SMALL businesses are putting their employees' lives at risk because managers frequently don't appreciate the risks involved in driving for work purposes, safety experts have claimed.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa) said health and safety legislation had yet to have an impact on a raft of firms outside the transport sector whose employees can nevertheless travel hundreds of miles a week for meetings and other work-related duties.
Kathleen Braidwood, Rospa's road safety officer for Scotland, pointed to research that shows people are far more likely to die in "at-work road accidents" than any other work place activity.
However, she said that, while big companies and haulage firms typically have strict policies in place to assess these risks and mitigate against them, many smaller firms still regarded health and safety as an issue confined to work premises.
She said: "Anecdotally, it's clear that a lot of smaller business are not aware they have that responsibility towards their staff.
"They're not aware of the dangers or aware they should be risk-assessingthe things drivers are doing.
"In this difficult economic climate, small businesses struggle anyway, so it can be difficult to get them to take on the added burden that comes with carrying out these duties."
A number of UK studies have found that between one-quarter and one-third of all road accidents involve people driving for work purposes, with one European study suggesting that, if commuters are included, the figure is as high as three in five.
Employers have been responsible for carrying out risk assessments of all staff who drive for work purposes since 2003 and, since 2008, have been open to prosecution under the Corporate Homicide Act (Scotland) if they are found to have failed to ensure the safety of an employee who is killed while driving.
However, Colin Borland, head of external affairs for the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland, denied firms were unaware.
He said: "Certainly the members I speak to are very well aware of the risks involved with their employees' driving and will have policies in place for that."
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