When it comes to fleet safety we know it can never be disregarded in order to protect workers and road users, but in the case of van safety it is even more important. It has been estimated that vans are the fastest-growing type of vehicle class in the UK and Ireland, particularly in the UK—they account for over one in ten vehicles on British roads. The choice of vans for most fleets is down to the fact that they are considered more flexible and reliable, and better suited to modern consumer demands, which is fuelled by online shopping with expectations of rapid and multi-drop deliveries. But as with all other vehicles, van safety needs a boost, as companies cannot simply expect to absorb the risks associated with poorly managed van fleets.
The FTA has been developing the Van Excellence scheme in the UK over the past seven years which creates a benchmark for compliance, encouraging operators to demonstrate that they meet with an agreed set of standards—the Van Excellence Code. The same initiative has been taken in Ireland, where the FTAI has activated something similar called the Van Safe scheme.
Quite surprisingly, despite these initiatives and despite the fact that one of the most dangerous thing we do every day is driving, many van operators still do not buy in to the importance of safe conduct and often not only put drivers and the public at risk, but also their businesses.
The new FTA van safety campaign, “One Fateful Day”, is a short film that tells the story of a male van driver, distracted by using his mobile phone as he talks to his office. The driver has an accident involving a young pedestrian and is found to have been taking drugs and driving a defective vehicle—all of which have ‘catastrophic consequences’ for the driver, operations manager and company owner. The driver is jailed and the company owner receives a crippling fine for corporate manslaughter. The film highlights how the catalogue of errors could have been prevented by putting processes in place to effectively manage the driver, vehicle and operation. The videos examine the situation through different points of view and has the purpose of bringing van safety to the attention of more operators in the sector.
Video 1 is a kind of introduction where a policeman analyses the causes of the incident, stating the driver had tested positively for drugs, that one of the front tyres was below the legal tread limit and visibly worn, the vehicle’s windscreen wash reservoir was empty and the dashboard was cluttered impairing visibility. The vehicle was also travelling over the speed limit and was overloaded; all behaviour which contravened company policy.
Video 2 is the driver interview at the police station.
Video 3 is an interview with the Operations Manager, who is apparently not only responsible for the vans, but as sometime happens in small companies, expected to deal with other tasks as well.
Video 4 is an interview with the Managing Director of the company involved in the incident.
Video 5 is the outcome of the court case in the form of a news report: the summary of which is that the incident could have been prevented. The company clearly failed to manage the driver and fleet, skipped vehicle checks and had no policy regarding mobile phone use.
The film is the product of a several year project lead by Mark Cartwright, the FTA’s head of vans and LCVs, who says the story illustrates some of the typical failings seen among van operators. The final product aims at raising awareness of the issues of driver distraction and compliance, and we definitely encourage everyone to watch and share as widely as possible.
Video credits: ©FTA - http://www.vanexcellence.co.uk/media/videos/one-fateful-day/
