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Whiplash injuries have been in the news recently, with the Government looking to reduce the number of personal injury claims.
The compensation culture seems to be getting out of hand and it is costing every motorist an increase of £90, on average, on his or her annual insurance fees.
The Government wants to ban referral fees where personal injury details are exchanged between insurance companies, lawyers and claims management firms who charge each other for passing them on. It also says it will reduce the £1,200 fee that lawyers can earn from small-value personal injury claims.
But what can fleet managers do to help reduce their drivers suffering from whiplash injuries, and seeking compensation, when the culture of making a claim is becoming so common?
The answer is to make drivers as safe as possible and to make it as difficult as you can for erroneous claims to be made. After all, you are far less likely to suffer from whiplash if you have your headrest properly adjusted.
It's not there to rest your head against and relax while driving, its purpose is to protect you if your neck is thrown backwards. Yet so many drivers have it pushed back so far that it offers no support whatsoever in the event of an accident.
In light of the whiplash headlines, I looked at the statistics for E-Training World's online Driver Profiling system and when drivers were asked how the head restraint should be set, a fifth of them answered incorrectly.
If I were a fleet manager, concerned about injuries to drivers, the growing litigation culture and the possibility for injury claims to be made against my company, I would ensure that all my drivers knew how to set the headrest correctly.
I would also raise the profile in the drivers' minds of adopting a correct seating position and choosing their vehicles carefully to ensure they also do not suffer other aches and strains.
By doing this, drivers will see that they have a duty to set their driving position up properly, and will have received instruction as to how to do this.
As a result, the level of injuries and claims would reduce - but more importantly, the temptation for a driver to make a claim would also fall because they would know the lawyers would be far less keen to pursue a claim when the company has watertight policies and procedures, and has provided ample training and instruction.
You can imagine the initial interview now between injury claims lawyer and driver. "Did your employer show you how to set the head restrain correctly to avoid whiplash?" - Answer: Yes. "And were you aware of the dangers of whiplash if your seating position wasn't set as advised by your employer?" Answer: Yes. "And did they offer you written instruction regarding setting your seating position and headrest correctly?" Answer: Yes.
Case closed.
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