New research has revealed a severe gap in corporate duty of care, with 80% of business fleets lacking a formal road safety policy for their drivers.
The survey, conducted by leading road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, exposes a widespread failure in managing fleet-related risk at a time when national data shows serious road traffic incidents are failing to decrease.
The Scale of the Safety Gap
The findings highlight a worrying culture of non-compliance and neglected safety measures across UK businesses:
- No Risk Management: Over half of firms (53%) do not have a dedicated health and safety officer responsible for fleet risk management.
- Vehicle Neglect: 48% of firms fail to carry out regular vehicle safety checks.
- No Training or Tracking: 39% of professional drivers have never been offered formal driver or rider training, and 65% of fleets are not using telematics or GPS tracking systems to monitor safety or risk.
IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy and Standards Nicholas Lyes labelled the findings as “alarming,” noting that progress on reducing fatal and serious injuries has stalled across the UK.
The Cost of Bad Driving
This lack of policy poses a clear financial and reputational threat. Bad business driving does not just create a risk to health and safety; it also causes insurance premiums and repair costs to soar, while threatening to inflict severe reputational damage on the business.
For HR and people teams, the data underscores a critical compliance and welfare issue. Any employee driving for business purposes—from field sales to deliveries—falls under the company’s duty of care responsibilities.
Lyes stressed that promoting good road safety, staff well-being, and cost reduction are all served by a single strategy: “Investing in regular driver training is one of the best ways for firms to promote good road safety, staff well-being and keep costs down.” The immediate mandate for leaders is to establish a comprehensive Company Driver Risk Management Programme to avoid legal and moral liability.