ATC's Fleet Risk Solutions (FRS) is a holistic risk management programme for improving the safety of employees who are involved in work-related driving activities.

FRS has been developed in response to the increasing legislative and moral responsibilities placed on employers to demonstrate a proactive approach to managing safety at work.

At the moment these responsibilities have never been so great, and it is clear from the recent report of The Work-related Road Safety Task Group (November 2001) that they will increase further.

In 2000, the Government stated its intention to achieve by 2010: a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured on the road; a 50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured on the road: and a 10% reduction in the slight casualty rate. (Road Safety Strategy Tomorrow's Roads: safer for everyone)

In May 2000 the Work-related Road Safety Task Group was appointed by the Government and the Health and Safety Commission in order to identify measures to reduce at-work road traffic incidents.

The context for this becomes clearer when you consider:

In 2008/09:

• 2,538 people were killed
• 202,333 were slightly injured
• 26,034 suffered serious injury

Over 30% of the drivers involved were driving on work related business at the time.

Due to there not being a formal mechanism for recording purpose of journey when an accident has occurred, exact figures are not available, but it is estimated by HSE that just under a quarter of road traffic fatalities involved a commercial vehicle, and that between a quarter and third of all traffic incidents involved someone who was at work at the time.

From the above, and the body of research that has been carried out into road safety, it is clear that: people who drive as part of their work are at higher risk of a road accident than those who don't; employers are increasingly held to be responsible for the safety of their employees whilst carrying out their work duties; and the Government is determined to take action to improve road safety.

The onus is therefore on the employer to identify risk and take appropriate action to improve the safety of those who work for them.

Failure to take action may result in prosecution by the Police. During the past two years there have been two highly publicised cases where company directors have been charged with corporate manslaughter. In the future, if the key recommendation of the Work-related Road Safety Task Group is adopted, Health and Safety policies will be extended to cover at-work journeys and other on-the-road activities.

FRS has been specifically designed by ATC to provide employers with a systematic methodology to enable them to meet their moral and legal responsibilities in the promotion of road safety at work. Our approach ensures efforts and spending are targeted and directed where the greatest and most cost-effective accident reduction is possible.