FAQs on work vehicles
Does an employer have a duty of care in relation to employees driving work vehicles for work purposes and if so, how may the employer meet this duty of care?
The employer has a duty under section 16 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 (OHS Act) to take all reasonably practicable steps to protect the health and safety at work of the employer's employees. This extends to protecting the health and safety of employees driving work vehicles for work purposes. A work vehicle is considered to be a workplace under the OHS Act. Refer to section 16 of the OHS Act for more information relating to the employer's duty of care.
Work vehicles are also items of plant and employers must meet the requirements of Parts 1 and 4 of the Occupational Health and Safety (Safety Standards) Regulations 1994. This includes conducting risk assessments and implementing risk control measures.
Under section 17 of the OHS Act, employers also have a duty of care in relation to third parties, such as members of the general public, who are at or near a workplace under the employer's control. Because a work vehicle is a workplace, the employer's duty of care may extend to third parties.
It is the responsibility of the employer to determine what reasonably practicable steps can be taken to protect the health and safety of employees and third parties in relation to work vehicles.
Employing a risk management approach is probably the best way to achieve positive health and safety outcomes for this issue. Risk assessments should consider factors such as the characteristics of the vehicles, the use to which the vehicles may be put, the conditions in which the vehicles may be used and the competency of the drivers. For example, risks may relate to dirt roads or other poor surfaces, weather conditions, traffic conditions, driver fatigue from driving long distances or working night-shift, inadequate vehicle maintenance etc.
Control measures could include, but are not limited to, inducting and training employees on vehicle use, for example, anti-lock braking systems operation, distances to sit from airbags to prevent injury and driving techniques for poor road conditions; organising work to minimise driver fatigue; and the implementation of a vehicle maintenance management system that provides regular and adequate maintenance of vehicles.
For information on risk management refer to Comcare's publication Identifying hazards in the workplace (OHS10).
Part 11 of the Safety Standards Regulations deal with the issue of driver fatigue and apply to employers in control of heavy trucks, buses and commercial buses to transport people or goods or to an employer who is a consignor or consignee.