Driver Safety Manager Mock Trial – back at the NEC
We’re fast coming round again to the Health and Safety Event at the NEC, Birmingham – the UK’s largest gathering of those responsible for running a safe and efficient workplace.
Vehicles have long been established as an extension of the workplace under driving for work laws, which is why this event is now the cornerstone of the Driving for Better Business event programme. It’s also why we developed our very own Driver Safety Theatre to deliver three days of best practice and expert insight presentations which will give driver safety managers information they can take back to the office and put into effect immediately.
Safety Managers – who’s guilty?
The highlight of last year’s theatre programme was our Mock Trial, and sentencing of the director for a supplies company (played by me). In our fictitious, but all too realistic, scenario, one of their van drivers had been involved in a collision that caused serious injury to a cyclist – a new offence, but one that is possibly more relevant to the nation’s many fleet operators and driver safety managers. While there are over 500 fatalities every year in collisions that involve someone driving for work, by comparison, there are almost 40,000 injury collisions every year that involve someone driving for work!
The incident highlighted a whole range of driver and management failures that were either not adequately covered by the firm’s driving for work policy, or else corners were routinely cut that rendered the policy ineffective. And it’s a situation that’s all too common – too many organisations have no driving for work policy at all, or one that’s not legally compliant.
Our Mock Trial in 2023 – standing room only
Some of the myriad issues we looked at included vehicle roadworthiness, driver impairment, work schedules, fatigue, mobile phones, overloading and, of course, corporate risk management systems.
The trial proved such an essential attraction – it was standing room only, and the audience continued to grow throughout the hour-long presentation.
We had fantastic feedback from the audience, but do you know what the most common comment was?
That was brilliant – but I wish my directors had been here to see that!
Well, now’s your chance to get them booked in. Due to last year’s popularity, we’re running the mock trial in the morning of each of the three days from Tuesday 30th April to Thursday 2nd May with a different follow-on session after each.
Event programme
Tuesday 30th April
Mock trial followed by driving for work policy presentation
Wednesday 1st May
Mock trial followed by legal Q&A with our Barrister
Thursday 2nd May
Mock trial followed by incident investigation presentation
Prosecuting the case this year will be specialist criminal and road regulatory lawyer Charlotte Le Maire, founder and partner at LMP Legal.
If you were one of the many that saw this session last year and wished your directors had been there – make sure you bring them along to one of the presentations this year.
If you didn’t attend last year, and you’re responsible for managing driver safety, this is a session you can’t afford to miss. And you may want to bring a colleague or two with you.
Simon Turner
Campaign Manager
Driving for Better Business
