COMMUNICATIONS giant Orange has launched a major risk assessment programme for hundreds of its company drivers as part of its duty of care obligations.

It is using an internet-based system to electronically assess all staff who drive on company business, from car or van drivers and pool car drivers to staff who have taken up a cash-for-car option or drive their own cars on business.

Any of the drivers not meeting a set standard are likely to be sent back to the classroom for further workshop training or for on-road training.

It has formed a ‘driving safety team’ comprising fleet, health and safety and insurance personnel to assess the results on a regular basis and decide what actions should be taken.

The company, which has a fleet of 1,500 vehicles, has been putting its employees through a thorough driver training programme for the past three years, with the service provided by Peak Performance.

Peak is also providing the internet-based software package called RoadRISK in association with Interactive Driving Systems as part of an ongoing driver-training programme. Orange fleet and travel manager Caroline Sandall said that since it launched the driver training, its accident record had fallen.

Sandall added: ‘But since the introduction of the emissions-based benefit-in-kind tax system, we have been unable to capture data on our high mileage drivers as they no longer need to provide details of their business miles for tax purposes.

‘This has seriously inhibited our ability to categorise those people most at risk, and with the increased duty of care we now owe our drivers, we have brought in RoadRISK as a mechanism to help categorise people and to monitor and control driving risk.’

Sandall said the initiative would prove a cost-effective way to assess large numbers of drivers and was in line with the company’s overall policy to reduce costs across its fleet operation.