Driving a van for a living is growing in popularity in the UK and also paves the way for many people to be gainfully employed. But it comes with its numerous disadvantages, one of which is the rising number of drivers caught on the wrong side of the law.

Although van drivers were last year considered the safest drivers around, it is no longer news that there have been several incidents that almost gave a lie to this poll result. Almost often tradesmen or some motorists that are found flouting rules turn out to be van drivers.

Of course this assertion does not in anyway generally consider all van drivers risky or potentially a problem. But the big issue here is that with many of them found disobeying motoring rules, as many have demonstrated recently, it tends to paint a poor picture of a whole group.

Van drivers and safer motoring

In some cases, offending motorists were found to have repeatedly committed the same offence over a long period of the time. Such offences often range from not having a valid van insurance cover to over speeding and not having a licence. Truly, all this is not common to only van drivers but cuts across all motorists in the UK. But the fact that this article focuses on van insurance makes it almost exclusively on van drivers.

In a bid to reduce to the number of motoring offences among van drivers in the UK and to also cut down the volume of claims on van insurance, a report recently quoted the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) inviting participants to a research bothering on the safety of young motorists earning livelihood via driving.

The scheme, a very commendable one, would help both divers and their employers – van drivers employed by businesses - understand the need for having a good knowledge of road codes and safety requirements.

In the words of the organisation’s road safety manager, Duncan Vernon: “Most employers are identifying reasons why they feel the learner test does or does not adequately prepare young people for at-work driving.” The learning process may be or may not even be the problem. The real problem could be those taking the tests either not properly undergoing the process or simply forgetting all they learn soon afterwards.

Age and safety on roads

couldn’t even remember a substantial proportion of the country’s Highway Code. This problem arose not because they were not duly tested before they were issued a licence, but over the years many forgot some of the everyday rules they were supposed to apply.

The real horror here is that accidents would continue to rise and be more deadly unless a device to keep re-training drivers on safety rules is adopted.

Safety on ours does not depend on drivers of a particular age range despite the fact that younger drivers are often seen as a higher risk than older ones. Of specific interest to the scheme by ROSPA are van drivers between the ages of 17 and 24. But what also should not be missed is that sometimes older drivers could be found flouting simples rules too.

Using a mobile phone to receive or make calls is a fundamental issue requiring a greater show of responsibility by motorists.  As the campaign seeks to deal with these and other issues, it is only hoped that hundreds of motorists and or employers completed the ROSPA survey in order to make 2009 a year of reduced accidents and fewer claims.