3 ways to automate a driving risk assessment

#1 - Simple assessment

Who it's for: Single-site businesses recording their own driving risk assessment, where you know your drivers and vehicles and just need a clear, structured record.

What it is: A driving risk assessment records each risk when staff drive for work, the people it could harm, the controls in place, and any further action needed. This version is structured around the 10 areas of driving-for-work risk: driver coverage, vehicle condition and maintenance, driver eligibility and fitness, driver fatigue, journey planning, mobile phones and distractions, load safety, accidents and breakdowns, vehicle insurance, and monitoring and review. Each area is a small group of three prompts written for that area. Driver coverage asks you to identify gaps in who counts as a driver, decide who might be harmed and how, and evaluate how driving roles are identified and decide on precautions; Driver fatigue asks about the fatigue hazards and who is at risk from a tired driver; and so on through all 10, so every question tells you exactly what it's about. Driving for work falls under the same duty as any other workplace risk, the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, even though the risk happens off-site.

In practice: A delivery business works down the 10 areas. Under Driver fatigue: the hazard (long routes, back-to-back drop-offs), who's at risk (the driver and other road users), and the precautions (an eight-hour daily limit, a 15-minute break every two hours, no more than four consecutive hours on a night shift). Under Vehicle insurance: business-use cover confirmed for every van and for the two staff who use their own cars for supply runs. Three short answers per area, and the whole fleet gets covered.

Why it works: Driving for work is one of the largest single causes of work-related death, but many businesses overlook it because the risk happens off-site, not on the premises. The 10 areas cover the vehicle, the driver, the journey and the paperwork, not just the hazards someone happened to think of. And splitting each area into three prompts means nobody has to remember what a good answer contains; the structure asks for hazards, people, and precautions separately, which is what makes the record defensible.

Steps included:

• 10 assessment areas: driver coverage, vehicle condition and maintenance, driver eligibility and fitness, driver fatigue, journey planning, mobile phones and distractions, load safety, accidents and breakdowns, vehicle insurance, and monitoring and review
• Each area is a group of 3 prompts written for it: identify the hazards, decide who might be harmed and how, evaluate the risks and decide on precautions

#2 - With guidance

Who it's for: Businesses where a manager, not a driving specialist, completes the driving risk assessment and needs the method in front of them.

What it is: The same 10 areas and three prompts, but each area's group now carries its own written guidance: why that area matters and what to check before you answer. The driver fatigue group carries the maximum hours, breaks and night-driving limits; the vehicle insurance group carries business-use cover and self-certification; the load safety group carries the loading checklist and weight limits.

What it adds to the simple assessment:

1. Guidance for every area, on screen exactly where you answer it
2. What to check before answering, not just a blank box
3. An assessment that's consistent whoever completes it

Why it works: Generic guidance at the top of a form gets skimmed once and forgotten by area 7. Guidance attached to each area gets read at the moment it's needed, so a manager who isn't a driving specialist still asks the right questions about licence checks, fatigue limits, and load security.

Steps included:

• The 10 assessment areas, each a group of 3 prompts
• 10 guidance notes, one per area: why it matters and what to check

#3 - With photo evidence

Who it's for: Businesses that want visual proof the driver and vehicle checks were actually done.

What it is: The same 10 areas and three prompts, but each area's group now carries a photo step. As you assess each area you photograph it: the tyre tread, the licence, the load as secured, the emergency contact sheet kept in the vehicle. The record shows the condition of each area at the time, not just a description of it.

In practice: A logistics firm works through the assessment with a phone. At Vehicle condition and maintenance they photograph the tyre tread on each van; at Load safety, the secured load before departure; at Accidents and breakdowns, the emergency contact sheet kept in the glovebox. Every answer now has a picture next to it.

What it adds to the simple assessment:

1. A photo per area, captured as you assess it
2. Proof the checks actually happened, not just a ticked box
3. A visual baseline to compare against at the next review

Why it works: A written assessment says the tyres were checked; a photo shows it. When the assessment is reviewed next year, the photos also show what changed. And because the photo step sits with its area, the evidence files itself against the right risk instead of landing in a camera roll.

Steps included:

• The 10 assessment areas, each a group of 3 prompts
• 10 photo steps, one per area: the vehicle or driver evidence for that area, captured at the time

How to pick the right version

You don't need to know our product to choose. Every version here is the same 10-area assessment; the additions change who can run it and what the record proves.

Do other people run the assessment?

If you run it yourself and know the method, the plain steps are enough: #1. The moment a manager who isn't a driving specialist does it, the guidance needs to be on screen next to each area: #2.

Do you need photo proof?

A written assessment meets the duty; photos show the actual condition of each area. If a written record is enough, #1 or #2. If you want the tyre tread, the load, and the emergency contact sheet on camera next to their answers, #3.

Need both? Open the version that matters most in the playground and add the other's steps. That is how the product works anyway: every option here is the same assessment with steps added.

Related workflows

• Lone working risk assessment - drivers are often lone workers
• Working outside risk assessment - related weather and visibility risks
• Stress risk assessment - driver fatigue and mental fitness

Conclusion

Driving for work is one of the largest causes of work-related death, but many businesses overlook it because the risk happens off-site. A driving risk assessment covers the vehicle, the driver, the journey and the paperwork across 10 areas, and records the controls you have in place. Every version above is the same 10-area assessment plus one addition: written guidance in every area, or a photo of the checks as they happen. Pick the one your business needs and build on it in the playground.

→ Build your own driving risk assessment on Pilla.