Cambridgeshire hosts successful at work road safety seminar

Cambridgeshire’s RSOs have hosted a successful first seminar to promote ‘at work road safety’ to local businesses in the county. 16 businesses from the private, public and voluntary sectors, sent delegates to the first of a series of half-day seminars being organised across the county.

"With one third of all road accidents involving people driving at work this is obviously an area with the potential for significant casualty savings," RSO Jennifer Wood explained.

For a small fee delegates received a brief introduction to:

• At work road safety
  
• Health and Safety law
  
• Accident and casualty statistics
  
• Information on costs to businesses of ‘at work’ road collisions.

Delegates were also shown how to use the new LARSOA CD-Rom, ‘Driving Your Business Risk Down’. Each delegate received a copy of the CD plus copies of the Health & Safety Executive Guidance and Cambridgeshire’s own policies and practices.

Chris Leonard, Cambridge City & South Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) attended the seminar. "The PCTs employ over 750 staff, many of whom drive as part of their work," he says. "It will be a mammoth task revising our current policies and practices to ensure that we do not leave ourselves vulnerable to prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive.

"Nevertheless, the seminar and the CD have been extremely valuable in helping to introduce a ‘managing occupational road risk’ scheme for our own staff who drive for work.

"I’m particularly impressed with the example policies and risk assessments provided on the CD, that organisations are free to use and tailor for their own use without having to start from scratch. The seminar was a great introduction to this resource - all in all this will save me a lot of time and energy."

For further information please contact Steve Merrett on 01223 718540 or email steve.merrett@cambridgeshire.gov.uk .