Work-related road safety in the Inverness area
The Highland Council is supporting a free seminar for businesses that aims to cut the number of people killed in road crashes while they are working.
The Work-Related Road Safety Seminar in Inverness will raise awareness that the need to manage occupational road risk is a key road and occupational safety issue, affecting all organisations that employ professional drivers or, indeed, any staff members whose job requires them to use the roads.
Places are still available at the event, running from 9.30am - 3pm at the Drumossie Hotel on Thursday, 5th June. It will be the first in a series of four free Work-Related Road Safety seminars being held across Scotland by the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives, in association with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
It is estimated that around one third of all incidents on our roads involve someone who is using the road in the course of their employment. This results in around 100 fatalities each year on Scottish roads and makes work-related road risk statistically one of the most dangerous things facing employees each and every day.
There is much that can be done to manage this risk, thereby protecting employees, the public and employers, and most measures are simple to apply. There can be a profitable spin-off for firms that address this issue as they see lower fuel, maintenance and insurance costs and improved staff sickness rates.
The Inverness event will provide an opportunity for locally-based businesses to access information that allows them to benchmark their current processes and risk assessments related to their employees’ use of the road.
It will highlight the legal, safety and business cases for action on work-related road safety, and delegates will have the opportunity to find out about training and motivating drivers and line managers, developing company policies and standards, the Corporate Homicide Act and the environmental impact of driving. There will also be information about the development of a Scottish Occupational Road Safety Alliance - a body that will exist to provide ready access to up-to-date information, advice and guidance on work-related road safety issues for any employer or their staff.
Councillor John Laing, Chairman of The Highland Council’s TEC Services Committee said: "It is clear that driving is the most dangerous thing that the majority of people do as part of their job and these seminars provide an excellent opportunity to exchange important information in a fairly informal setting with organisations from across Scotland. I would encourage local businesses, large or small, to take advantage of this opportunity which meets the overall aim of the Council’s Programme for Administration to increase the prosperity and wellbeing of people living and working in the Highlands.”
Willie Wills, RoSPA's Road Safety Manager for Scotland, said: "I think many people are aware of the stresses that face businesses these days - especially in light of the increasing cost of transportation. It would be my hope that as many business representatives as possible join us in Inverness so that we can not only impart information to them but also learn at first hand where businesses face challenges in keeping their employees and the public safe.
All four seminars are free to organisations based in Scotland. Each delegate will receive a copy of the RoSPA Managing Occupational Road Risk Guide (usually priced at £25), which provides practical assistance in addressing this topic.
The seminars are supported by a wide variety of organisations including the STUC, police, Health and Safety Executive, fire and rescue services and representatives from industry and the private sector.
For more information, or to book places, visit www.rospa.com/events, call 0121 248 2120 or email events@rospa.com
For further information please contact: Lisa MacKellaich, Road Safety Officer, The Highland Council, TEC Services tel: (01463) 7026