13
PRO INSTALLER DECEMBER 2014
PRO NEWS
@proinstaller1
Extra risks
to installers
at Christmas
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PRO Installer,
FREE, from
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The Christmas period is a time for celebrating and
relaxing with family and friends. However, it can
also be a very stressful and dangerous time, with bad
weather, Christmas parties and the stress of trying
to meet deadlines before the festive shut down.
Weather and
Driving Conditions
Weather around the Christmas period is notoriously
bad; darker nights, slippery
roads and lack of visibility,
all present their own issues
through the winter months,
and heightened with the
increased traffic during the
Christmas rush.
Road accident statistics
show that December is the
worst month for drivers to
be on the road, so it is paramount that tradesmen take
extra precautions.
Darker nights, lack of visibility and bad weather conditions such as icy, slippery
roads all increase the risk of
a road traffic accident.
To address this, the Royal
Society for the Prevention of
Accidents (RoSPA), encourages employers to have a
winter driving policy for
their staff who drive for
their businesses.
However, sometimes
conditions are so severe
that common sense must
prevail and journeys should
not be undertaken at all.
It’s no surprise that the best
thing to do in extremely bad
weather is to stay off the
roads completely and employers must ensure this or,
at the very least, warn their
employees not to drive.
Generally, at this time of
year people travel more and
are trying to get to places in haste. The tendency
throughout the Christmas
period is to rush as people
have so many places to be
and more things to do, with
Christmas looming, extra
jobs to get done before the
Christmas deadline, getting
supplies before manufacturers close, on top of domestic festive pressure such as
buying presents and visiting
family.
It is vital to take extra care
whilst driving throughout
the winter months, especially in December when
everyone seems to be
needed in more places, in
shorter spaces of time. Also,
keeping up to date with
road conditions and weather
forecasts should help as
drivers will be aware of how
journeys can be undertaken,
it’s therefore important to
listen to local radio weather
and traffic reports.
The RoSPA has recommended that workers
driving in the winter carry
an ‘Emergency kit’ consisting of:
• A shovel
• Tow rope
• Wellington boots
• A hazard warning triangle
• De-icing equipment
• First aid kit (in good
order)
• A working torch
• A car blanket
• Warm clothes
• Emergency Rations
(inc hot drink in a
flask – non-alcoholic, of
course)
• Mobile Phone (fully
charged)
Electrical dangers
and fire hazards
Christmas pressures
and stress
Christmas lights, tree
lights and candles to name
a few, electrical dangers
and the risk of fire are
greatly increased.
National statistics for the
Department for Communities and Local Government
show that fires in buildings are high in December,