The Penalties for non-compliance

Criminal
Line managers and Company Directors can be charged even when they are not directly responsible for the offence; the Government has recommended that reckless driving should attract the same penalty as at present for manslaughter. Not only could businesses, directors and managers face criminal prosecutions in the event of an employee being involved in a road traffic accident, but there are increasing warnings that civil proceedings could be instigated by employees disgruntled at the work load, unsuitable vehicle condition and lack of care shown towards them by employers 

Financial
Failure to comply with the regulations could lead to a criminal prosecution and/or an unlimited financial penalty based on company turnover. In many cases this could bring a company down.

Reputation
Serious accidents are always covered by the local - and sometimes the national Press. Breeches of Health and Safety regulations by local firms are also considered ‘news worthy’. Negative publicity like this, will damage your company and its image.

An employee driving his own vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian on a pelican crossing after falling asleep at the wheel. Although driving on company business, the employee had failed to take out business insurance cover, and the employer had no procedures to check this.

VERDICT
The employee was jailed for three years and banned from driving for 10 years.

The Sales Manager, Fleet Manager, and Managing Director ,were also prosecuted for failures in policies and procedure