How to write a driving for work policy

A driving for work policy is a written document that sets out how your business manages the risks to people who drive or ride on the road as part of their job. Following HSE’s approach, it normally covers a safe driver, a safe vehicle and a safe journey, along with who is responsible, how incidents are reported and how the policy is reviewed.

This guide explains what that looks like in practice and gives a section-by-section outline you can adapt. It is general information, not legal advice.

Have the finished policy checked by a health and safety or legal adviser who knows your business.

Why Does A Driving For Work Policy Matter?

Employers must manage the health and safety risks to staff who drive or ride for work, and a written policy is the practical way to record how you do it. Work-related driving accounts for a large share of reported road deaths, so the risk is not theoretical.

The legal duty

The duty sits in general health and safety law, principally the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. HSE’s guidance on the law says it includes assessing drivers’ competence and capabilities and checking that licences, insurance and MOTs are valid.

The scale of the risk

DfT estimates that in 2025, 445 people were killed in reported road collisions in Great Britain involving someone driving for work. That was 29% of all road deaths, and DfT says the true figure is likely to be higher because journey purpose is often unrecorded.

Who enforces it

Police and DVSA enforce road traffic law. HSE generally becomes involved where serious management failures contributed to an incident, and in the most serious cases corporate manslaughter charges are possible.

A written policy that is actually followed is one of the clearest ways to show how the business manages the risk.

What Counts As Driving For Work?

Driving for work covers anyone driving or riding on the road as part of their work, in any vehicle, including hire cars and employees’ own cars. Commuting from home to a fixed workplace does not normally count.

Journeys in and out of scope

Before writing anything, define the scope. HSE’s guidance covers anyone driving or riding on the road as part of their work, in any vehicle.

Journey	Driving for work?
Delivering goods or visiting clients in a company van	Yes
Driving a hire car to a meeting	Yes
Using their own car to visit another branch	Yes, this is grey fleet
Riding a motorcycle or bicycle for deliveries	Yes
Commuting from home to a fixed workplace	No
Travelling from home straight to a temporary site	Yes, HSE says journeys from home to a location that is not the normal workplace can count

Own vehicles are in scope

If staff use their own vehicles, the policy needs to cover them. Our guide to grey fleet explains the extra insurance and vehicle checks involved.

What Should A Driving For Work Policy Include?

Most policies run from purpose and scope through responsibilities, safe driver, safe vehicle and safe journey, then alcohol and drugs, incidents and penalties, monitoring and a signed driver declaration. The outline below follows that order and can be shortened or extended.

The outline follows a common structure. Add, remove or merge sections to fit your business.

A small trades firm might fit it on four pages, while a large mixed fleet may need a separate handbook.

1. Purpose, scope and commitment

State why the policy exists, who it applies to (employees, agency staff, contractors, volunteers) and which vehicles it covers. Include a short commitment from senior management and the date it takes effect.

2. Responsibilities

Set out who does what. Typical roles:

• Directors or owners: overall responsibility, resources and review
• Fleet or operations manager: licence checks, vehicle maintenance, insurance and records
• Line managers: journey scheduling, workloads and first response to incidents
• Drivers: following the policy, daily checks and reporting problems

3. Safe driver

This section covers whether the person should be driving at all.

• Licences. Checked before driving for work and on a regular schedule. Explain the method, for example a DVLA check code, which is valid for 21 days and works once. See our guide to driving licence checks.
• Entitlement. Drivers only use vehicles their licence allows, including weight limits and towing.
• Fitness to drive. Eyesight, medical conditions and medication, and the driver’s duty to tell the business and to tell DVLA about any health condition that affects driving.
• Training. Induction, vehicle-specific training (for example tail lifts or trailers) and refresher or remedial training.
• Young and newly qualified drivers. Any extra supervision or vehicle restrictions. Our young drivers guide covers this.
• Duty to report. Drivers tell the business straight away about new points, disqualification or loss of entitlement.

4. Safe vehicle

This section covers whether the vehicle is fit for the journey and the task.

• Suitability. The right vehicle for the load, passengers and distance.
• Daily or pre-use checks. Tyres, lights, fluids, mirrors, load security and visible damage.
• Maintenance. Servicing to manufacturer schedules, MOTs where required and a defect reporting route.
• Insurance. Company vehicles are insured for their use, and employees’ own vehicles carry business use cover.
• Safety equipment. For example first aid kits, warning triangles, fire extinguishers or hi-vis clothing where your risk assessment calls for them.
• Load security. Loads secured and within the vehicle’s weight limits.

5. Safe journey

This section covers how, when and where people drive.

• Journey planning. Realistic schedules, routes and alternatives to driving, such as video calls or rail.
• Working hours and fatigue. Limits on driving time and total working day, breaks and rules after night shifts. Drivers of some goods and passenger vehicles are subject to drivers’ hours rules.
• Weather. When journeys should be delayed or cancelled.
• Mobile phones. It is illegal to hold and use a phone, sat nav or similar device while driving, including when stopped in traffic. Many businesses go further and ban all calls while driving.
• Lone working. Check-in arrangements for drivers working alone or late.

6. Alcohol, drugs and medication

Set a clear rule, which may be stricter than the legal limit, and explain how the business will respond if it is broken. Point drivers to the drug driving law and remind them that some prescription and over-the-counter medicines can affect driving.

7. Incidents, claims and penalties

• What to do at the scene, and what information to collect
• Who to report to, and how quickly
• How the business notifies its insurer or broker
• How near misses are recorded and reviewed

Also cover penalty notices. Under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 a vehicle’s keeper must say who was driving when police ask, and a written request usually has to be answered within 28 days.

A company only has a defence for not keeping records if it can show that was reasonable, so keep a log of who drove each vehicle and when.

8. Monitoring, records and review

Explain what the business records (licence checks, training, vehicle checks, incidents, telematics if used) and how that data is handled. ICO guidance says workers must be told about any vehicle monitoring.

Set a review date, and say what triggers an earlier review.

9. Driver declaration

End with a short statement drivers sign to confirm they have read and understood the policy, hold a valid licence and will report changes.

What Should You Check Before You Issue The Policy?

Run the draft against a short checklist covering scope, named responsibilities, licence checks, vehicle checks, insurance conditions, incident reporting, adviser review and signed declarations. Each item is a place policies commonly come unstuck.

Pre-issue checklist

• Scope includes every vehicle type used for work, including own and hired vehicles
• Responsibilities name roles, not just “the company”
• Licence check method and frequency are stated
• Vehicle checks and defect reporting are practical for drivers to follow
• Rules match your insurance policy conditions (driving clause, licence checks, security)
• Incident reporting links to how you notify your insurer or broker
• A qualified adviser has reviewed the final text
• Drivers have signed the declaration and records are kept

Where Do Driving For Work Policies Usually Fall Short?

Policies most often fail by covering only company vehicles, naming nobody as owner, contradicting the work schedule, ignoring contractors or drifting out of step with the insurance. Review your draft against the gaps below before you issue it.

Common gaps to look for

Many policies look complete on paper but miss the situations where incidents actually happen. Check for these:

• It only covers company vehicles. Staff in hire cars, pool cars and their own cars are left out, even though their journeys count as driving for work.
• Nobody owns it. The policy names “management” as responsible, so licence checks and vehicle reviews quietly stop.
• Schedules contradict it. The policy bans phone calls while driving, but managers expect drivers to answer immediately. Or it limits driving hours, but the job sheet makes that impossible.
• Contractors are not mentioned. Subcontractors or agency drivers using your vehicles are not asked to read or sign anything.
• It does not match the insurance. The policy lets any employee drive any vehicle, while the fleet policy has a minimum age or restricts certain vehicles.
• Incidents stop at the scene. There is guidance on what to do after a collision, but no process for reviewing why it happened.
• It is never reviewed. New vehicles, such as electric vans or vehicles with tail lifts, arrive without any update to training or checks.

Ask the drivers

Fixing these gaps usually matters more than adding new sections. Ask a couple of drivers to read the draft and tell you where it does not match their working day.

How Does A Policy Help With Fleet Insurers?

Fleet insurers want to understand how a business manages its drivers and vehicles, not just what it owns, and a signed, followed policy is concrete evidence of that. No policy guarantees particular terms or a lower premium.

What a broker may ask

A broker may ask whether you have a driving for work policy, whether drivers sign it and how you check it is followed.

Three practical benefits

It gives the broker evidence to present, especially if you have had claims and changed your approach since. It also helps you meet policy conditions, such as licence checks or security requirements, consistently.

Over time, better driving shows up in the claims record, which many insurers weigh heavily at renewal.

Keep it honest

A document that describes what you actually do is worth far more than a template nobody follows. A written policy is also one of the items in our fleet insurance renewal checklist.

What Should You Do About Your Own Policy?

If you have no policy, start from the outline above and write down what already happens, filling the gaps in order of risk. If you already have one, compare it against your current fleet and the work your drivers do now.

Starting from nothing

Write down what already happens, then fill the gaps in order of risk. Licence checks and insurance come first, then vehicle checks, then journey planning and phone rules.

Updating an existing policy

New vehicle types, a move into hire and reward work or more staff using their own cars all mean the policy needs updating. Set the review date before you file it away.

Construction and trades

Construction and trades firms should also check the policy covers site driving and towing. Our construction fleet insurance page covers those risks.

Sending it to a broker

When you next speak to a broker about fleet insurance, send the policy with your driver list and vehicle schedule. It shows how you manage risk, in writing.

Sources

• HSE: Driving and riding safely for work (employers)
• HSE: The law on driving for work
• HSE: Make sure drivers and riders are safe
• HSE: Maintain vehicles
• DfT: Reported road casualties Great Britain involving driving for work
• Road Traffic Act 1988, section 172
• GOV.UK: Health conditions and driving
• GOV.UK: Drivers' hours
• GOV.UK: Using a phone, sat nav or other device when driving
• GOV.UK: Drugs and driving, the law
• ICO: Specific considerations for different methods of monitoring workers

Updates

• 17 September 2026 : last reviewed
• 17 September 2026 : Legal and regulatory points checked against official sources

General information about UK fleet insurance, not advice. How we write and check our content