The Institute of Advanced Motorists has called for improved business driving on UK roads by calling for organisations to carry the ISO 39001 accreditation.
The accreditation shows drivers have met some of the safety standards of driving, by setting out the minimum requirements for a road traffic safety management system.
The IAM said 72% of people who drove for business had not been offered driver training by their employer, despite 44% saying they would welcome the chance.
According to the IAM, between 2008 and 2013, 3493 people were killed in accidents involving a driver driving for work, including 515 in 2013.
“It simply isn’t enough to give an employee a vehicle and send him on his way as a representative of your organisation – there is too much at stake,” said Neil Greig, IAM director of policy and research. “All employers have a duty of care to ensure that all company drivers are competent and they are not a risk to themselves, other road users and pedestrians.”
He believes organisations who are accredited to ISO 39001 Road Traffic Safety Management System will have implemented a framework with clear objectives and targets to ensure processes are in place, helping to manage and identify risks.
The Institute of Advanced Motorists recently announced it had appointed Sarah Sillars as its new CEO from 5 February.
Sillars is moving to the IAM from her current role at Semta, a sector skills council for engineering and advanced manufacturing.
Before that, she was the CEO of the Institute of the Motoring Industry, and was awarded her an honorary fellow and vice president on her departure in 2012.
The IAM said Sillars would campaign for legislation to improve road safety.
