Road Safety Awareness Policy
 
 
Speed
• The speed limit is a limit not a target.
• In some road conditions including fog, rain and traffic flow, driving or riding at the speed limit could be too fast.
• The national Speed limit on single carriage roads is 60 mph. However, the average free flow speed is 48 mph on these roads.
 
Country roads
• Read the road ahead, anticipate potential hazards and brake before the bend not into it.
• Look out for hidden dips, upcoming bends blind summits and concealed entrances. Always drive at a speed which will allow you to stop in a distance you can see to be clear.
 
Fatigue
• Remember the risks if you have to get up unusually early to start a long drive. Try to avoid a long trip between midnight and six am when you are likely to feel sleepy.
• If you start to feel sleepy, find a safe place to stop (not the hard shoulder of a motorway). Drink two cups of coffee or a high-caffeine drink and have a rest for 10 to 15 minutes to allow time for the caffeine to kick in.
• Plan your journey to include a 15-minute break every 2 to 3 hours.
 
Mobile phones
• put your phone away before starting a journey, this way you won’t be tempted to use it.
• Don’t contact someone’s mobile if you know they are driving or riding.
• make a pledge to not use your phone whilst driving or riding via RAC’s be phone smart.
 
Drink driving
• If you are planning to drink alcohol, plan how to get home without driving. Agree a designated driver, save a taxi number in your phone, or find out about public transport routes and times.
• Remember being only down the road is not an excuse to drive or ride under the influence of alcohol. A large proportion of all drink driving crashes occur within three miles of the start of the journey.
 
Drug driving
• driving under the influence of drugs is extremely dangerous and negatively affects your abilities. Your perception of time and distance is distorted, resulting in poor concentration and control of the vehicle.
• A sense of overconfidence can develop which can result in high risk behavior, including speeding and aggressive maneuvers.
• Once the effects of a drug have worn off the user still may feel fatigue, affecting concentration levels and driving or riding abilities.
 
Speeding
When driving, a few miles per hour can mean the difference between life and death. The faster someone drives, the less time they have to stop if something unexpected happens.
If you kill someone while speeding, you will have to live with the long-term emotional consequences.
Speed limits are there for a reason.
 
The facts
• Speed is one of the main factors in fatal road accidents.
• Fatal accidents are 4 times as likely on rural ‘A’ roads as urban ‘A’ roads.
• 3,121 people were killed or seriously injured in accidents where ‘exceeding the speed limit’ or ‘travelling too fast for the conditions’ was recorded as a contributory factor by the police.
 
The law
• You must not drive faster than the speed limit for the type of road and your type of vehicle.
• The speed limit is the absolute maximum and it doesn’t mean it’s safe to drive at this speed in all conditions.
 
Mobile Phones
The facts
 
Drivers using a hands-free or handheld mobile phone are slower at recognising and reacting to hazards.
 
Research shows:
• You are 4 times more likely to be in a crash if you use your phone.
• Your reaction times are 2 times slower if you text and drive than if you drink drive, and this increases to 3 times if you use a handheld phone.
• Even careful drivers can be distracted by a call or text – and a split-second lapse in concentration could result in a crash. At 30 mph a car travels 100 feet in 2.3 seconds.
 
The law
• It’s illegal to use a handheld mobile when driving – including using your phone to follow a map, read a text or check social media.
• It is also illegal to use a handheld phone or similar device when supervising a learner driver.
• These both apply even if you’re stopped at traffic lights or queuing in traffic.
• You can only use a handheld phone if you are safely parked or need to call 999 or 112 in an emergency and it’s unsafe or impractical to stop.
• If you’re caught using a handheld phone while driving, you’ll get 6 penalty points on your licence and a fine of £200.
• If you get just 6 points in the first 2 years after passing your test, you will lose your licence.
• Using a hands-free device (for example, for navigation) is not illegal. However, if this distracts you and affects your ability to drive safely, you can still be prosecuted by the police.
• Always wear a seat belt and wear it correctly so it can offer you the best protection in a crash. You are twice as likely to die in a car crash if you do not. Even on short journeys, familiar journeys and at low speeds, not wearing a seat belt can be fatal.
• Put your phone away before driving so you won’t be tempted to use it – make the glove compartment the phone compartment. Pull over if you need to
adjust a hands-free device or check your map.
• Driving too close to the car in front, undertaking and failing to signal are widely accepted as examples of bad driving. However, driving too fast is also poordriving. It is a contributory factor in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries every year. Consider the emotional consequences of injuries and deaths caused to others due to driving at excessive speeds and crashing. If you cause a crash, you will have to live with these consequences.
 
Look out for vulnerable road users:
• Look out for cyclists, motorcyclists and horse riders. make eye contact where possible to show you have seen them. use your indicators to signal intentions and look out for their signals.
• Give cyclists, motorcyclists and horse riders plenty of space when overtaking them. Don’t accelerate rapidly, sound your horn or rev your engine when passing horses and watch out for sudden movements by the horse.
• Always check for cyclists and motorcyclists when opening your car door, pulling out at a junction, or when doing a manoeuvre.
• Advanced stop lines at lights allow vulnerable road users to get to the front and increase their visibility. You must stop at the first white line reached if the lights amber or red. When the green signal shows allow the other road user time and space to move off.
 

Weather specific driving:
During bad weather, professional drivers face more challenges than other road users through increased demands on their own concentration and their vehicles. Some of these are due to the size of the vehicles and factors such as braking distances that are affected by certain weather types.

Typically, planned delivery times and journey times remain the same all year round with drivers and vehicles required to perform the same duties whatever the driving conditions. We know that high winds, ice and snow or driving rain make the operation of a large vehicle much more difficult.

Remember, whilst on the road, you the driver, are solely responsible for the safe operation of your vehicle, security of your load and delivery of goods to your destination.

By following the simple steps outlined below you can ensure your own safety and that of other road users:

• Check your vehicle daily
• Ensure your load is safely secured in place
• Plan your route including potential diversions
• Watch the weather forecasts ahead
• Drive safely

The UK weather is known to change quickly. What can start out as a bright sunny day can change quickly over the course of the working day or over the course of your journey.

In almost all cases of bad weather you will have to adjust your driving style and vehicle speed to suit the conditions. The following is a list of advice on situations which you, the driver, will need to address during bad weather.

High Winds
Strong headwinds can affect your forward speed and the turbulence from other vehicles on the road around you can affect your vehicle’s handling and performance.

Rain & Spray
Rain obscures your vision through bouncing off the windscreen. Rain can also lead to ‘fogging-up’ on the inside of the windscreen and wing mirrors making it harder to see all around.

Fast moving traffic can lift gallons of water off the road surface creating a ‘spray cloud’. This makes visibility very difficult for ALL drivers.

Lack of visibility caused by rain can be equally dangerous when operating at low speed. Rain water from your side windows and mirrors can affect your view from the cab.

Snow
When driving in cold weather, keep an eye on the outside temperature, especially when climbing long ascents. At nightfall the temperature can fall rapidly turning rain to snow. Most modern vehicles have a temperature gauge on the dashboard.

Ice can not only build up on the windscreen and windows but also along the vehicle body and on the roof of the trailer. This may present a danger to other road users.

Black ice is invisible to the eye. In freezing conditions black ice may form without warning.

Fog
Fog is a danger to the driver. It blocks the driver’s view over long distances causing most vehicles to slow down.

On open motorway and trunk roads fog represents the greatest danger. Varying vehicle speeds affect traffic flow creating more potential for accidents.

Flooding
Following wet and wintry weather, dangers can still exist through snow melt and localised flooding. This can result in road closures and diversions.

Is Your Vehicle Fit for Purpose?
Vehicle performance in the winter months can be as much as 10% poorer than in the summer months. Winter conditions can mean greater use of equipment such
as fog lights, screen de-misters, etc.

Defects or problems should always be recorded, reported and if necessary, repaired. Vehicle checks should be carried out before starting any journey. These should be part of your everyday responsibilities as a professional driver.

Drivers are legally responsible for:

• Checking the vehicle is roadworthy
• Ensuring specified equipment is present and serviceable
• NOT DRIVING the vehicle if major faults are present

Tyre Conditions
Ensuring that your tyres are in good condition on both the steering and drive axles during the winter months is particularly important.

To ensure that you remain within the law and don’t run the risk of a ‘blow-out’, inspect tyres for damage and wear before every journey:

• Inspect tread depth across the tyre
• Check for correct operating pressure if equipment is available (if not, plan visits to your fitter for checks often)
• Look for uneven wear on shoulders
• Inspect dual tyres for even wear between tyres
• Look for damage and cracks

Tyre Pressure
In very cold weather, tyres can appear to be under- inflated as the air pressure inside drops with the temperature.

Regular tyre pressure checks should ensure that as the weather, temperature and air pressures change the tyres are operating at the correct pressure.

Vehicle Safety, Security & Equipment Policy
 
1. General Principle
C&W Transport Ltd are committed to ensuring that both our company fleet and those vehicles owned and operated by our employees, contractors or agents is as safe as possible. This policy is to ensure that ’s vehicle safety equipment requirements are documented and managed in a consistent way in order to improve our WRRR (work related road risk) safety record. Ensuring the most appropriate safety equipment is fitted to all vehicles is the joint responsibility of senior management, operations, drivers and owners of vehicles used to render services to C&W Transport Ltd.
The driver of each vehicle plays a key role in providing feedback to ensure the most appropriate equipment is fitted and that any defects are reported as soon as they occur.
 
2. Who is covered by this policy
This policy applies to all staff, contractors, agents or persons rendering services to C&W Transport Ltd responsible for any aspect of the procurement, fitment, maintenance and use of a vehicle and its safety equipment.
 
3. Our Responsibilities
C&W Transport Ltd will endeavor to ensure that any person whom utilises a road vehicle in any context in the rendering of services to C&W Transport Ltd shall:
 
● Hold and continue to hold a valid driving license covering as a minimum the class of vehicle being used, where applicable this shall be verified via periodical checks of the drivers licence status using the online check service provided by the DVLA in the UK.
● Has no greater amount that 6 (six) penalty points displayed on their driving licence.
● Is trained in the use of any safety or additional equipment fitted to the vehicle prior to first using the vehicle.
● Understands the process for checking the vehicle safety equipment.
● Understands the process of the daily vehicle walk round check
● Understands the process for reporting any defects to the vehicle or its equipment.
 
We shall also ensure that any vehicle owned by C&W Transport Ltd and issued to any party for the purposes or the providing of a service to C&W Transport Ltd in any context shall if not fitted to the vehicle as standard equipment by the manufacturer contain as a minimum the following safety equipment:
 
● 5KG fire extinguisher
● First Aid Kit
● Safety/Warning Triangle
● High Visibility Jacket
● Emergency Torch/Light
 
4. Your Responsibilities
As a person using a road vehicle in which services are rendered to C&W Transport Ltd, regardless of vehicle ownership you
understand your responsibility to ensure the vehicle is fitted with as a minimum the following safety equipment:
● 5KG fire extinguisher
● First Aid Kit
● Safety/Warning Triangle

COVID-19 Risk Controls

Manual Handling

• Individual capability
• The nature of the load
• Environmental conditions
• Training
• Work organisation

• Reduce the amount of twisting, stooping and reaching
• Avoid lifting from floor level or above shoulder height, especially heavy loads
• Adjust storage areas to minimise the need to carry out such movements
• Consider how you can minimise carrying distances
• Assess the weight to be carried and whether the worker can move the load safely or needs any help – maybe the load can be broken down to smaller, lighter components

Good handling technique for lifting

There are some simple things to do before and during the lift/carry:

• Remove obstructions from the route.
  For a long lift, plan to rest the load midway on a table or bench to change grip.
• Keep the load close to the waist. The load should be kept close to the body for as long as possible while lifting.
• Keep the heaviest side of the load next to the body.
• Adopt a stable position and make sure your feet are apart, with one leg slightly forward to maintain balance
• Think before lifting/handling. Plan the lift. Can handling aids be used? Where is the load going to be placed? Will help be needed with the load?
• Remove obstructions such as discarded wrapping materials. For a long lift, consider resting the load midway on a table or bench to change grip.

Adopt a stable position. The feet should be apart with one leg slightly forward to maintain balance (alongside the load, if it is on the ground). Be prepared to move your feet during the lift to maintain your stability. Avoid tight clothing or unsuitable footwear, which may make this difficult.

Get a good hold. Where possible, the load should be hugged as close as possible to the body. This may be better than gripping it tightly with hands only.

Start in a good posture. At the start of the lift, slight bending of the back, hips and knees is preferable to fully flexing the back (stooping) or fully flexing the hips and knees (squatting).

Don't flex the back any further while lifting. This can happen if the legs begin to straighten before starting to raise the load.

Keep the load close to the waist. Keep the load close to the body for as long as possible while lifting. Keep the heaviest side of the load next to the body. If a close approach to the load is not possible, try to slide it towards the body before attempting to lift it.

Avoid twisting the back or leaning sideways, especially while the back is bent. Shoulders should be kept level and facing in the same direction as the hips. Turning by moving the feet is better than twisting and lifting at the same time.

Keep the head up when handling. Look ahead, not down at the load, once it has been held securely.

Move smoothly. The load should not be jerked or snatched as this can make it harder to keep control and can increase the risk of injury.

Don't lift or handle more than can be easily managed. There is a difference between what people can lift and what they can safely lift. If in doubt, seek advice or get help.

Put down, then adjust. If precise positioning of the load is necessary, put it down first, then slide it into the desired position.

Yard Safety (unloading, loading)

 

Key messages

• There should be enough space in loading areas for vehicles to move safely and for people to move around.
• Anyone not involved in loading or unloading should be kept away from loading areas.

Position of loading areas
As far as possible, loading and unloading areas should be in safe and suitable places (for example, next to marshalling areas so that drivers can manoeuvre vehicles easily).

You might also consider a refuge or bolthole, to prevent people from being struck by vehicles. This could take the place of an extra pedestrian exit in a larger loading area.

Space around bays
Designers will try to fit as many bays as possible into an area, to allow for the largest possible number of vehicles to be loaded or unloaded at one time. However, it is important that there is enough space around bays for vehicles to move safely into and out of the bay, and for people to move around the vehicle without being trapped.

Visibility
While parking in a loading area, consideration should be made in regards to exiting. We operate a no reversing policy, meaning you will need to exit the loading area without reversing. In unforseen circumstances where reversing is necessary, this can only be conducted while being guided by a yard marshall.

 

Incidents

Dog Bites
There has been a surge in more and more deliveries over the past years. While online deliveries help individuals get essentials and other items at their doorstep, there are many risks that the delivery assocaite faces while carrying out these deliveries. One of these risks which have seen a rise in recent times is dog bite injuries. A lot of the delivery associates are faced with the risk of being bitten by dogs when they go out for deliveries. Dog bite attacks are becoming very common. Dog bites often lead to infections, permanent scars, nerve damage, mental trauma, and loss of functionality to extremities.

Seek Medical Attention
This is the most important thing to do. Dog bites can be serious, and sometimes, fatal as well. You must get to the hospital as soon as possible and get the injury checked.

Collect as much information as you can. Make sure you have the dog owner’s contact information before leaving the location where you were attacked.

Reporting
Report the incident to your C&W Transport on-site representative. It's vital that we record the incident and inform the relevant parties. Your representative will provide a link so that you can complete an online form for reporting the incident.

Verbal or Physical Abuse
Any delivery associate should be able to conduct their role without threat or abuse. If you have been the subject of verbal or physical abuse:

Seek medical attention immediately by calling 999 if you are injured. If you state that you have been physically attacked, the police will ask that you provide a statement. Make a note of the crime reference number and police officer badge number, you will need this to submit an incident report.

Dealing with Customers

As the final link between a customer placing an order and physically receiving an item, it is important to maintain professionalism and courtesy. Maintaining good customer relations not only promotes returning business, in turn, keeping delivery associates engages, it can also reduce the possibility of conflict between a customer and delivery associate.

If you are confronted by a customer who is disgruntled by something with the service they have received outside of your responsibility, kindly apologise and inform them that they should contact customer services to resolve a problem. You are simply there to deliver a package.

If a customer becomes verbally abusive, discontinue conversation and leave the area.

If a customer becomes physically abusive, call 999 and report the incident.

 

Age Verified Deliveries

When delivering a Age Verified Package, it is the drivers responsibility to follow correct delivery methods by aquiring proof of age, full name and signature. Age Verification parcels may only be delivered to a member of the customers household providing they meet age requirements.

Always ensure you do the following:

• Explain to the customer that you need to check their ID as you are delivering a product that required you to verify their age.
• Ask the customer to present their ID in a way that adheres to safety regulations.
• Return the parcel to the delivery station, or remote debrief if the customer cannot provide photo ID.

Always ensure you do not do the following:

• Deliver AVD parcels without asking the age of the receiver.
• Deliver AVD parcels without checking ID.
• Leave AVD parcels in a safe places.
• Deliver AVD parcels to neighbours