News

As winter temperatures bring more hazardous and challenging road conditions, Road Safety Wales is reminding employers to review their driving for work risk management policy and ensure that winter driving is properly covered.

Teresa Ciano, Chair of Road Safety Wales said, "Employees who drive for work purposes should work with their employers to make sure they are fully aware of what is expected of them during periods of severe weather and plans should be in place for identifying and preparing for essential journeys."

Employers have a duty to take all reasonably practicable measures to manage risk and companies should ensure that their drivers pay attention to warnings, either from official external sources or from within the organisation, not to continue their journeys when advised.

Good practice guides and resources that can help employers to develop, implement, and monitor measures to manage their organisation's occupational road risk can be found on websites such as drivingforbetterbusiness.com and rospa.com.

Teresa Ciano added, "It is crucial that there are clear plans in place for employees in the event of a collision, breakdown, or becoming stranded in severe weather.

"Journey scheduling may be badly affected by winter weather, so time should be built in to journeys to allow for sufficient rest stops, traffic density and to allow employees to drive at an appropriate speed for the conditions."

For all drivers, thorough vehicle safety checks, adjusting driving style, and carrying an emergency kit for winter journeys is key to safer winter driving.