4. Road Safety & Maintenance

4. Road Safety & Maintenance

The organisation shall consider all aspects of its operation that have an impact or possible impact on the safety of other road users and consequently determine all associated risks. The significant (major) risks shall be identified with appropriate mitigating measures implemented. (The organisation may choose to use various tools e.g. risk matrix, impact register, management programmes etc.)

There shall be evidence that the organisation monitors driver behaviour characteristics that has or could have an impact on safety of the vehicle and on public road users. To this end, the organisation shall have a process and system to monitor all such characteristics including, but not limited to

  • Speeding
  • Traffic violations
  • Accidents/Incidents
  • Public feedback

Accident/Incident Process

  • Procedure
  • Investigation Report
  • Root cause analysis
  • Corrective Actions
  • Preventable/Non-preventable

All  accidents and incidents  require an investigation into whether the accident or incident was preventable or non-preventable. Where possible corrective actions will then be implemented to prevent re-occurrence.

The organisation shall give recognition for positive traits relating to the above characteristics to promote a culture of safety within the organisation. Where negative trends are detected, the organisation shall implement appropriate corrective actions to improve driver behaviour. Such corrective actions need not necessarily be punitive and could include coaching, mentoring and training.

Audit Requirements:

  • Risk Assessment
  • Policy on speeding
  • How is speeding monitored?
  • What actions are taken?
  • Are Traffic Offences recorded?
  • Are these analysed?
  • What actions are taken?
  • Are accidents/incidents investigated?
  • Are (probable) root causes determined?
  • What corrective actions are taken?

All vehicles in the RTMS fleet inventory shall be kept in a roadworthy condition at all times. Adequate resources shall be allocated so the vehicles are consistently safe, in roadworthy condition as well as visually presentable. The organisation shall have a procedure that defines the vehicle maintenance process including, but not limited to the following:

  • A vehicle maintenance schedule, indicating that servicing of vehicles is planned as per original equipment manufacturer (OEM) specified mileage intervals.
  • The responsibility for recording vehicle mileage and updating the schedule to prevent the possibility of exceeding prescribed service intervals
  • Adequate storage of and access to available records for all prescribed services done e.g. checklists, invoices, job cards etc. This applies to both self-propelled vehicles and trailing equipment.

Audit Requirements

  • Is there a structured system for preventive maintenance?
  • How is service schedule controlled?
  • Latest mileage accurately captured?
  • Are there records of historical services (last 3)
  • Are service checklists available?
  • Is the maintenance process applied to vehicles and trailers?
  • Tyre Management (surveys – tread depth, pressure, condition, mismatching tyres, tread depth on dual tyres)