Are Eye Tests Necessary?
"There is a clear legal responsibility for the driver to ensure that they have good vision".
The
Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) has found that around 13
million motorists on Britain’s roads are not wearing the glasses or
contact lenses needed to correct their vision while behind the wheel.
Employers must ensure that drivers are fit for purpose. You might think
that when it comes to eyesight nobody should be more aware of the need
for correction than drivers themselves. But, as the RNIB found, that’s
often not the case.
Most people over the age of 40 will experience sight problems and all
drivers should have regular eye care checks. Loss of vision can creep up
on people, a person may have had good eyesight in the past and not have
noticed a gradual deterioration.
Given the possible consequences of bad driver eyesight – ranging from
vehicle downtime to loss of life – a strong argument exists for
employers to keep an eye on their drivers’ vision, just as they would
monitor any other risk factor.
Duty of care
Employers
are legally required to ensure that, if necessary, employees wear
glasses while working at a computer console but currently there is no
such requirement to check driver eyesight.
However, to be legally fit to drive motorists must be able to read an
old style number plate (pre-2001) from a distance of 20.5 metres, or a
new number plate from 20 metres away.
It is an offence not to wear corrective lenses if they are needed and if
caught without them motorists could land themselves three penalty points
and up to a £1,000 fine.
There is a clear legal responsibility for the driver to ensure that they have good vision. That said, it is likely that a significant proportion of employees will not meet these requirements – while it is the employees who are committing an offence, it is obviously not in the best interests of an employer to allow this, as it will significantly increase the risk of having a collision. It is therefore in an employer’s best interests to protect both its automotive assets and its employees by checking staff eyesight.
Time
invested in recruitment and training is wasted if a driver’s eyesight is
not good enough, Along with monetary considerations, employers also have
a duty of care – outlined in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 –
towards their drivers. The Act implies that managers should address
the visual competence of their drivers in some way.
Employers have a duty of care to ensure the safety of their employees
while they are making work-related road journeys and fitness to drive is
a key area that needs to be managed. It is obviously good practice for
an employer to manage employee eye testing.
Best
practice
A simple policy clause – asking drivers to self-declare visual fitness –
is enough, in legal terms, to cover an employer’s duty of care to
address driver eyesight. However, best practice suggests a more robust
management of staff eye care – specifically hands-on, routine testing.
Employers should assess driver risk – including potentially defective
eyesight – from the moment they take on new staff.
It is very important to establish early on if a new starter who will be
driving has a requirement for glasses or contact lenses.
As sight
is changeable it should be checked on a regular basis. The General
Optical Council recommends that tests are carried out every two years.
If drivers cannot provide up-to-date evidence that they have had a sight
test in the past two years then it should be questioned whether they
should be allowed to drive on employers business.
Employers should consider refusing vehicles to employees who cannot
prove that they are visually fit to drive.
The main concern for employers in all of this is likely to be cost.
However, the cost of paying for regular eye tests and if necessary
towards prescriptive lenses needs to be balanced against the potential
benefits of lower insurance premiums, fewer accidents and corporate
reputation.
Police chief calls for tougher sentences for ‘killer drivers’
Top policeman Meredydd Hughes, chief constable of South Yorkshire and head of roads policing for the Association of Chief Police Officers, has called for tougher sentences for drivers involved in fatal crashes.
He was speaking after a hit-and-run motorist was released from prison after just six weeks.
Van driver Christopher Collins (45) had been jailed for five months after admitting driving without due care and attention, failing to stop and perverting the course of justice after hitting seven-year-old Kyle McDermott. However, he was released early.
Mr Hughes said: “Courts across the country have signally failed at times to adequately punish drivers who kill others.”
Fleets take ‘green’ journey to beat climate change and save money
Fleet decision-makers and company car drivers are counting the carbon and saving pounds, according to an analysis of new company cars added to the fleet by ALD Automotive over the last four years.
The headline figures reveal that:
The average CO2 emissions for new vehicles delivered during the four years to the end of 2006 have dropped by 6.7% or 11.1 g/km per car - more than double the 4.6 g/km cut in emissions of all new company cars registered over the period, according to Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders data.
The average mileage of the vehicles added to ALD Automotive’s fleet over the same four-year period has reduced by 12.6% or over 2,800 miles per annum and a further cut in mileage is estimated this year.
ALD Automotive, which currently runs a fleet of more than 46,000 company cars and vans, says the analysis highlights that businesses are beginning to heed the Government’s call to reduce their carbon footprint amid massive concerns over climate change damage.
Additionally, the data reflects the significant fleet move to diesel company cars, which have lower CO2 emissions figures than equivalent petrol vehicles and the impact of the Government’s fiscal regime, which is designed to drive motorists into low emission vehicles.
In 2004 the average CO2 figure of a company car added to ALD Automotive’s fleet was 167.9 g/km. However, a huge reduction came in 2005 when the average new company car CO2 figure dropped to 161.4 g/km and a further significant cut to an average of 154.7 g/km came last year. This year’s average figure is tracking close to a similar mark.
Those figures underline the fact that the ‘greeness’ of the new cars added to ALD Automotive’s fleet is significantly ahead of that of much of the rest of the UK company car parc.
The SMMT’s annual CO2 report into the 2006 market reveals that the average CO2 emissions figure for new company cars last year was 166 g/km - 11.3 g/km higher than the ALD Automotive average figure. In fact, since 2003 average new company car CO2 emissions have dropped from just 170.6 g/km to 166 g/km. Meanwhile, the report shows that emissions for new private cars are even higher with the 2006 average being 168.7 g/km, but down from 173.6 g/km in 2003.
Further evidence that ALD Automotive customers understand the importance of reducing their transport carbon footprint comes with an analysis of average annual mileage clocked up by new company cars added to the fleet.
In 2003 average annual mileage per new car was 22,476 miles. That figures has progressively dropped to an average of 19,658 miles in 2006 and a further reduction to an average of around 18,300 miles is likely this year.
Marketing director David Yates said: ‘We believe that as a major supplier of vehicles to UK corporates it is essential that ALD Automotive is at the forefront of encouraging ‘greener’ motoring.
‘More and more people are recognising that the key to managing climate change is to reduce emissions at source, whether through a combination of reduced business mileage, operating vehicles with a lower CO2 rating or through improved driving techniques, etc. It is vital that companies and drivers are aware of the damaging effect vehicles have on our environment.
‘Such actions, could with the Government’s tax rules mean that businesses and drivers which choose low emissions vehicles and simultaneously reduce mileage will make significant financial savings in terms of both operating costs and tax bills – both corporate and personal benefit-in-kind.’
New report claims EU carmakers can meet 2012 target
CAR manufacturers can achieve the European Union’s target for the average CO2 emissions of new cars registered by 2012, according to a new report by leading car industry expert Dr Paul Nieuwenhuis from Cardiff University
The EU is calling on carmakers to ensure that the average emissions of all new cars is 130 g/km by 2012 - 120 g/km when further measures as a result of tyre and fuel initiatives are taken into account. Some car manufacturers say the target is unrealistic and are calling for more time.
The report, ‘Car CO2 Reduction Feasibility Assessment; is 130 g/km possible?’, maps out a strategy for compliance, but highlights that the trend towards heavier and higher performance vehicles at the luxury end of the market is a key stumbling block.
Nieuwenhuis points out that in order to make these vehicles compliant a great deal of expensive redesign will have to take place. Hybrid technology and alternative fuels alone will not be enough and weight reduction would be needed to reduce CO2 emissions to the required levels.
The impact of weight reduction strategies could split the market between vehicles very similar to those available today emitting below 130 g/km, available at price levels similar to today’s, and a new breed of larger vehicles using lightweight technology, which would be more expensive than their equivalents today.
Nieuwenhuis said: ‘The net result could be a decline in sales of some of these vehicles within EU markets. Alternatively, we could see an emergence of smaller, lighter specialist cars, luxury cars, SUVs and MPVs.’
Advantages of such developments would include: greater fuel efficiency and an improvement in residual values of luxury cars as being smaller and lighter and therefore cheaper to run they would be a more attractive used vehicle proposition. Not only would customers benefit, says the report, but so would manufacturers as higher residual values would boost brand image. The report is available for download in PDF format from www.brass.cf.ac.uk
Carmakers must not become a casualty of CO2 war, says SMMT
Carbon dioxide emissions from UK car and commercial vehicle manufacturing have fallen 36.5% from 2.14 to 1.36 million tonnes in just four years, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ forthcoming publications ‘Towards Sustainability’ .
Publication of the SMMT’s eighth annual sustainability report follows figures in the organisation’s new car CO2 report, published in July, which revealed average new car CO2 emissions fell 12% in a decade, saving an estimated one million tonnes of CO2 each year.
In addition to charting progress on environmental measures, ‘Towards Sustainability’ highlights sector economics. This year, it will show the value of Britain’s largest manufacturing sector, which employs more than 850,000 people and has a turnover of £48.5 billion.
However, despite the improvement in sustainability and importance of the sector to jobs and the economy, government and opposition parties are currently battling to ‘out-green’ each other with a series of disproportionate and unworkable policy measures for carmakers and their customers, says the SMMT.
As a result, the SMMT has called for a stop to the ‘hollow gestures’ which, it says, undermine confidence and send a message that threatens jobs and investment in UK plc.
SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan said: ‘In the hunt for a good sound-bite, politicians are losing sight of good policy. Ideas like banning petrol cars or slapping £2,000 on the purchase price of a new car might make headlines, but they offer little in the way of practical solutions to the very real issue of limiting climate change.’
The automotive sector is Europe’s largest investor in research and development, spending €20 billion annually, or 4% of turnover in bringing cleaner technologies to market. But in parallel with the development of cleaner vehicles, industry argues that cost-effective complementary measures like wider biofuel distribution and congestion reduction must be at the heart of government policy. This integrated approach also means developing measures that help improve driver behaviour.
‘Towards Sustainability’ will be launched on October 9, and will be available to download from www.smmt.co.uk (SMMT: September 20).
Toyota Prius losing out in ‘green’ race
Conventional petrol and diesel cars are beginning to outpace Toyota’s Prius on environmental friendliness, according to a new report.
The hybrid remains the cleanest for its size, but is outranked by 11 smaller Peugeot, Citroen, Ford, Smart and other cars in a new environmental ratings system, which has been devised by researchers at Cardiff University and Clifford Thames, an automotive consultancy.
They claim that petrol and diesel cars with new emissions-cutting technology will outpace the Prius on a size-for-size basis over the next 12-18 months.
The research underlines the improvements vehicle manufacturers are under to reduce emissions on non-hybrid cars.
The rankings also take into account cars’ overall environmental footprint - including raw materials, production and end-of-life costs - based on their length, width and weight.
The team rated the Smart Roadster as the most environmentally-friendly car available followed by the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet and the Citroen C1 1.0i.
£20 million government funding for environmentally friendly vehicles
The government is pumping £20 million into a scheme to support UK research to develop new low carbon vehicles that could be on the road within five to seven years.
The investment will assist innovative companies taking forward low carbon vehicle research, development and demonstration projects and is being made available by the Technology Strategy Board and the Department for Transport.
This funding, which will support UK based research, is part of the government’s Low Carbon Transport Innovation Strategy. This was launched in May and sets out measures that the government is taking to transform the market for lower carbon vehicles.
Tackling the growth of carbon emissions from road transport - which account for around 20% of domestic emissions in the UK - and meeting demanding new EU carbon emission standards for new cars are major challenges for the UK’s automotive industry, says the government.
As a result, significant new innovation and technology development by industry will be required to deliver the lower carbon vehicles needed both to meet these challenges and to respond to the demands of public and private sector uses.
Supporting the initiative, Science and Innovation Minister Ian Pearson said: “Through our investment in UK-based research and development we want to accelerate the introduction of low carbon vehicles, ahead of what would be achieved by market forces alone. This funding will help companies in the UK to benefit from the growing domestic and international demand for lower carbon vehicles.”
Transport Minister, Jim Fitzpatrick, added: “Getting new low carbon vehicle technology from lab to road is vital if we are to reduce the environmental impact of everyday travel. Business involvement and innovative research will bring us closer to a greener future when lower carbon buses, cars, lorries and taxis are commonplace on our roads.
Used car prices hold through the summer, says BCA
Vehicle auction company BCA has reported strong prices achieved for ex-fleet and dealer vehicles sold during July and August.
Both cars and commercials sold strongly, with fleet cars averaging nearly £7,000 and dealer part-exchange cars selling for just under £3,250 on average with values were well ahead year-on-year, says the company.
BCA suggests the stronger than expected summer provides a good foundation for used vehicle sales during September and October, traditionally two of the busiest months in the wholesale vehicle market.
BCA sales director Mark Hankey said: ‘Average prices achieved at our sales held up well over the summer and the best vehicles continued to be sought after and attract good prices relative to their condition, specification and mileage. This is encouraging as the summer is traditionally one of the quieter times of the year. Added to which, demand sharply increased in the early days of September.’
‘Big Brother’ SatNav keeps tabs on drivers
A ‘Big Brother’ operation is allowing officials to pinpoint the exact location of thousands of vehicles with satellite navigation systems, it is claimed.
The scheme is built into the small print of a contract between the Department for Transport and traffic information provider TrafficMaster. The DfT uses TrafficMaster data to monitor traffic flows and congestion blackspots.
Currently the ‘spy in the sky’ system is limited to some 50,000 drivers who have TrafficMaster’s Smartnav system. However, the system could provide the blueprint to monitor the location, speed and journey details of millions of drivers in years to come.
Such a system, it is suggested, might be used to manage a system of road pricing, where motorists are charged according to which roads they use and the time of day. It could also be used to identify speeding drivers.
It has also been suggested that it could be used by everyone from the police to the taxman to discover whether an individual is where they claim to have been at any point in time.
It is claimed that the data provided consists of individual vehicle location reports and associated information. However, a DfT spokesman said all information was anonymous so they did not have the personal details of drivers.
Mobile phones ‘more risky than drink’ for drivers
Talking on a mobile phone - including a hands-free phone - could be worse than drink-driving, say researchers.
A number of studies - including those by the UK’s TRL (Transport Research Laboratory), the University of Sydney’s Injury Prevention and Trauma Care Division and the University of Utah in the USA - suggest that motorists using phones are four times more likely to crash.
It is also claimed that they have an average 30% slower reaction time than drinkers at the UK drink-drive limit if talking on a mobile.
It means, say researchers, that up to eight million British drivers could be putting their lives and lives of other road users at risk by chatting on mobiles while behind the wheel.
Now, yesinsurance.co.uk is calling for the launch of a campaign that urges drivers to switch off their mobile phone before setting off on a trip so that messages can be received by voicemail.
While it is legal to use a hand-free mobile phone, any use of a hand-held device like a mobile phone is punishable with a £60 fine and three penalty points.
MEPs call for mandatory vehicle emissions cap
Voluntary limits on carbon dioxide emissions by European cars are not working and should be replaced by mandatory caps, says a new report on emissions from the European Parliament’s Environment Committee.
They want binding limits for cars by 2009 and have set a target of an emissions level of 120g/km of CO2 by 2012. The European Commission has proposed a statutory target of 130 g/km by the same date.
Under the present voluntary code carmakers have set themselves a limit of 140g/km of CO2 by 2008. However the MEPs’ report echoes other analyses in concluding that this will not be met. Present voluntary reductions are on track to reach 150g/km of CO2 by next year, according to the report.
The Environment Committee report says there are more than 216 million cars on the European Union’s roads, and that they are ‘choking the environment’. Overall the number of cars on Europe’s roads has grown by 40% from 1990 to 2004, with car CO2 emissions rising by a third.
The full Parliament will debate the report in the November Plenary session.
Changes in company car tax to benefit businesses and drivers
Changes in company car taxation due to be implemented over the next six months will result in huge savings for companies and their drivers.
Firstly, a new 10% benefit-in-kind tax band will come into effect at the start of the 2008/9 financial year. It will apply to vehicles that have carbon dioxide emissions of 120 g/km or less, with a 3% supplement for diesels.
As well as drivers cutting their tax bills, employers will see a reduction in their National Insurance contributions.
For example, a 40% tax-paying driver in a BMW 118d SE costing £20,685 and emitting 119 g/km would currently pay tax based on 18% of the car’s list price, or £124 a month, but from April this would fall to £89, an annual saving of £420. In addition, the company’s Class 1A NI costs would fall from £476 to £344 - a saving of £132.
Meanwhile, the autumn Pre-Budget Report is expected to bring major changes to capital allowances for businesses.
New Mobile Phone Law
From February new laws will see drivers facing tougher penalties for using hand-held mobile phones while driving.
The Road Safety Act is expected to become law on February 27th. It tightens the law on use of phones, with anyone caught facing a £60 fine and three penalty points.
The use of hand held phones in cars was banned in December 2003. It is not an endorsable offence, but you face a £30 fixed penalty or maximum fine of £1,000 for conviction in court.
Under the new laws, it is not just employees who face prosecution if involved in an accident when using a mobile on the move.
‘Employers are legally obliged to have a mobile telephone usage policy in place. If one of their staff crashes while on a business call, directors could be prosecuted under health and safety laws. Simply telling an employee not to take calls isn’t good enough and even supplying them with a hands-free kit doesn’t provide a ‘get out of jail’ clause.
‘The police will now routinely obtain mobile phone records of drivers involved in serious or fatal road accidents.
‘Use of a phone in the event of an accident is regarded by the courts as an aggravating factor in the same way as drink-driving and will result in a custodial sentence.’
The Smoking Ban
Company car drivers flouting the new smoking laws face big fines so read our guide to what’s happening and when.
Each country has slightly different rules coming into force at different times.
ENGLAND
In England, the new rules come into effect on July 1 and companies flouting them face fines of up to £2,500.
All enclosed public places and workplaces will become smoke-free from that day – including company cars, pool and hire cars – under the 2006 Health Act.
The legislation will make it an offence for those who control or manage smoke-free premises to fail to stop people smoking in them. ‘No smoking’ signs will have to be displayed.
Where a vehicle is used as a workplace by more than one person, regardless of whether they are in the vehicle at the same time, it will have to be smoke-free at all times. This is meant to protect people who use the vehicle from second-hand smoke, regardless of when they use the vehicle.
Drivers of convertible cars will be exempt as long as the roof is down when they or their passengers are smoking.
Smoking will be allowed in vehicles that are for the sole use of the driver and are not used by anyone else, either as a driver or passenger.
Even if all the people using a shared car are smokers, the legislation requires them not to smoke in the car.
However, the regulations do not extend to private vehicles used for business purposes.
Under the act, employers, managers and those in charge of smoke-free premises and vehicles will need to:
Identify areas where smoking will constitute an offence and display ‘no smoking’ signs.
Take reasonable steps to ensure that staff, customers/members and visitors are aware that premises and vehicles are legally required to be smoke-free and ensure that no-one smokes in smoke-free premises or vehicles.
Alter the staff handbook and invoke disciplinary procedures if necessary
The government has proposed that local authorities will enforce smoke-free legislation, although the government acknowledges that this legislation will be largely self-enforcing.
The proposed penalties are:
For smoking in a smoke-free premises or vehicle: fixed penalty notice of £50, fine of up to £200.
For failing to display no smoking signs in smoke-free premises and vehicles as required by the legislation: fixed penalty notice of £200, fine of up to £1,000.
For failing to prevent smoking in a smoke-free premises or vehicle: fine of up to £2,500.
Speed Limiters
New legislation recently came into force which requires speed limiters to be fitted to certain vehicles. The regulations require a speed limiter device to be fitted to goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes and to passenger vehicles with more than 8 passenger seats. For vehicles registered before the 31st December 2004 the legislation applies from 1st January 2007 and for other vehicles from 1st January 2008. We have reviewed all vehicles on our fleet and we have identified those vehicles that will be affected.
Once the speed limiter is fitted, the maximum speed for a goods vehicle will be 56 mph and the maximum speed for a minibus will be 62 mph. In addition, drivers will not be allowed to use the outside lane of a three lane carriageway.
We will arrange for each qualifying vehicle to be fitted with a speed limiter however it will be at the Trusts expense. The cost will vary depending upon the vehicle make and model but typically it will be between £100.00 and £200.00. Some later models will have a limiter fitter and will only require the devise to be calibrated. To enable us to fit the limiter would you please contact your local service agent to inspect the vehicle; the service agent should then contact me for authorisation.
It is important to note that the speed limiter is only designed to limit the top speed of the vehicle and is not intended to control speeds in restricted areas such as 30mph zones. Therefore, I have set out below some of the speed restrictions for this type of vehicle. I would advise you to refer to the Highway Code for more details.
Maximum Speed
| Built-up Areas | 30mph | |
| Single Carriage Way | 50mph | |
| Dual Carriage Way | 56mph | Goods Vechicle |
| 60mph | Minibus | |
| Motorway | 56mph | Gods Vechicle |
| 62mph | Minibus |
The Licensing, Roadworthiness and Insurance Division of the Department for Transport have confirmed that an exemption does apply to Patient Transport Service minibus type vehicles as well as Emergency Medical Service ambulances, provided they are only used for transporting patients and not e.g. for staff transport or educational transport.
Duty of Care: not just a private sector problem
The public sector is being warned that they can not escape the need to implement Health and Safety policies for staff that drive at work. Corporate manslaughter charges will be brought against senior managers who fail in their duty of care to employees driving on business. This will hit the public sector just as hard as the private sector when it becomes law. The Corporate Manslaughter Bill, will aim to “create a level playing field” to ensure Government organisation – such as the NHS- will not be exempt from their own duties.
A spokesman for the Home Office, which drew up the draft legislation, commented: “we got the distinct feeling that many in the public sector thought this was going to be targeted at the private fleets, and that in some way the public sector would have a measure of ‘crown immunity’ to hide behind. That will not be the case, and was never the intention. “In the same way Crown immunity died, so any last vestiges of favouritism to the public sector bodies have gone too.
A new law making companies accountable for fatal accidents while driving on business will be introduced in June 2007 a year after plans were announced in the Queens Speech. The draft ‘Corporate Manslaughter’ bill was unveiled in March 2006.
