Author: Caroline Holmes, IAM
DAY in day out. Just the thought of it makes you feel … Well, frustrated, lifeless, so much wasted time spent in traffic. You know the sort of thing.
And that can be part of the problem of the 9 to 5 commute (ok, how many small businesses actually work those hours, eh?). The relentless sameness can sometimes mean that you sometimes arrive at work and realise you can’t remember anything about your drive there. Scary.
Diving on auto pilot is a dangerous thing.
But what can you do about it tome make commuting to work safer?
As we all know, it’s always everyone else around us that is the problem! The biggest problem with commuting is that everyone travels at the same time. Drivers get frustrated and tired and with that can come unpredictably – so watch out for people changing lanes suddenly as they try and get ahead of the traffic. Keep a close watch on your fellow commuters and company car drivers, and anticipate the actions of those business car drivers around you.
Stay calm. Being stuck in traffic and late for work is stressful, so allow more time than you’re likely to need for the journey – I know the temptation to spend an extra 15 minutes in bed is often overwhelming, but some extra time really can make your commute less stressful.
What if you’re going to be late for an important business meeting? I recently spent two hours on the M4 and covered only three miles. If you’re going to be late and need to let a colleague know, pull over into a safe place not obstructing other traffic, switch the engine off and make the call before carrying on – well, not on the hard shoulder of a motorway of course! Avoid rushing the rest of the journey to make up time. Better late than never, especially where your life’s concerned. And please, don’t be tempted to use your smartphone to check your work emails while you drive.
If you need to make a longer business journey, check the weather forecast before you travel. If heavy rain is forecast, you know that it will mean a slower journey time. If snow ir ice is forecast, consider whether you really do need to make that business meeting. Often it can be safer to cancel and reschedule. When you are on the road, listen out for traffic updates on the radio in case your route is affected, but never look for updates on your mobile phone or satnav while on the move. The Highways Agency has a useful app with up to date traffic information for incidents on its roads, but remember you are breaking the law if you access it on a hand-held device, while moving.
Knowing an alternative route in case of an accident or road closures is also useful. As is a road atlas, that old-fashioned item seemingly consigned to the dustbin of history by the advent of the satnav. But it remains a highly useful reference source. Especially when you need to re-route.
- Know more about the classes of use for business insurance. Click here
Finally, does your insurance cover you? Many policies will include commuting, but make sure they do, and if you start a job which involves commuting further remember to increase the mileage on your insurance premium. If you are expected to drive for work, you need to make sure your insurer covers you for business mileage too.
If you have an accident driving for work, you won’t be covered if you don’t have this. Many employers will have driver risk assessment schemes in place, and business car insurance, but they are not legally obliged to do so, so don’t leave this business car issue to chance.
