Driving for Work Mock Trial

The importance of robust fleet safety management was highlighted with an ‘in the dock’ mock trial at Safety & Health Expo, demonstrating the sort of questions a company would be asked in court for a driving for work related incident.

There wasn’t a single empty seat in the courtroom / theatre, where the case of an IT worker involved in a road traffic collision while driving for work, was played out.

The company, represented by their operations manager, blamed the worker for failing to follow procedures.  However the prosecution managed to find flaws in the management systems within the company.

The dramatized case highlighted some of the areas fleet managers need to consider for employees who drive for work. 

The operations manager was questioned about the safeguards that were in place, the document checks, the audit trail and missing paperwork.

After the company demonstrated poor safety management, a failure to monitor performance and a lack of effective management systems; the audience (or jury), unanimously declared a guilty verdict.

The room was then reminded of the damage a prosecution can have on a company, including:

• large fines
• damage to brand reputation
• adverse publicity
• difficulty being awarded future tenders
• increased insurance premiums.

Source and full story: SHP Online