How to manage drink driving with your workforce
Can you be sure your drivers are 100% sober and fit to keep themselves, your vehicles and other road users safe when they get into their cabs? Our latest blog looks at how to manage drink driving issues with your drivers.
Sadly … the answer to the first question is a firm ‘no’. It’s true that deaths caused by drink driving have, for many years, shown a long-term decline. In the UK, such fatalities have dropped from 1,640 in 1979 to as low as 210 in 2015. However, the problem persists. There are even signs, certainly up to 2019, of a small increase with the annual number of fatalities settling at around 230. In the UK, the most recent survey suggests that 17% of all road deaths are caused by drink driving.
The Highway Code has been updated following a change in the law that affects the sentences for some driving offences.
The updated penalties include causing death by dangerous driving, or by careless driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Until recently, the maximum sentence for these sentences was 14 years imprisonment. The maximum sentence has now increased to life imprisonment.
How can drinking alcohol affect the ability to drive?
Just one drink can increase the chances of your driver having an accident in any of the following ways:
· The brain slows down, affecting judgement, self-control, rational thought and reaction times.
· The driver can experience a dangerously false feeling of confidence.
· Drivers can lose their inhibitions and are more likely to take risks. They tend to focus more on the most basic activities, such as steering, and less on other key driving skills.
After a drink, how long should your drivers wait before driving?
They may be over the legal limit many hours after their last drink, even if they’ve slept all night. It takes more than a few hours’ sleep, a hearty breakfast, strong coffee and a cold shower to make them safe to drive. These steps might make them feel refreshed, however, the only remedy for removing alcohol from their body and making them safe behind the wheel is…time.
As an approximate guide, drivers need to allow themselves one hour per unit of alcohol before driving. For example, if they’ve enjoyed a single glass of wine worth 2.8 units of alcohol, they should wait for about three hours before driving.
What is the legal drink driving limit in the UK?
The legal drink driving limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. In Scotland, the legal limit is 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or 22 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
The above are only guidelines, the impact that alcohol has on your drivers’ reactions and all-round driving ability will depend on their weight, age, metabolism, how much food they’ve eaten, as well as numerous other factors.
The simplest and only truly safe solution for your drivers is to not allow them to drink any alcohol at all in the hours before starting their driving shift.
Drink Driving Insurance
A conviction for drink driving will result in several regrettable consequences – principally, the loss of livelihood for your driver. But any such conviction will equally have a costly impact on your business and insurance premiums. If you decide to retain a driver who has been convicted of a drink driving offence, an online search will reveal companies who specialise in offering insurance to drivers convicted of drink driving.
What you can do as an employer
Expect Safe Driving
Make sure that all your staff, including directors, senior managers and line managers, understand that they are expected to drive safely, responsibly and legally. If they have concerns about the organisation’s driving policy or procedures, they should raise them with their line manager or staff representative.
Consult Staff
Consult staff and/or their safety representatives about the organisation’s policies on alcohol, drugs, and safe driving and that this is reviewed periodically in joint health and safety committee meetings.
Raise Awareness
As part of recruitment, training and staff appraisal, remind drivers and line managers about the:
· law about drinking and driving and drugs/medicines and driving
· effects of alcohol, including the morning after, and drugs and medicines on driving
· organisation’s policy on these issues
· importance of planning ahead and arranging for a designated driver, public transport or an overnight stay overnight, if they are intending to drink
· importance of not driving if they are drinking alcohol
· the importance of asking their doctor or pharmacist might affect their driving, and if so, whether there is a safer alternative (but do not rely just on this)
· action to take if they feel their driving may be affected by alcohol or drugs
· help that is available for staff with drink or drugs problems.
Set Clear Rules
In particular, ensure that all staff, including senior managers and line managers, understand that they must not drive for work if their ability to do so safely is affected by alcohol, drugs or medicines. Doing so should be a serious disciplinary matter. Do not allow alcohol (or drugs) to be consumed by staff on duty, even, for example, if they are entertaining clients. Advise staff not to drink at lunchtime, especially if they are driving later. Remind them that it takes hours for the body to get rid of alcohol – they can still be impaired on their journey home or the following morning.
Assess Your Drivers
Assess drivers’ attitudes and their driving competence on recruitment, during induction and regularly afterwards, including the issue of drink, drugs and medicines, with their drivers during periodic staff appraisals and team meetings. Assess all drivers regularly, but prioritise those with the greatest mileages, young drivers, drivers using a new type of vehicle, such as a van, and drivers with a crash history or history of motoring offences. Use the results to identify training needs and other risk management measures, and discuss driving during individual staff appraisals, and in group meetings.
Train Your Drivers
Organise ‘Drink and Drugs Awareness’ seminars for staff. These should cover all of the issues above and there are many training organisations that can provide this service. Train managers to recognise signs of possible alcohol or substance abuse. These include sudden mood or behaviour changes, unusual irritability or aggression, worsening relationships with colleagues and others, impaired job performance or an increase in poor timekeeping and short-term sickness absence. These signs do not necessarily mean a drink or drugs problem, but may be an indication that help is needed.
Be Constructive
Treat staff with alcohol or drug problems sympathetically and in confidence, no differently from staff with other medical problems. Offer access to medical or therapeutic help for staff who come forward with problems. Staff who feel that they are unfit to drive because they are affected by drugs or by alcohol consumed the previous night, should be able to declare this without being punished. However, persistent instances should trigger disciplinary action. Give staff who report that they are unfit to drive because they are affected by medicines other duties and ask them to consult their doctor or pharmacist for alternatives. If necessary, they should be signed off sick and the organisation’s sickness policy followed. Be alert to the risk of employees feeling under pressure not to take their medication (or the full dose) so they can continue to drive. The consequences could be just as serious.
Provide Alternatives
Do not provide alcohol at lunchtimes (during meetings, for example). At office events or parties make sure non-alcoholic drinks are available, and if possible, organise transport home or overnight stops for staff who want to drink. Remind staff who are driving not to drink alcohol and if they are staying overnight, they may still be impaired the following morning.
Check Driver Licences
Conduct regular driver licence checks, at least once a year, but more often for high mileage drivers or those with a poor driving record. An easy way of tracking endorsements is to check driving licences (at appointment and regularly afterwards); the most cost-effective way of doing this is usually via the DVLA’s online checking facility (each driver must sign a mandate allowing you to do this).
For help and advice on transport compliance or any other issue mentioned in our latest blog, please reach out to our team, we’re here to help. hello@teamlogico.co.uk