FLEET managers remain too complacent about the need to ensure their drivers' safety and as a result will be singled out in the new road safety strategy being drawn up by the Government, Roads Minister Lord Whitty has revealed. Speaking at the launch of the second annual Road Safety Week, organised by Brake,he said that while the Government recognised that some companies were beginning to acknowledge the importance of risk management, many more were doing too little.

He told Fleet NewsNet: 'Since company car drivers are more prone to accidents than the average motorist it suggests not enough is being done. We recognise there are a lot of responsible companies adopting detailed road safety policies, but there are still a lot that aren't.' Lord Whitty would not give details of how fleet managers were to be singled out, but he has already this year blasted fleets for their poor safety record.

Yet he backed away from suggesting that there should be tougher measures used to encourage companies to adopt risk management strategies, placing greater emphasis instead on the need for Government and groups like Brake to influence company culture. 'It is the employer's responsibility to instill a safety culture in their drivers. We are not looking to introduce a whole range of enforcement measures, but hope companies recognise the importance of instilling an ethos of safe driving,' Lord Whitty said.