Are you actually managing driving for work?
Are you actually managing driving for work — or hoping for the best?
Let’s be honest: your people drive all the time for work. To see customers. Between sites. To grab materials. To make that 2 pm meeting across town. It feels like “just part of the day,” right?
Here’s the catch: every one of those trips is still work. Which makes it a workplace risk. And while most businesses have tight controls on-site, a lot of the risk management falls off the moment someone turns the ignition. Until something goes wrong.
A quick thought
If one of your team was involved in a serious collision this afternoon while travelling between jobs, could you say — with confidence, not assumptions:
They’re insured to drive for work?
Their vehicle is roadworthy?
They’ve been briefed on the latest Highway Code changes?
They understand your stance on phones, fatigue and journey planning?
You can show the “reasonable steps” you’ve taken?
Confidence beats crossed fingers. Every time.
“But it’s their own car…”
This trips up so many organisations. If an employee is driving their own vehicle (the “grey fleet”), surely it’s their responsibility?
Not quite. If they’re driving on your behalf, you still have a duty to understand and manage the risk. The car might be theirs. The work is yours. Good organisations don’t silo driving away from health and safety — they treat it like any other activity that can cause harm.
It’s not the big stuff — it’s the gaps
When incidents happen, it’s rarely something dramatic. It’s the small things nobody checked:
Business-use insurance never verified.
Licences not reviewed in years.
No one’s sure who’s seen the Highway Code updates.
Phone expectations are fuzzy.
Grey fleet? “We just trust people.”
Individually, none of these sounds huge. Together, they create unnecessary risk — for your people and the business.
What “good” actually looks like...
This doesn’t need to be complicated. It just needs clarity. Strong arrangements usually mean you can answer, clearly:
Who drives for work.
Which vehicles they use (company, hire, grey fleet).
That licences, insurance and MOTs are current.
The standards you expect from drivers.
How you’ll review and maintain those standards over time
In other words: confidence, not just paperwork.
Have your drivers kept up?
The Highway Code has changed a lot in recent years — with direct implications for work drivers.
The hierarchy of road users: Drivers carry greater responsibility to protect people who are more vulnerable (pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders). That should show up in your training and expectations.
Junctions: Give more consideration to pedestrians waiting to cross and cyclists going straight ahead when you’re turning. Your team meets these scenarios dozens of times a week.
Mobile phones: It’s not just calls and texts. Checking messages, changing music, taking photos, scrolling apps, making payments — all illegal while driving if handheld. And even hands-free can be distracting. Many organisations now encourage stopping somewhere safe before making or taking calls. The legal minimum isn’t the safety maximum.
Grey fleet deserves more love
Company vehicles often have solid processes. Personal vehicles used for work? Not so much. But from a health and safety perspective, there’s little difference. If someone drives for your business, you need confidence that:
The vehicle’s roadworthy.
There’s a valid MOT where required.
Business-use insurance is in place.
Routine maintenance actually happens.
The driver’s competent and appropriately licensed.
Ignoring grey fleet doesn’t remove your responsibility — it just removes your visibility.
Five questions to chew on with your team
Do we actually know who drives for work?
How do we know their vehicles and documents stay compliant?
What expectations have we clearly communicated?
When did we last refresh our drivers’ knowledge?
If there was a serious collision tomorrow, could we confidently explain our arrangements?
These conversations tend to uncover easy wins long before anything goes wrong.
Five practical actions to start this week
Map your drivers: Who drives, how often, in what vehicles.
Check the basics: Licences, insurance (including business use), MOTs, and service history.
Refresh your Driving for Work policy: Keep it short, plain-language, action-focused.
Brief on key Highway Code changes: Make it real with everyday scenarios.
Make driving part of safety culture: Talk about journeys, phones, fatigue and planning in regular H&S conversations.
None of this is hard. Together, it builds real assurance.
The bottom line
Driving for work isn’t about vehicles — it’s about people. Every journey is a chain of decisions and behaviours that deserves the same attention as any other work activity. The best organisations don’t aim to just “tick the box.” They aim to make sure their people arrive safely, protect the business, and know their arrangements work in the real world.
So the question isn’t “Do we have a Driving for Work policy?” It’s “Does it give us confidence our people will get home safe?”
We can help you to make sure your up to date!
Please do not hesitate to contact either Leanne on 07709 675925, or Tracey on 07872 589286. Alternatively, you can drop us a message at hello@influentialmg.com.
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