THE Health and Safety Executive has given its clearest indication yet that its laws will be applied to occupational driving. It has appealed to the driver training industry for guidance in how existing workplace legislation can be applied to car and light commercial van fleets.

The broadening of the executive's remit, which would see a company car or van effectively classed as a workplace and employers' management of a car fleet governed by the Health and Safety at Work Act, has been the subject of months of discussion by the executive since the proposal was put forward by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions as part of the integrated transport white paper.

The executive is due to put a package of measures to the Health and Safety Commission on December 7 and if it meets widespread industry approval, the HSE's new role will be announced in the new year. The next stage will be to develop its policy - with the industry's input. At the Driving Standards Agency's Safe Driving for Life conference at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham, Rosalind Roberts, head of road safety policy at the HSE, appealed for input from the assembled driver training professionals and road safety officials on how there could be crossovers between the road traffic and health and safety at work laws.

But while saying she was unable to reveal details of the behind-the-scenes discussions that had taken place, Roberts gave some of the clearest indications yet that the HSE would eventually place itself alongside the police and other enforcement agencies in carrying out road accident preventative work and investigations.