Pete continues his series about road safety by looking at the steps that drivers, owners and managers should and could take if a company vehicle is involved in a road accident while at work.

The latest installment of Get Flush delves into the critical topic of workplace vehicle accidents, emphasizing the importance of immediate response and safety procedures. Host Pete outlines the alarming statistics surrounding motor vehicle-related fatalities at work, drawing attention to the necessity for companies to have clear protocols in place. With motor vehicle crashes being a leading cause of work-related deaths in the U.S. and significant incidents reported in the UK and New Zealand, it becomes evident that road safety is a paramount concern for employers and employees alike. Pete stresses the need for a culture of transparency and openness among staff when it comes to minor incidents, encouraging drivers to report minor collisions without fear of reprimand. This approach fosters an environment where accountability is embraced, which is essential for effective risk management in the workplace.

The episode also addresses the immediate steps to take following a vehicle incident, including ensuring personal safety, checking for injuries, and contacting emergency services. Pete provides a thorough breakdown of actions that should be followed depending on the severity of the accident, emphasizing the importance of documenting the scene, exchanging information, and being mindful of legal obligations. Listeners are guided on how to handle interactions with law enforcement and insurance companies, highlighting the sensitivity required in these situations. The narrative urges managers and company owners to develop clear communication strategies for their teams, reinforcing that proper training and preparedness can significantly mitigate the aftermath of a vehicle-related incident. Overall, Pete’s insights serve as a crucial reminder of the responsibilities that come with vehicle use in a professional setting, advocating for proactive measures to ensure safety and compliance.

Hello and welcome to get Flush to the world's favorite sanitation podcast.

I'm Pete.

Way back in March last year, I released the first episode in a series about using vehicles safely at work.

I followed up with a subsequent episode about managing driver behavior in July and another about vehicle checks in August.

Life sort of got in the way after that, and I wasn't able to finish off that series as planned.

I got my mojo back during December with my series of daily shorts, and that has given me the momentum to pick up the script and come back to this episode, which is all about what to do if you or your staff are involved in a motor vehicle related accident while driving for work.

In the United States, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work related deaths.

A study conducted by Highways England and Roadsafe in the UK found that 520 people died as a result of collisions involving somebody who was driving or riding for work.

With statistics like that, road safety is one of the largest risks that you or your company will face during working hours.

And for that reason alone, I'm going to talk about what you should and could do as a driver manager or company owner.

If you or your staff are involved in a motor vehicle incident while driving on company business.

I'm specifically talking about the immediate actions at the scene and the steps involved in clearing the road and recovering the vehicle.

What steps should you take to make sure that everyone is safe?

What do you need to do to make sure that medical and rescue help arrives, and what information should you gather from everybody involved?

I'll stress that this is very much about the immediate response, how to react and behave, and the things to do at the scene in the immediate aftermath of an incident.

In the next episode, I'll talk about the post incident procedures that you may need to consider if and when you have to deal with the police, casualties, family and next of kin, your insurers, repairers, the press, or anyone else that may be affected if the incident results in significant damage, injury or fatalities.

Before I go any further, I want to discuss the language and terminology that's used by official bodies the police, insurers and health or safety authorities will when they talk about vehicle related incidents.

Over the past two decades, there's been a distinct change in the words and phrases used in this space.

If you google it, you'll find literally thousands of academic and legal articles, blog posts and website pages from law enforcement agencies, government departments, medical authorities, law firms and other commentators about the language that is used to describe collisions involving motor vehicles.

Continuous use of accident fosters the idea that the resulting injuries are an avoidable part of life.

The word accident will no longer be used in materials published or distributed by the agency.

In addition, we'll no longer use accidents in speeches or other public remarks in communications with the news media, individuals or groups in the public or private sector.

We will not use this term.

We will use the term collision to refer to all bad driving cases that involve death or serious injury.

The sworn police officers that I know in the US, New Zealand and UK have all told me that the language used in their communities started to change around the early two thousands.

They were instructed to stop using the phrase road traffic accident and use the term motor vehicle collision instead.

The language used by legal authorities and other agencies reflects their need to show impartiality.

I absolutely understand that.

But I also think that most people know what you mean if you say there's been an accident or a crash, and they're the terms that I'll continue to use today.

So what exactly are the things you and your staff should do if they have an accident while driving one of your company vehicles?

Well, the first thing they'll say is that it all depends on the severity of the crash.

I'll start with a low speed, low impact nudge where nobody other than your driver's involved, where there isn't any damage, or where the damage is really minor.

An example might include a driver scrapes a bumper, clips a wing mirror or reverses into a fence.

Those types of incidents are typically caused by inexperience, inattention or misjudgment.

They happen because the driver perhaps isn't familiar with the vehicle, or they're tired or they're thinking about something else and just not paying attention.

With those low level bumps and shunts where the damage is really minor or just cosmetic, I absolutely encourage drivers to be open and tell me what has happened.

The best manager I ever had used to say, if I know about it, we can fix it.

Everyone in the team knew that they could be honest without having to worry that the boss would go off the deep end, scream and shout or embarrass and humiliate them.

That's not to say he'd let you get away with it, far from it.

But his attitude allowed us to be open and to take responsibility for what we had done.

Sure, you might end up buying a box of doughnuts or a case of beer for the team, but you wouldn't be publicly flayed for messing up.

In that sort of low level nudge, it's tempting to drive away and hope that nobody noticed.

If nothing else, it's embarrassing, right?

But that's really not what you want staff to do.

Instead, make sure they know to note down the place, date, time, and take photos, even if very little or no damage has occurred.

Above all, tell them to let the office or manager know.

If not, then, then definitely before the end of the day.

You don't want them to interrupt you at every drop and call, but the company needs to have a formal record of what's happened.

On that note, most health and safety legislation around the world requires businesses to record near misses.

They are defined as incidents that happen but don't lead to any injury, damage or harm.

In my experience, very few organizations record many, if any, near misses.

It's a cultural thing.

People think, oh, it could have been worse.

It wasn't.

Let's move on.

But it's really important to have that register, because these things happen on a constant basis.

And if you've got a sparklingly squeaky clean health and safety record with no near misses, you're inviting a full depth audit.

The next type of accidents I want to discuss are those that result in more significant damage to the vehicle or other vehicles or other property, and those where injury occurs, either to the driver or passengers in any vehicle, or to other road users and pedestrians.

Now, in many jurisdictions, the police will not routinely attend accidents unless somebody has been injured.

It doesn't matter who or where that person is.

If someone's injured as a result of a motor vehicle on the road, the police will typically attend a.

If an ambulance is dispatched, that usually triggers a police response as well.

Fatal accidents will see a very systematic police response with a road closure and a formal investigation at the scene to preserve and record evidence.

But in the case of a shunt with only damage occurring, it's often down to you or your driver at the scene, regardless of whether there is an injury.

The most important thing that you should do before anything else is to make sure that you protect yourself from any further danger or harm.

Potential sources of harm could include fuel leaks from the vehicles involved in the crash, danger from other road users, particularly moving vehicles, and any secondary risks such as power lines, gas mains, or any dangerous goods that have been carried on board the vehicles involved.

If you're in a vehicle that's involved in a crash, you should always check yourself and other people in the vehicle for injuries.

Pat yourself down, check that you're okay, and talk to the other people in the vehicle.

Ask if they're okay.

This, of course, presumes that you are conscious and aware what's happened.

If it's a serious crash and you've been hurt or knocked out, or if you're trapped or really don't know where you are, you're in the hands of the other people on the scene.

That's not a nice place to be, and you'll most likely go into shock if you are conscious and able to move.

The most important thing is to protect yourself from any further harm.

If you're the driver, turn off the engine.

Don't immediately get out of the vehicle.

Check your surroundings.

Is it safe to do so?

If you're a witness, don't rush towards the accident until you make sure that you are personally safe.

Check for immediate danger before you get out of your vehicle.

Stop other traffic and use your vehicle or ask other drivers to use their cars to protect the scene.

Once you've established that it's safe to approach the accident, you should be checking for fuel leaks, cargo leaks, and to make sure that the scene is absolutely still.

If you can turn off the engines to reduce the risk of fire and stop the vehicles moving again, then we check for casualties and then we call the emergency services or ask somebody else to call the emergency services.

But if you rely on other people, don't assume they'll do as you ask.

Get them to come and tell you when they've made the call.

The reason we do things in this order is to make sure that we're safe and that we have the right information to give the call handler once we get in touch with the emergency services.

In previous years, I would have said make sure that you know where you are before you make the call, but with modern technology, it's more than likely that the call centre will know where you are as soon as they answer your call.

If there are any injuries, you may need to administer first aid, or at least comfort the injured people until the emergency services arrive on scene.

You should already have a first aid kit in your trucks for work, but make sure that they're up to date and are well stocked.

There's nothing worse than opening a first aid kit and finding out that there's actually nothing useful in it.

Dealing with injuries at first hand can be really distressing, and it's often way beyond the normal scope of our everyday experiences.

It's difficult to know how you're going to react personally until you find yourself in that situation.

Be prepared for that.

Talk about these things in your pre start meetings and be aware that you could go into shock even if you haven't been physically injured.

If there are casualties, they should always be your main priority.

As the emergency services arrive, they may ask you for an update on their condition or any treatment they've been given.

If you administered first aid, that's especially important if the casualty is unconscious or in shock.

Once the medical services have taken over the care of the casualties, or if the accident is damaged only with no injuries, it's time to start thinking about recording any evidence before the vehicles are removed or people start to clear the scene.

You should always do this.

Even if you were driving the only vehicle involved and it was a damage only accident.

The information you gather now will be really helpful if you need to lodge an insurance claim or if a counterclaim is lodged against you or your company.

The law in most countries requires drivers involved in an accident to do a number of things.

These typically include stopping at the scene, exchanging their name, address, registration, insurance details with the other drivers, or with anyone else who suffered injury or property damage.

It's always a good idea to get the names and contact details of any potential witnesses.

Some jurisdictions require you to move the vehicle to a safe place at the side of the road, but close to the accident as soon as possible.

Unless, of course, the accident involves the transportation of hazardous materials or results in injury, death or entrapment.

But if you or anyone else does move the vehicles, take as many photos of the scene as possible before that happens.

If the police are involved, they'll tell you when you can leave and they will often call a tow truck if the vehicle can't be driven or is unsafe to drive.

But remember, if it's your vehicle, you'll likely have to pay for that service yourself or go through your insurer.

And if you were driving the vehicle involved in the crash, they'll probably want to test you for alcohol or drugs too.

Don't be surprised by that, it's part of the routine.

In fact, many companies these days have a strict policy to test any drivers involved in workplace accidents for drugs or alcohol as part of their post incident procedures.

In some cases, the police may also want to ask you questions about what happened while you're still at the scene of the accident.

Now, I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not going to tell you to do anything except to make sure you meet the legal obligations in the country or state where the accident occurred.

However, I will say that whether you answer questions from a police officer at the scene really depends on the particular situation.

If the other driver is clearly at fault and you haven't committed any traffic offences, then it can often help to share your side of the story.

If you do, be very careful, stick to the facts and don't speculate about anything you didn't actually see for yourself.

If you're not sure what happened, there's always a risk that you could be legally responsible for the accident and could be prosecuted for traffic offences.

In that case, it's really important to avoid saying the wrong thing or incriminating yourself.

If you're the least bit uncertain about what happened, play it safe.

Politely decline to answer any questions until you've had some legal advice.

If you read through your insurance policy, you'll often find that it says things like don't apologise and don't admit liability at the scene, even if you think you're at fault.

That's good advice.

It's also good advice to write down as much as you can remember as soon as possible after the event.

More things will come back to you at a later stage, but it's always a good idea to write things down as soon as you possibly can.

Think about the time and date, the exact location.

Look for the road name or any landmarks, the weather conditions, the road conditions and the amount of traffic.

Note down the position of the vehicles immediately before the accident, who was travelling in which directions and what happened when the accident occurred.

Try to note the speed limit on the road and whether or not you were travelling faster, slower or at the same speed as the other vehicles in the flow of traffic.

If you can make a drawing, it doesn't have to be an artistic masterpiece, just enough to convey what happened to your insurers.

It's also worth remembering that pretty much everything that happens on the road these days is likely to be filmed either by CCTV, in the street or in private houses and businesses, by anybody with a dash cam or by passersby that happen to have a mobile phone.

Not only can that footage help you to identify what happened and who was at fault, but it could also trip you up.

If it's posted on social media and it shows that you or your driver behaved in anything less than a professional way, it's worth reminding your drivers about that during your pre start meetings.

Cameras are everywhere, and while it's very tempting to share footage of incidents on social media, it's worth noting that the police and insurance companies do watch for that.

While you think you're in the clear, the authorities may take a different view.

That's the reason why some companies have a very strict social media policy that restricts who's allowed to post what online when company vehicles are shown in the footage.

That's also a good point to talk about the media.

If a vehicle from your company is involved in an accident, you may get inquiries from the press asking what happened.

Rather than ignore those requests or make a no comment response, it's better to stick to the facts and say something positive.

Statements that work particularly well include we don't know what happened, but we're working with the authorities to find out.

Fortunately, the driver wasn't injured, or fortunately the injuries were a minor or we're grateful to the emergency services who help to clear the road as quickly as possible.

Comments like that won't have a detrimental effect, whereas saying no comment always makes it sound as if you've got something to hide.

Although I've covered a lot of ground today, there are bound to be some areas that I've missed or ignored.

This episode is not meant as legal advice, but to help you reflect on the policies and procedures within your company and help you discuss this topic with the members of your team.

Please have those conversations now.

Don't leave it until something terrible happens on the road.

I'll be back soon with the final part of this series where I'll talk about dealing with formal agencies such as the police, insurers and the health and safety authorities in the aftermath of any more serious or notifiable accidents.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or feedback, please email Peteflush dot online thanks for your time.

I've been Pete and you've been listening to get flush, the world's favourite sanitation podcast.