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Night time agency driver ban slashes TNT accident rate
Page 12
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A safety conference hosted by CM was told how TNT Logistics boosted its safety record by banning agency drivers. Patric Cunnane reports.
TRANSPORT GIANT TNT Logistics has slashed its accident rate by banning agency drivers from night driving. The move affects up to 300 vehicles on the nationwide delivery of newspapers and car parts.
Speaking at the third annual safety conference organised by Commercial Motor and its stablemate Contract Journal, operations training co-ordinator John Andrews said: "We have eliminated the use of agency drivers from our night-time operations and our accident statistics have improved dramatically.
"We have no control of what those drivers have been doing during the day," he added.
"They could have been driving a van. We trust our own drivers will be more sensible."
Transport researcher Dr Will Murray agreed that the use of agency drivers can cause problems. "But everyone has a choice whether to use unregulated agency drivers or to employ more drivers of their own," he said.
The proposed Corporate Manslaughter Bill also came under scrutiny. Transport lawyer Stephen Kirkbright warned that managers must put systems in place to comply with the new law. You must manage your companies in the future on the basis that you are liable to be prosecuted.
"The Minister has stated that the law is intended for use in the most serious cases, such as the Hatfield rail crash and the Piper Alpha disaster," Kirkbright told delegates. "But the pressure to prosecute a small firm involved in a Sowerby Bridge-type of case will be immense."