By Zed Aziz CMILT, Transport Consultant
A recent compliance audit we carried out highlighted significant oversights in how organisations manage work-related driving. The lesson is blunt: an employer's duty of care under health and safety law extends to every employee who drives for work — whether in a company vehicle or their own "grey fleet" car. This isn't just about ticking a compliance box; it's about safeguarding your people, your organisation and your reputation.
The overlooked risks
Our audit surfaced a recurring set of weaknesses across transport operations:
- Governance and accountability: roles for transport management left undefined, with no designated Transport Manager or board-level oversight — so safety measures get missed.
- Compliance blind spots: even well-run organisations had gaps in risk assessment, record-keeping and rule adherence around driving.
- Inconsistent vehicle management: ambiguous lease agreements, poor vehicle allocation and weak defect reporting.
- Neglected driver wellbeing: inadequate route planning, distraction management and lone-worker safety.
- Under-reported incidents: minor events and near-misses going unrecorded, so nobody learns from them.
- Variable on-site rules and underused technology: inconsistent site speed limits, plus tracking and driver apps left on the shelf.
The employer's challenge: productivity vs safety
Deadlines, route optimisation and cost pressure can quietly push safety down the list. But neglecting driver safety carries real cost — financial losses from accidents and higher insurance premiums, legal liability under health and safety law, reputational damage, and a hit to employee morale and wellbeing.
A proactive seven-point plan
- Enhance governance — appoint a Transport Manager and assign board-level oversight
- Standardise risk assessment tools and train people to use them
- Improve knowledge of regulations and publish a Driver Safety Handbook
- Centralise incident and near-miss data for trend analysis
- Develop comprehensive transport management policies via a gap analysis
- Build a proactive, learning-focused safety culture from the top
- Strengthen the internal audit process and report findings to the board
Targeting specific risk areas
Beyond the strategic plan, the audit pinpointed practical fixes for the highest-risk activities:
- Route planning and journeys: structured planning, dedicated mobile apps and robust dual-driver record-keeping.
- On-site driving: standardised traffic management and unified speed limits across sites.
- Driver risk scoring: combine driver-app and vehicle-tracker data for dynamic, evidence-based scoring.
- Licence checks: periodic, risk-based checks on photocard, tachograph and CPC validity — our sister service offers bulk driver licence checks.
- Defects and maintenance: a universal walkaround check process and standardised maintenance management.
- Distraction and impairment: safe integrated navigation and proper safeguards against driving under the influence or while unfit.
Don't forget the grey fleet
These principles apply just as much to grey-fleet vehicles — employees driving their own cars for work. Your duty of care is identical, yet this is exactly where many organisations have no oversight at all.
The takeaway: prioritising driver safety is an investment, not an overhead. A proactive approach reduces cost, protects your reputation and — most importantly — keeps your people safe.
FTC offers project management, policy development, technology integration, training design, risk-management advisory and compliance audits to help you build a genuine safety culture. To gauge where your business stands, contact us for a conversation about your transport risk.
