Keeping our colleagues safe on the roads
Road safety is an important topic for us because we have 156 vans on the road across Dorset and Somerset, covering over 1.5 million miles per year.
We want to make sure that we have the safest drivers and so we equip them with the skills to help them. That’s why all colleagues who drive on behalf of Magna are sent on a driver assessment course with an Advanced Driving Institute assessor (ADI) as a standard part of their induction process.
Steve Fowlie, Health and Safety Manager, said: “To date, well over 500 people have been assessed and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with almost everyone enjoying and learning from the experience.
“As with many things this year, lockdown suspended the assessment program but as the restrictions were lifted the assessments have been reintroduced with specific precautions in place, including the need to wear a mask or face covering throughout the drive. We’re all adapting to new ways of working in everything we do.”
Ryan Hansford, Gas Safe Plumber, took the course and said: “I enjoyed the driving assessment. It was a good refresher after 17 or more years of driving and I have taken on board the extra advice Geoff gave me.”
In addition to the assessments, we also hold a driver training event every 3 years, using simulators and covering all aspects of safe driving. This event is for all colleagues, whether driving is part of their role or not.
This week is #RoadSafetyWeek2020, which is focussing on No Need to Speed. At Magna, we limit the speed of our vans to 62 miles per hour and they are fitted with trackers which report back any speeding or bad driving. The safety of our colleagues and our communities is important, so we ensure that our colleagues are driving well at all times.
For more information about #RoadSafetyWeek2020 visit: http://roadsafetyweek.org.uk/