A call for driver risk assessments to be transferred from one employer to another has come from Jonathan Mosley, director of sales and marketing at E-Training World (pictured).

Mosley says that this common sense approach to driver risk management would result in cost and time savings for employers, especially when taking-on new staff and would enhance driver’s opportunities for finding new jobs.

“If a driver is risk assessed by their employer but quickly moves to another company, currently the new company is likely to routinely re-risk assess that driver as part of their duty of care requirements,” explains Mosley.

“However, it seems counterproductive to go through the same process again and there should be a mechanism whereby health and safety law recognises risk assessments that have been transferred between companies over a set period of time.”

As the number of drivers being risk assessed in the corporate sector increases, it has already become commonplace for drivers to ‘expect’ to be risk assessed when joining a new company or being made an ‘at-work’ driver – something he suggests which would be unnecessary if assessments could go with the individual driver.

According to Mosley, the day will come when the majority of drivers ‘hold’ a current risk assessment and should be able to take that to their new job as evidence of their driving competence.

“I’m sure many employers would welcome such a scheme, however it would need some form of approval by the DSA or HSE,” concluded Jonathan. “Yet I believe in the long run the benefits would be appreciated by all.”