Costs and Benefits
Few organisations know what road accidents are costing them. The TUC estimated that road traffic collisions cost £3.5 billion annually.
The true costs of road accidents to organisations are nearly always significantly higher than the resulting insurance claims. HSE research into workplace accidents generally (The Costs of Accidents - HSG96) suggests that, for every £1 recovered through insurance, between £8 and £36 may be lost via uninsured costs.
Many costs (such as lost time in wages and salaries; lost orders and output; administrative costs, legal fees; and costs due to other kinds of business interruption) may not be recoverable. Road accidents can also have a negative impact on staff morale and can damage the organisation’s image in the outside world (for example, when liveried vehicles are involved).
Management time
Management training
Risk assessment
Driver assessment
Driver training
Accident/incident investigation
Data collection/analysis
Control measures |
Reduced accident losses
Less lost staff time
Improved staff morale
Better public image
Lower insurance premiums
Improved ‘off the job’ road safety
Improved safety culture
More effective vehicle use |
Major improvements in fleet safety performance can be achieved by companies simply investing in ‘defensive’ and ‘advanced’ driver training for their staff. The benefit range available from driver training alone can be a reduction of between 30% to 70% in accidents attributable to human error. One organisation investing in Driver Training over a four year period was able to secure a reduction in its fleet vehicle accident frequency from 40 to 9 accidents per million miles.
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