Maintenance:
Vehicles should be maintained in good working order so they remain mechanically sound, and any devices, such as flashing beacons, function properly. Vehicles such as lift trucks and those with tail lifts must be thoroughly examined by a competent person and reports kept.

Planned inspections are a vital part of preventative maintenance. These may include daily safety checks carried out by drivers and regular maintenance inspections based on time or mileage.

Drivers should be provided with a list of the daily checks to be signed off at the start of each shift. This should be monitored to ensure the checks are carried out properly.

2.4 Safe driver:
Drivers should be competent to operate a vehicle safely and receive appropriate information, instruction and training for the vehicle they use. It is particularly important that younger or less experienced drivers are closely monitored following their training to ensure they work safely.

Competence:
Employers must consider the following:

• For new recruits: Recruitment and placement procedures should be in place to ensure all new drivers are competent.
• For existing employees: Ensuring that drivers have, and continue to have, the skills and experience needed to operate a vehicle safely. If the work changes, drivers should receive the necessary training to carry out the modified task safely.

Training:
Training requirements will depend on an individual’s experience and the training they have previously received. Employer's risk assessment should help decide the level and amount of training a person requires.

In general, newly recruited drivers have the greatest training needs but there should also be a programme of reassessment for more experienced drivers.

It is important to assess the information provided by newly appointed drivers, particularly in relation to their training and experience. They should also be monitored on-site, to establish both their actual level of competence and any further training needs.

The employer should keep a training record for each driver. This will help to ensure the most appropriate person is allocated a particular task and identify those requiring refresher training.

There are special requirements for the training of lift truck drivers.

Fitness to operate:
A person’s fitness to drive/operate a vehicle should be judged on an individual basis but the aim is to match the requirements of the task with the fitness and abilities of the driver/operator.

2.5 Sources of information on workplace transport safety:
Information on workplace transport safety can be obtained from:

• Enforcement bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive (website: http://www.hse.gov.uk) and OSHA (website: http://www.osha.gov).
• Professional bodies such as IOSH (website: http://www.iosh.com) and IIRSM (website: http://www.iirsm.org).