Fleet operators must complete a “jigsaw of protection” to prevent road crashes and prosecution with no shortcuts to best practice, according to John Davidge, head of fleet technical at Cardinus Risk Management.

The former Kent roads policing officer told seminar delegates that van drivers should be encouraged “to do the right thing” and that started with collision investigation and an analysis of the reasons why an incident occurred.

Urging fleets to ensure than drivers reported any crashes immediately to minimise costs, he highlighted that most incidents were reversing and manoeuvering-related.

He told delegates at ACFO’s spring national seminar ‘A Van for all Reasons’: “Drivers need to know what they have to do to stop those sort of collisions.”

Risks must be minimised as far as possible by drivers being encouraged to, for example, reverse park, while poor observation was one of the most significant contributory factors in a crash.

Davidge also urged all businesses to implement a safety culture explaining: “Many van drivers are inexperienced at driving such vehicles and a lot of that is due to a poor culture on behalf of them and often the company. There are a lot of businesses that don’t have a safety culture.

“However, a vehicle is set up the most fallible component is the human being inside. There is no magic safety silver bullet. It is a jigsaw of protection with no shortcuts.”