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It was disappointing to learn recently that as part of Government spending cuts, several prominent road safety organisations are either having their funding reduced or in some instances withdrawn all together. In particular, this impacts BRAKE and RoadSafe, two organisations that do a great deal to promote safety awareness and education.
In the case of RoadSafe, their 'Driving for Better Business' campaign has seen its four-year, £250,000 grant, from the Department for Transport dissolved. The campaign raises awareness of the importance of work-related road safety by using advocates to promote the business benefits of managing people effectively. Advocates have included more than 50 'business champions' - organisations which showcase their own good practice in work-related road safety.
At Arval we have worked with these organisations consistently for a number of years now which has given us and many others in the business community a great foundation. The consequence of them losing valuable funding is that the onus has shifted onto the fleets themselves and their drivers to consolidate and build upon this good work.
Employers have a key role to play in providing information and support to drivers so that they have the tools required to minimise their road risk. This should be reflected through the company policy, through driver training and through the company culture. The drivers themselves have an important responsibility to act on this; driving smoothly, safely and within the law.
While road safety is obviously crucial from a wellbeing point of view, there are some other significant benefits that come with it. Safer driving often means slower and more efficient driving which can translate into cost and environmental savings. Defensive driving and a reduction in accidents deliver a fall in vehicle maintenance, a drop in fuel consumption and therefore a reduction in carbon emissions.
Of course the priority is the safety of drivers, pedestrians and any other road users so while road safety organisations are going through a tough financial time at the moment, it is down to businesses and drivers to step up and bridge the gap.
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