Managing road risk in winter

It is good practice for employers to have a winter driving policy included within their overall road risk strategy, advises Kathleen Braidwood, road safety officer at RoSPA in Scotland

Last winter, many drivers and businesses across the UK were caught out by the sudden, and then the prolonged, severity of the weather.

It is important that we all learn from that experience and are prepared this year beyond. 

Across the country, winter resilience reviews at a national level have been conducted in order to see what lessons could be learned from last winter and to explore and plan how the UK’s transport system, including its roads, can be best managed during harsh conditions.  

As individual drivers and as employers of people who drive for work, it is our responsibility to ensure we also play our part in winter preparedness – ensuring all journeys are managed, adequately equipped and given sufficient time, and also ensuring that the right means of transport is used.

Websites like those of the Highways Agency, Traffic Scotland, Traffic Wales and Trafficwatch Northern Ireland give up-to-the minute information relating to road closures, maintenance and conditions. Local radio stations also provide regular travel news. Knowing the road conditions and forecasts should help inform whether and how journeys can be undertaken.

WINTER ROAD CASUALTIES
When we have prolonged periods of snow, as we have experienced over the past two years, we tend to see a fall in the overall number of road casualties because fewer people take to the roads. However, as would be expected, we also see more people being killed and injured in accidents that happen at times when road or weather conditions are wintry.

Figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) show that across Great Britain in 2010, 103 people were killed and 14,619 people were injured in reported road accidents when there was snow or ice on the road surface. DfT figures also show that 27 people were killed and 4,875 were injured when it was actually snowing at the time.

For more than 15 years, RoSPA has campaigned for employers to take occupational road safety seriously, as they would other aspects of workplace safety. There are obvious ethical and legal reasons for doing this. There is also a sound business case, particularly when economic times are tough and the need to defend the bottom line by avoiding the costly losses associated with accidents becomes all the more important.

DUTY OF CARE
A systematic approach to managing occupational road risk (MORR) works best, rather than the implementation of a series of disjointed, one-off interventions. Essentially, employers must conduct suitable risk assessments and put in place all ‘reasonably practicable’ measures to ensure that work-related journeys are safe, staff are fit and are competent to drive safely, and the vehicles used are fit-for-purpose and in a safe condition. It’s also important to state that when we talk about MORR, we’re not just talking about people who are professional drivers like bus, coach or freight drivers, but also those who drive company vehicles or their own vehicles (known as the ‘grey fleet’) for a whole array of work purposes, including sales reps and those who have to drive between sites or to meetings and conferences.

It is good practice for employers to have a winter driving policy among the suite of policies that make up an effective MORR strategy.

PLANNING AHEAD
Central to the policy will be the question of whether, when conditions are very severe, journeys need to be undertaken at all. Of course, the best thing to do in extremely bad weather is to stay off the roads altogether and, to this end, firms should ensure that their drivers take heed of any warnings – either from official external sources or from within the firm – not to continue their journeys.

When conditions are not so bad as to prevent travel entirely, there are various aspects of journey planning that enable trips to be undertaken more safely. Every journey should be managed and those responsible for journey planning should take account of road type (for example, can rural roads be avoided?); hazards (such as accident black spots, ungritted roads or stretches of road that might be unsuitable for high-side vehicles in high winds); traffic densities (timing journeys to avoid peak traffic hours); and, high-risk features (for example, steep hills in the winter). RoSPA’s Driving for work: safer journey planner gives general guidance on how work-related journeys can be planned at any time of year (see www.rospa.com/roadsafety/info/worksafejourney.pdf).

When travelling in wintry weather, it is a good idea for drivers to stick to the main roads where possible and to ensure someone knows where they are going and their estimated time of arrival. When a suitable route has been selected, it is also crucial that journey scheduling allows time for sufficient rest stops and for drivers to take account of reasonably foreseeable weather and traffic conditions and to comply with speed limits. Good practice is to build time into a journey which means drivers will be less likely to rush in order to make up for any delays. It is conceivable that journey routes and scheduling might need to be altered during the winter months.

Employers should review their emergency arrangements with staff so they know what to do in the event of an accident, breakdown or getting stuck, and ensure that vehicles contain adequate equipment.

Part of the winter driving policy should also focus on how vehicles are prepared for winter.

PREPARING VEHICLES FOR THE WINTER
Employers owe the same duty of care under health and safety law to staff who drive their own vehicles for work as they do to employees who drive company owned, leased or hired vehicles. Therefore, employers need to have procedures in place to ensure that all vehicles (irrespective of who owns them) that are used for work purposes conform to road traffic law, are safe and properly maintained and are fit for purpose.

In addition to checking that company-owned vehicles are prepared for winter, and remain in a good condition throughout the season, employers could also provide a checklist to encourage staff who drive for work to conduct all the necessary checks of their vehicle.

For example, ensure tyres have adequate tyre depth – the legal minimum is 1.6mm, but RoSPA recommends tyres are changed when they reach 3mm. Consider whether to invest in winter tyres – some maintain a better grip in temperatures below zero.

Keep the windscreen and windows clean and the washer bottle filled with screen wash to the correct concentration (which may be stronger during below-freezing temperatures).

Check lights are clean and working and check you have de-icing equipment inside the car (keep some outside the car too, in case your locks freeze).

Drivers should also prepare for the possibility of being stuck. Have a contingency plan and emergency kit ready. Items for a good emergency kit are: tow rope; shovel; boots; hazard warning triangle; de-icing equipment; first aid kit (in good order); working torch; blanket; warm clothes; emergency rations (including a hot drink in a flask); and a fully-charged mobile phone.

As well as these advance preparations, which can be made before winter sets in, drivers should also get into the habit of clearing snow and ice completely from windows, mirrors and lights before setting off on winter journeys.

In addition to helping staff with their vehicle checks, sharing the elements of safer winter driving with all employees who use the road for work is something employers could give particular attention to. Driver training courses, briefings, and publications are available to help firms get important messages across. RoSPA, for example, has a winter driving advice and information page on its website www.rospa.com.

SAFER WINTER DRIVING
Different weather conditions can create different hazards throughout the winter and in different areas of the country at different times. A single journey may go through a variety of weather, road and traffic conditions, so drivers need to be prepared for each one.

Good driving skills and knowledge are essential, but drivers also need to be alert to the dangers and be prepared to fully adapt their driving to different conditions; indeed, this is true no matter what the season.

In winter, hazards like reduced visibility and slippery road surfaces mean good observation is essential so you can reasonably anticipate what might lie ahead and adjust your speed accordingly. If you can’t see the road clearly, you will need to reduce your speed so you can stop within the distance you can see to be clear. And remember, road surfaces are frequently covered by frost and ice, but often not uniformly. Isolated patches and certain gradients will remain icy when other parts have thawed. A good driver will be on the lookout for these areas. If you drive too fast on a slippery or wet road, your tyre grip will be substantially reduced and the risk of skidding increased.

Smooth control is another essential element of safer winter driving. Good observations and anticipation will enable you to look ahead and apply acceleration sense – easing off the accelerator to slow the vehicle rather than braking – a technique which also helps avoid the danger of skidding (and saves fuel too). Apply smooth gear changes and steering so as not to affect the grip of your tyres on the road surface.

Remember, if it is frosty or icy, stopping distances will be greatly increased. Pedestrians and other road users may be struggling with the conditions and may not be paying attention or be able to see properly because of looking down or using hoods and umbrellas. Driver alertness is crucial.

And finally, when the weather is bad and visibility poor it is important to ensure you keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front and maintain a safe speed. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION
www.rospa.com

Winter emergency kit at a glance:
Tow rope
Shovel
Boots
Hazard warning triangle
De-icing equipment
First aid kit
Working torch
Blanket
Warm clothes
Food and a hot drink in a flask
Fully-charged mobile phone