This policy procedure sets out how company and own vehicles are checked and driven for work, and how licences, eyesight checks and accidents are managed and recorded.

Effective Policy Templates

This policy template is supplied in fully editable MS Word format and can be easily customised and edited. The document uses pre-defined style formatting throughout, with all text in Calibri font for improved readability.
The following document labelling is included in the footer:

• Policy number and title
• Information-classification
• Version
• Page number / total pages

alphaZ documents - beautifully designed, tried and tested policy templates. No junk, jargon or unnecessary content. Simple and usable policy templates developed over 25 years through practical use in the real world.

Further Reading

Further guidance on driving for work:

• Driving for Work
• Managing Drivers
• Management of Vehicles
• Health and Safety knowledge base

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How to Download

This file is included in the alphaZ subscription. This policy is also included in the Drivers Toolkit, so the toolkit route gives you this file plus everything else you need in one download.

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Driving and Use of Vehicles Policy Procedure Template

The Driving and Use of Vehicles Policy Procedure is a Word template that sets out how a business controls driving for work and the use of company and private vehicles. It covers driving risk assessment, the Vehicles Register, pre-start checks and defect reporting, driver competence and licence checks, safe driving rules and the steps to take after an accident.

It is written to sit within an IMS1 management system and points to the IMS1 sections on equipment and staff for responsibilities. Title, File Location, Issue No, Issue Date, Controlled By and Approved By fields, an Amendment Record and a Business Use classification in the footer support document control.

What the Policy Covers

• Amendment record, summary, scope and applicability - the purpose of the policy, its scope of all vehicles and business driving, who it applies to and how guidance sections are marked
• Driving risks and company vehicles - risk assessment of driving, the Vehicles Register of service, inspection, tax and insurance dates, taking defective vehicles out of use and how keys are held
• Use of company and own vehicles - pre-start checks, defect reports, documents to carry, emergency equipment, fines, passengers, smoking, vehicle security and business insurance cover for private vehicles
• Competence to drive and licence checks - the Driver Declaration, six monthly eyesight checks, towing, licence validity checks and guidance on check frequency by penalty points
• Driving rules - driver duties, fatigue breaks, fuel efficient driving, route planning, mobile phone use, commercial vehicle loads, drivers hours and manoeuvring around pedestrians
• Incident reporting and external references - reporting every accident or incident, what to do at the scene of a collision, and the external files the policy refers to

Built for Driving at Work

• Every company vehicle held on the Vehicles Register with its service, inspection, tax and insurance due dates
• Vehicles with overdue checks or reported defects taken out of use, with keys labelled and locked away
• A Driver Declaration completed before anyone is authorised to drive for business
• Driver eyesight checks every six months, with licence check frequency guided by the penalty points held
• Clear actions for drivers at the scene of an accident or collision, including reporting directly to management

Who Needs a Driving and Use of Vehicles Policy Procedure?

Any business whose people drive for work, whether in company cars and vans, commercial vehicles or their own vehicles on business. It is written for whoever issues vehicles and checks drivers, as well as for the drivers themselves.

Included in the Drivers Toolkit

This policy is part of the Drivers Toolkit.

How the Policy Fits Together

Service, inspection, tax and insurance dates for each vehicle are held on the ER17 Vehicles Register. The policy also names a Vehicle Defect Report, a Vehicle Details Sheet for emergency equipment, the Driver Declaration and a driver eyesight check register.

Using the Policy

Edit the arrangements to match how your business runs its vehicles, such as where keys are held, how often licences and eyesight are checked and who drivers report to. Name the person responsible in the Controlled By field, give it top level approval and brief every driver before they are authorised to drive.

Related Documents

The P-9 Driving Policy is the policy statement that sits alongside this procedure, and the PP-1-07 Company Vehicles Policy Procedure covers company vehicle management in more depth. The GG-1-01 Safe Driving Guidance, TT-1-01 Safe Driving Training Talk and DRI1-1 Drivers Handbook help brief drivers on safe driving.