Peter Swann, Executive Director of Darwin Clayton, specialist insurers of the security industry, talks about safe driving and securing your vehicle – at all times.
Very few people are prepared to admit that they are a bad driver, however, from our records we find that this is not so because good drivers have the habit of crashing into equally good drivers. The outcome is that according to some statistics produced by the University of Huddersfield: 65 per cent of all company vehicle drivers will have an accident within the next twelve months; 95 per cent of all accidents are caused by driver error; one in every 40 of all company vehicle drivers will be killed or injured in a road traffic accident each year. It is a situation which is unacceptable to the public and results in the continuous increase in motor fleet premiums. Some motor fleet insurers, in an attempt to reduce the number of claims, have insisted that Fleet drivers go through a defensive driving course. Other employers provide driving tuition as part of their best practice and some of the ensuing benefits are detailed below: saving in life; reductions in accident frequency; reduction in accident costs; reduction in hidden costs ie vehicle off the road, employees time, employers time sorting it out; reduction in fuel costs; reduction in wear and tear ‘ more respect for the company vehicle; reduction in stress ie their work performance improves and their home life becomes more enjoyable. Those are some of the benefits, yet many organisations do not take the need for driver training on board because it means that it takes up important business time. With the strengthening of the Health and Safety Law it soon might become an essential part of your risk assessment to make sure that your drivers are properly trained and provided with the company’s driving and safety rules. In fact, there is a Government Task Force drawing up rules to make company owners responsible for their employees on the road. The rules to be introduced next year mean that company owners face heavy fines or even jail if their employees are involved in road accidents. You may recall incidents concerning corporate manslaughter where motor fleet directors have received custodial sentences because they have not managed the fleet properly, for example not looked after the vehicles correctly or insisted that a driver work more hours than was reasonable. In one case, through fatigue, the driver ran into the back of another vehicle and there was a tragic loss of life. Driver training is there to help the individual identify risk situations, help them to concentrate, help them to plan their routes and to have respect for their own vehicles and other road users. With the constant pressure on people to get from appointment to appointment, the fundamental driving skills appear to go out the window and we see many claims from delivery and service companies. It is our hope that employers will consider driver training as an essential part of their Health and Safety Policy and a valuable benefit to their employees. Additionally, any reduction in motor accident frequency benefits everybody! <br><br>
If you would like to know more about driver training, ring Darwin Clayton (UK) Limited on 01892 511144 . <br><br>
Part of the role of the Insurance Broker is to keep our clients abreast of situations that effect the insurances which we recommend. One of the situations that has caused us concern is the Porsche incident which has been well documented in the newspapers (Hayward vs Norwich Union Insurances Limited ‘ The Times March 8, 2001). Briefly the circumstances are that the vehicle driver was refuelling the Porsche and once refuelling was complete, went to pay at the kiosk. The kiosk was not far from the pumps and he left the ignition key within the unlocked vehicle. A third party jumped into the vehicle and whilst at the kiosk the driver saw his Porsche disappear down the road, never to be seen again. A claim was put in for the loss of the vehicle. The claim was repudiated initially and it went to litigation, finally ending up in the Court of Appeal. The claimant’s motor policy contained an exclusion that expressly exempted cover for loss or damage arising from theft whilst the ignition keys had been left in or on the car. The insured sued and the judge, at first instance, had found for the insured on the grounds that the words "have been left" meant "had been left unattended". Norwich Union appealed. Giving judgement, the Lord Justice, Peter Gibson said that the words of the exception were to be given their plain and ordinary meaning and there was no reasons to impose a gloss of "unattended". It was clear that Mr Hayward had left the ignition key in the car. The purpose of the exclusion was clearly to encourage policyholders to take elementary precautions in connection with their ignition keys so as to reduce the risk of opportunist theft. The appeal was allowed. Many insurers incorporate an exclusion such as "the insurers shall not be liable for loss or damage due to theft or attempted theft occurring whilst the insured’s vehicles is left unlocked with the ignition keys inside the vehicle". The clause has now been tested at law and should you leave the keys in the vehicle and it is taken away without your consent then there is no cover under the policy. We would recommend that you advise all vehicle users to remove the ignition keys from the vehicle whenever it is left unattended. It is worth incorporating it within your driver’s instruction manual. We talk much about ‘key security’ and it is very important that we ensure that the vehicle is locked properly and that the keys are removed from the vehicle at all times.
