily jump into our cars, vans and trucks without a moment’s thought for the risks.

Consider these stark facts:

• For the 12 months up to March, 171 people died in workplace incidents in the UK.
• In 2010 there were 1,857 road deaths in the UK – more than ten times the above number.
• Around a third of all on-road incidents involve someone driving on business.

The on-road risk is significantly greater than our behaviour would suggest and we need to respond accordingly in the way we deal with it. How well is your organisation prepared to defend its corner in the event of an incident?

Well here’s some more food for thought. Take any group of ten drivers typically reporting five or six incidents a year. But two of those drivers will report most of the claims. You are probably thinking about one or two or your drivers right now!

We should seek to identify the risk factors that predispose a driver to become involved in incidents. Doing this before the incidents happen allows the company to put in place appropriate control measures to prevent them happening.

Every driver’s experience is different. Someone learning to pass a test in rural Lincolnshire has little experience of hilly terrain or inner city traffic. Similarly, a driver gaining an LGV licence in Bosnia whilst on military service will find very different challenges completing multi-drop deliveries in London.

The licence is no more than a formal qualification that allows a driver to get behind the wheel in the first place. The need to provide appropriate training to add specialist skills is essential, if collision rates are to be controlled.

This is why many major insurers use Cardinus experts for their training requirements. Driving is a very serious business and we shouldn’t let its apparent ease and familiarity allow us to become complacent.

It’s time to take driving seriously, because the implications of failing to do so are very serious indeed.

Cardinus offers a range of road safety courses, driving at work risk assessments and a variety of on-road and online training courses for all classes of vehicles. For more information, visit www.cardinus.com, telephone 0207 469 0200 or email [email protected].