Bicycles. For some they’re a way of life. The freedom to go where you want with the wind in your hair. A perfect way to exercise with the joy of pulling on Lycra on a cold windy day! For professional drivers though they can be a pain. Holding you up and riding on the inside of your vehicle? Totally disregarding the rules of the road and leaving a trail of chaos in their wake! Well if your company makes deliveries to London then they’re about to cause you even more trouble!
Transport for London (TfL) have introduced a new accreditation scheme called FORS, the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme. If you haven’t heard of this yet, then you probably will soon as large companies have been actively encouraged to participate in the scheme and it is likely that the scheme will spread to other cities outside London in the very near future.
The scheme is voluntary, although your key customers may insist on you having the accreditation in order for you to make deliveries to them, and is eligible for anybody who operates vans, lorries, mini-buses and coaches. But what’s the point? Well accidents involving vulnerable persons, not just cyclists – pedestrians as well, are normally serious. The aim of the scheme is to educate drivers and ensure that your fleet is running efficiently and safely.
The accreditation process consists of a rigorous audit which will test your fleet’s processes, documentation and systems. How good are you actually at what you do? Can you prove it? Honestly?!
At ProAktive we have already helped a number of companies to achieve FORS accreditation successfully and we will definitely be able to help you. Call us now to find out how we can help.
By Ian Clayton GradIOSH