Almost half of drivers that took part in a recent survey thought it was “fine” to use a phone behind the wheel, despite major changes to the law earlier this year.

The new rules, which came into force on 25 March, make it illegal for a driver to handle a phone in virtually all circumstances when driving.

Research from Nextbase found that almost 50% of drivers believe it’s fine to use your mobile phone whilst driving, while one in ten (11%) think it’s acceptable to answer a video call while driving, and 7% reveal that they use their phones to watch videos including TV series during long journeys.

Two-out-of-five respondents to a Fleet News poll (42%) said they were not aware the Government was updating the legislation, while a further one-in-20 (5%) knew the law was being tightened, but thought it was not happening for six months or more.

The dashcam provider warns that repeated lockdowns and the pandemic’s impact on our social habits is leading to a “crisis” on our roads, as people are increasingly willing to engage in reckless or outright dangerous behaviour whilst driving.

Bryn Booker, head of road safety at Nextbase, said: “With more people returning to the roads post pandemic there are many changes to regulations, and we implore drivers to make sure they are aware of the latest changes.

“The continued use of technology whilst driving is worrisome, and the latest regulations are looking to crack down on these driving behaviours in order to further reduce the risk for road traffic incidents.”

Further research on bad driving habits picked up during lockdown revealed that 61% of UK drivers believe they are ‘COVID Drivers’, one in five (22%) said they now steer one-handed, 12% confessed to getting easily distracted when driving, while 15% said they drive far too quickly. Nextbase also found that 11% of drivers still believe it is fine to drive after having a drink if ‘you feel fine to drive’.

 

The Federation encourages its members to review their processes for ensuring contractor safety. This includes employing competent contractors, monitoring contractors, permits to work for high risk work and lock out/tag out procedures for electrical work. In addition, we would also advise members to revisit the sentencing guidelines 2016.

UK Retailer B&M was recently fined £1 million after contractor electrician suffered serious burns in warehouse explosion in Liverpool. In this case the Electrical contractors working methods fell well short of the required standards. Electrical work commenced without proper planning and power supply was not isolated with no controls to factor out human error (switching on supply). With live working allowed to take place, this putting workers at risk of electric shock. The injured contractor suffered serious burns to 15 per cent of his body when he was caught in an explosion. B&M Retail Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) and Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act and was fined £1,000,000.

To interpret this, we have provided the below simplistic explanation on the Health & Safety at Work Act and how it applies to those employing contractors:

Section 2 (1) this relates to those employing contractors, with the contractor working in an unsafe manner, this was clearly putting own employees at risk and therefore a breach of their duty.

Section 3 (1) this relates to those employing contractors and ensuring they are not exposed to any risk. As an employer of contractors you must ensure they are competent ones and have a robust system in place to monitor them. This does not mean controlling their work but stopping their work if unsafe (such as no lock out tag out procedures).

The contractor also pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and fined £100 for the failure to protect their own employees. For the contractor there is a clear role defined for supervising employees. Full the full story please see below link:

Retailer and electrical contracting company fined after electrician sustains serious burns in warehouse explosion | HSE Media Centre

Sentencing Guidelines 2016

With the sentencing guidelines coming into play in 2016 there is a duty for the employer toward its employees and non-employees. You will notice huge a huge difference in the fine for B&M (£1 Million) and the contractor (£100), this due to differences such as turnover. The sentencing guidelines provide a structured approach for a judge passing sentence, this considers many variables however the main key areas are as follows:

• Culpability – This is a comparison to find out how far the company was from complying with the law, this stated as low, medium, high or very high.
• Harm Category – This section considers both the seriousness of harm risked by the offender’s breach categorised (A, B & C) and the likelihood of harm (Low, Medium or High). It is important to remember this category is determined by potential for harm rather than actual harm.
• Company turnover – Once the levels of culpability and harm are established. The company size and turnover are established. Large over 50 million, Medium Turnover £10-50 million, Small turnover £2-10 million, Micro turnover up to £ 2million.

An example based of the sentencing guidelines would be a client employing a contractor to work at height. The contractor using inadequate access equipment to work at height with no safe system of work. Contractor falls from height resulting in a fractured knee cap. Incident is reported under RIDDOR and HSE or local authority investigate to find a material breach. Starting level for fine for large turnover company over 50 million turnover is £800,000 this could up to maximum of £3.25 Million.

See below full sentencing guidelines, please see below link:

Organisations: Breach of duty of employer towards employees and non-employees/ Breach of duty of self-employed to others/ Breach of Health and Safety regulations – Sentencing (sentencingcouncil.org.uk)

Simon Brentnall the Health of Health & Safety at the British Frozen Food Federation has been asked to speak at the IOSH Food and Drink Conference on 4th October at Chesford Grange in Kenilworth. In this session, Simon will take us through a series of thought-provoking stories giving an insight into the good, the bad and the ugly of leadership. Why does one company’s brand name become synonymous with safety for the last 80 years?  How can a simple boardroom decision become a catastrophe? Why do some workers look the other way instead of taking the lead? These and other questions we be explored on the day’

IOSH Twitter and LinkedIn and use #IOSHFDC22

The IOSH Food and Drink conference sessions will provide you with practical examples of sensible, pragmatic and effective health and safety solutions to improve the occupational health and wellbeing of your workforce and, in turn, improve overall performance in food and drink manufacturing. The conference will show you how to improve your own professional performance within your organisation. 

Opportunities to network will also be available with colleagues in the industry from all over the UK, and attendees will be given access to a networking app before, during and after the conference, to make networking much easier.

Sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities will also be available.  Please contact events@iosh.com for further details.

https://iosh.com/health-and-safety-professionals/improve-your-knowledge/events/food-and-drink-conference/