Fleet Alliance is backing Road Safety Week (November 21-27) by offering its online Driver Check solution free of charge to anyone who signs up to the service during the week-long event.

It is open to all fleet operators and covers a free initial driving licence check for each and every driver. All monies that would have been received through Driver Check will then be donated to road safety charity Brake, which organises Road Safety Week every year.

“This is a great way for companies to support Road Safety Week and ensure their drivers are legally compliant at the same time,” said Fleet Alliance managing director Martin Brown.

Brake has been organising Road Safety Week every November since 1997 and has taken for its theme this year “Too young to die”.

The intention is to raise awareness of the fact that road crashes are sudden, violent events that rip apart families by ending lives too soon and cause terrible suffering. Road crashes are the biggest killer of young people in the UK.

“Yet these casualties are preventable, often for reasons like driving too fast or overtaking dangerously, driving while using a mobile, driving on drink, drugs or while tired, or failing to belt up, “ said a Brake spokesman.

Health and Safety Executive guidelines on driving at work strongly recommend that drivers’ licences are checked when they join a company, or are first invited to drive on behalf of the company, and periodically thereafter.

This ensures that drivers are properly qualified to drive and do not have excess points on their licences. However, many fleet managers or HR managers simply don't have the time or resources to check drivers’ details on a regular basis, says Fleet Alliance.

Its online Driver Check solution aims to address this issue through a convenient and comprehensive online portal which not only reduces administrative overheads, but provides a complete and thorough coverage of all duty of care requirements.

Brown concluded: “Licence checking is a crucial part of duty of care and is essential for a company in meeting its obligations to its employees and the public at large. This unique opportunity is open to all companies who want to make a contribution to the road safety effort and ensure, at the same time, they are fulfilling their duty of care obligations.”