GOOD fleet management saves lives. That was the message sent out to the industry this week as companies were urged to put all their efforts into a complete safety review to protect themselves, their employees and the public.

To stress the need for fleets to put safety at the heart of everything they do, road safety charity Brake pointed out as part of its safer driving campaign that six children under 18 are killed on Britain’s roads every week.

The importance of fleet safety was brought into sharp focus recently by the case of a van driver jailed for three years for crashing while talking on a hand-held mobile phone. Another motorist died in the crash. The driver’s employer had a policy in its handbook outlawing the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving and offered hands-free kits. James Sutherland, managing director at risk management firm Peak Performance, said: ‘The driver’s handbook goes a long way to extending existing health and safety systems to include company driving.’

Peak has produced its own template Company Drivers’ Handbook, available as a hard-copy version, with free web-supplied updates.