Newslink October 2021

News
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In 1997 46 people were killed
in crashes that involved
towing, with 238 other ‘serious’
incidents... by 2019 these
figures had fallen to 96 serious
incidents and just two fatalities
Continued from page 10
The second reason is that, if an
accident were to occur, the council or
employer could be liable for damages.
Ensuring staff are trained in their use can
mitigate against any future legal claims.
It is the same principle with towing a
trailer. If you are trained, you are safer.
And if you are trained but do have a
crash, at least the employer can point
out it has done all it can to keep you safe
– thus possibly avoiding a health and
safety or corporate manslaughter charge.
It is, in many ways, the sentiment that
has driven fleet driving programmes in
the past; keeping drivers safe while
driving for work is good for them and
good for the business.
I appreciate that the above might not
be enough to help bring B+E trainers out
of their current malaise, so I have some
potentially good news. At the start of this
row MSA GB was contacted by the
National Trailer and Towing Association
(NATA) to seek our views.
As you can well imagine, NATA was
seething about the government’s plan
and was reaching out to driver training
bodies for support.
This was something I and my
colleagues at NASP were more than
happy to offer and between us we have
floated the idea of a ‘Certificate of
Competence’ to the DVSA. It would be a
midway point between what we have
now and the old system, a way of
proving that a driver has taken some kind
of formal training on towing trailers/
caravans. It would give members of the
public something to aim for and, in the
case of an employee, would prove that
an organisation has their wellbeing at
heart – as well as provide that bit of legal
cover in the event of a damages claim.
We are a long way from such a
certificate at the moment, the nuts and
bolts have still to be thrashed out,
however, we are pushing DVSA to at
least consider the idea.
See page 12 for more on this.
One thing to stress: as far as MSA GB
10
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and NASP are concerned, such a
certificate of competence would only be
signed off by a fully qualified ADI.
The benefit of this to our members in
the B+E sector is obvious: at present,
some of those operating in this area are
not ADIs. This often comes as a surprise
to members, however, the current law as
it stands still allows training in the sector
without any qualification, in much the
same way that anyone can lead fleet
driver programmes as long as they have
a full driving licence.
The Certificate I’ve mentioned here
would at least go some way to close part
of that loophole in the law.
The DVSA’s view at present is that it
may like to get involved, perhaps
overseeing registered B+E trainers’ work
in a similar way to how MoT stations are
approved by DVSA (ex-VOSA) officials.
Watch this space for more details.
This may be the answer in the
long-term. In the short-term, we have to
hope there are no major road safety
consequences from this decision.
Let’s face it, it is unlikely to have a
great impact for some time. I don’t think
many of today’s learners will rush out to
1997
buy a trailer or caravan and start driving
around, do you? It is more likely that
over time – say, the next five-10 years –
we will see a gradual increase in
trailer-related incidents.
This will be a shame. The bar chart
below highlights just how well we’ve
done on reducing traffic incidents
involving trailers. The chart shows that,
in 1997, after steady rises of incidents in
the previous five years, 46 people were
killed in crashes that involved towing,
while in total 238 incidents were classed
as ‘serious’, meaning victims received
hospital treatment in varying degrees.
By 2019 these figures had fallen to 96
serious incidents and just two fatalities.
In other words, the B+E training and
testing community has helped keep many,
many people alive – indeed, hundreds
over the period, while potentially
thousands were stopped from receiving
life-changing injuries.
That’s a stat to be proud of, and it is
shattering that its significance has been
swept away in the desperate search for
more LGV drivers, no matter how
important those ‘knights of the road’ are
to the wider economic picture.
More reaction: see
pgs 25 and 27
plus Minister’s
response on
page 12
The chart above shows all incidents involving cars towing trailers/caravans since 1992
to 2019. Each bar for a year represents fatalities, serious incidents and minor ones,
with a final bar totalising the numbers. The chart peaks on the sixth set of bars (1997)
and immediately starts to fall away as the impact of training and testing is felt
NEWSLINK n OCTOBER 2021