It’s official! Gateshead Council runs one of Britain’s safest fleets and is among the first public sector organisations to become a ‘business champion’ under the Government’s Driving for Better Business programme.
Gateshead Council has reduced accidents in its fleet of more than 350 vehicles including minibuses, light commercial vehicles and HGVs, by almost a third in the last three years.
In recent years the council has undertaken a root and branch review of its entire fleet operation, including construction, refuse collection, highways maintenance, street lighting, gritting, community services and home to school transport; and introduced a raft of measures to ensure employees and all other road users are as safe as possible.
The Driving for Better Business programme is managed by RoadSafe on behalf of the Department for Transport, with the police and other agencies to encourage organisations nationwide to implement best practice occupational road risk management programmes.
Driving on business, for most employees, is the most dangerous task they undertake during their working life, according to official figures which last year revealed 2,943 people were killed on Britain’s roads, and almost 250,000 people injured.
The existing council policy, which is under constant review, means all employees must successfully complete a council driver assessment before operating a council vehicle. Drivers are also subject to further annual checks to their driving licences and eyesight, and a 45-minute practical driving session including information on safe driving.
As a ‘business champion’, Gateshead Council’s fleet will now fly the flag for at-work driving safety at seminars, conferences and shows both locally and nationally.
Alasdair Tose, Transport Services Manager at Gateshead Council said: “A number of factors have led to a near 30% decrease in fleet accidents over the past three years.
“Contributing to this have been our driver assessment/training initiatives, better driver communication and improved vehicle safety features with, for example, all new vehicles fitted with 56 mph speed limiters.
“By reducing our accident record we are saving taxpayers money and ensuring that service levels within the authority’s area continually improve as valuable time is not spent on dealing with the aftermath of an incident.”
“We are delighted to be recognised as a ‘business champion’ and will continue to strive to promote road safety at both a local and national level.
“I hope the initiatives that we have introduced and the success we have had in improving our fleet safety will encourage other businesses to take action.”
Driving for Better Business programme manager Caroline Scurr added: “Gateshead Council is at the forefront of promoting road safety. As ‘business champions’, local authorities have a crucial role to play in occupational road risk management, not only within their own organisations but by using their relationships with businesses in their areas to promote safe driving.”