FIRMS that fail to give their employees sufficient time to drive between jobs will risk corporate manslaughter charges if they cause a fatal accident. Companies already have a duty under health and safety legislation to ensure their employees safety and

FIRMS that fail to give their employees sufficient time to drive between jobs will risk corporate manslaughter charges if they cause a fatal accident.

Companies already have a duty under health and safety legislation to ensure their employees' safety and the well-being of anyone who might be affected by that activity.

But, from April, they will also risk prosecution under the Corporate Manslaughter Act if death results from their wilful or reckless failure to manage the risk to and from their employees - such as giving them working schedules that cannot be achieved if they drive safely.

With one in three casualties in Cambridgeshire being in some way work-related - people driving to, from or in the course of their employment - road safety officers have acted to help employers reduce the risk of falling foul of the new law.

That third of all the county's road casualties includes nearly a fifth involving drivers actually at work. The new Act potentially shifts responsibility from individuals to corporations, putting firms at risk of huge fines and making directors and senior managers liable to imprisonment.

Cambridgeshire County Council is offering firms free places on seminars to explain the effect of the new law and what they can do to improve their road safety management. One seminar will take place at Huntingdon Racecourse on Wednesday, March 5.

Jenny Stannard, road safety project manager for the county council, said: "Some 19 per cent of all drivers killed and injured during 2005 and 2006 in Cambridgeshire were driving for work.

"We want to offer local businesses the chance to work closely with us to ensure they comply with legal requirements, and help to reduce casualties on Cambridgeshire's roads."

INFORMATION: To book a place on one of the seminars, contact the road safety team on 01480 375015 or you can get in touch by e-mail at

jenny.stannard@cambridgeshire.gov.uk