The Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC) is calling on both political parties in the lead up to the State Election to commit to ensuring the safety of people using workplace vehicles.

VACC Executive Director, David Purchase, said workplace vehicles were very much a part of occupational health and safety which must be addressed by legislation.

“Vehicles used in the performance of work must not be neglected and employers must be aware of roadworthiness standards.

“Owners and operators of vehicles used for work must ensure they are providing a safe system of work to meet their obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.”

In Australia, according to OHS and Coroner’s data, work-related road crashes accounted for 30 per cent of work-related deaths (1989-92).  Since then, work drivers have been recognised as a higher risk for accident and injury than for non-work drivers.

Mr Purchase said VACC believed owners and operators of workplace vehicles must be required to ensure a regular schedule of maintenance was carried out on these vehicles.

He said VACC was calling on the Government to require operators to:

• Develop an in-house vehicle safety system and maintenance and management program;
• Document and prescribe a set of operator checks and procedures;
• Produce and maintain documentary evidence within a prescribed system of record-keeping, verifiable by WorkSafe inspection and audit;
• Undergo independent audit from time to time.

Mr Purchase said VACC presented this information in a research paper at the Safe Roads Conference last week.

“VACC will be asking the next Government to implement guidelines for all workplace vehicle owners to ensure a regular schedule of maintenance is followed to keep our working family members safe on the roads,” he said.