Driving - guidance for safety critical work

Essential guide: Our Critical Risk expectations

The word MUST means it is a mandatory requirement. Where you see the words YOUR CALL it means you are strongly advised to do this, but you can use your judgement.

Joining Contact

Licensing and training:

Before driving a Contact vehicle, you MUST meet the following requirements:

Hold current driver licenses for the correct classes of vehicle and ensure that endorsements are valid.
Overseas employees from “exempt” countries who have a had a full licence for two years may drive a Contact Vehicle with a full International Driving Licence without requiring a test. Exempt countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA. Please check the link below for any updates to the list.
Drivers from non-exempt countries MUST also complete the New to New Zealand AA Driver program.
Managers and drivers should note the impact on overseas licence holders who are from a country that requires them to convert their overseas licence to a New Zealand licence by taking a theory and practical test.
Immediately advise your people leader if, for any reason, your license is no longer current or valid.
Advise your people leaders of speeding tickets and other driving offences affecting licence status.
Complete a consent and registration form for the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) Transport Organisation Register Online TORO program to enable the status of your licence to be verified and monitored. (This will happen during onboarding)
Attend any driver training required.
Be trained and/or deemed competent to drive a specialist vehicle, drive off-road or with a trailer.

Vehicle operation

You MUST:

Comply with the New Zealand Road Code and all traffic laws, rules and regulations.
Plan your journey (see section below).
Complete a “walk around‟ inspection of the vehicle prior to use. This is a visual inspection for vehicle defects.
Ensure all occupants wear a seatbelt,
Always drive with headlights or daytime driving lights on.
Engage four-wheel drive (4WD) when appropriate to the conditions, such as driving off-road or on unsealed roads.
Not engage in Teams meetings or other meetings whilst driving.
Only use radios for responding to critical operational or safety requirements where stopping is impractical.
Where possible avoid potential distractions (e.g. eating).
Notify any events or near-misses through Cintellate as an event or observation.
If involved in an accident, you MUST use the guide and form in the glovebox to record the relevant information from all involved.
Ensure loads are secure.
Not use cruise control when driving in adverse weather, on unsealed roads, or when carrying dangerous goods.
Not be under the influence of alcohol or illicit substances when driving.
Not drive a vehicle if you are taking prescription medication that advises against driving or can make you drowsy.
Inform your people leader of any prescription medication you are taking in this instance.
Drive in a manner that does not reflect badly on our brand. Courtesy on the road is mandatory, irrespective of others’ behaviour, lateness or in any other circumstances,
Not smoke or vape in Contact vehicles.
Pay any fines incurred for driving offences and infringements, including parking and speeding.

Maintenance

Contact vehicles are maintained according to manufacturer’s guidelines. Periodic vehicle checks are carried out at sites or by those individuals assigned vehicles. These inspections include tyre conditions, fluids, presence of emergency equipment, windscreens, lights, etc.

You MUST report defects which could in any way affect safety or longer-term vehicle performance to your fleet coordinator immediately. Return keys to the fleet coordinator or site administrator rather than back to the key box or board so that the vehicle cannot be used until the defect is resolved. The vehicle MUST not be driven until the defect has been rectified.

Assigned vehicles

Where a vehicle is assigned to an individual as part of their role they MUST:

Prior to use, perform a walk around inspection of the vehicle to check its general condition, particularly those features that may affect the safety performance of the vehicle like tyres.
Carry out periodic safety inspections as required (these will be scheduled for you).
Ensure, where applicable, Warrant of Fitness (WOF), road user charges and other licences are displayed.
Immediately inform the Fleet Coordinator of any vehicle maintenance needs, mechanical or safety problems.
Present the vehicle for repairs, servicing, adjustments, and preventive maintenance as scheduled by the Fleet Coordinator.
Keep the vehicle clean and tidy, to a standard appropriate for the nature of the use of the vehicle.

Trailers, towing and loading

When towing trailers, you MUST:

Check the trailer WOF and Rego is in date
Check the trailer is correctly fitted to vehicle and safety chains are fitted and in good condition.
A minimum of two tie downs MUST be used, MUST be inspected for wear, have a capacity twice the weight of the load and be anchored securely to rails, hooks or eyes.
Ensure loads are spread across the deck, larger and heavier items at the bottom, kept within the trailer body and positioned close to the axle.
Not exceed the maximum speed of 90km/h.

Journey planning

Planning your journey can help reduce the risks associated with driving. Risk factors to consider when planning your journey:

Will you be travelling alone?
Will you be travelling for extended distances in rural and/or remote areas?
Do you anticipate adverse weather (e.g. snow, ice, high winds or heavy rain) or adverse road conditions on your journey?
Can you postpone your journey?
Will you be driving for any part of the journey on unformed or gravel roads?
Will your vehicle be towing a load? Don’t tow in icy conditions.
Will you be travelling between midnight-6am?

Some specialist vehicles may require more formal journey planning (e.g. crane trucks to avoid low bridges or side by sides off-road).

International travel

Contact recommends that if you are flying internationally, you should consider whether it is safe to drive immediately on landing. You should consider whether an overnight stay at or near the airport before continuing your journey is appropriate.

Keeping safe on your journey

We operate two different ways of managing solo driving on journeys:

If available to your business unit, and you travelling to an area known to have poor communications, a Garmin in Reach should be taken and a communication plan agreed with your people leader.

If a Garmin is unavailable then consider using the GetHomeSafe (GHS) app which logs your expected route, journey time and return time. In the event of you exceeding driving time or arriving late, your nominated person will be informed, and the prescribed process followed to check in on you and/or offer help.

If you are not using either of these methods you can “Share Trip Progress” using a feature of the Google Maps App. This allows you to share your journey with your people leader and family and your expected arrival time. Start your journey using the App and then click on the icon that looks like a rugby ball that is located next to the total journey time.

Fatigue management

Driver fatigue can be particularly dangerous. The symptoms include poor concentration, slower reactions and increased risk taking and you don’t control the vehicle as well.

Do not drive when you experience symptoms of fatigue. If a driver becomes fatigued or ill, they MUST stop in a safe area and rest until they feel fit to continue.

You are at a higher risk of suffering the symptoms of fatigue if you work irregular hours, shifts, nightshifts, turnarounds or are on-call.

Recognise the warning signs:

Having trouble focusing, keeping your eyes open or holding your head up.
Daydreaming, wandering or disconnected thoughts, memory loss.
Yawning or rubbing your eyes repeatedly.
Drifting from your lane, tailgating and missing signs or exits.
Feeling restless and irritable.

Please raise an observation in Cintellate/Roam if you suffer fatigue when driving to or from work or whilst you are driving a Contact vehicle. These observations help us to gather data and better understand where fatigue whilst driving is an issue for us.

Tips to help you avoid driver fatigue:

Get a good night’s sleep before driving, preferably for a minimum of eight hours.
Avoid driving during the hours when you’re normally sleeping.
Make sure that after sleep, you’re fully awake before driving.
Don’t drink even small amounts of alcohol as it makes fatigue much worse.
When taking long trips, include rest breaks in your journey plan.
Share the driving if possible but ask your passenger to stay awake as sleep is contagious.
Snack on light, fresh foods. Fatty, sugary or carbohydrate-filled foods can make you tired.
During long trips, take rest breaks about every two hours.

If you start feeling sleepy or notice any of the warning signs:

Don’t keep driving – pull over in a safe place, as far off the road as possible,
Take a 15–25-minute power nap in the passenger seat. Try not to nap for longer than 40 minutes or you may feel groggy and disoriented afterward. Wait at least 10 minutes before you start driving again, to make sure that you’re completely awake, walk around the car and have a stretch.

Legal working and rest limits

Drivers MUST not exceed the legal work time. Rest limits for most of our vehicles are:

Take a break of at least 30 minutes after five and a half hours of driving time.
If working more than 13 hours in any continuous 24-hour period, take a break of at least 10 hours before continuing work that involves driving.
If working more than 70 hours in any week, you MUST take a break of at least 24 hours before continuing work that involves driving.
If you are driving a vehicle of a different class, you may be required to follow the NZTA Work time and logbook requirements.

Use of Contact vehicles

On-call

Some of our people have periods where they are “on call” and may be required to respond to emergent events with our assets. If approved by your people leader, you may take a vehicle home for the period of the on-call duty.

Private use of Contact vehicles

Unless assigned a Contact vehicle with reasonable private use of the vehicle stipulated, no private use of Contact vehicles is allowed. If a vehicle is provided for use exclusively by one person, the Allocated Driver may take the vehicle home.

Whilst vehicles in this category may not be used for personal use, if in the course of travel from home to work, the staff member needs to meet personal commitments which are on that route, e.g. dropping or picking up children from school, providing the vehicle is suitable for this activity, this will not be deemed to be personal use.

Use of personal vehicles

You MUST only use your personal vehicle for work if you have the prior approval of your people leader and you are insured to do so. Reimbursement is through an expense claim at the per kilometre rate set by the Inland Revenue.

Use of mobile phones & smart watches

While it’s safest not to use a mobile phone while driving, the reality is that driver use of phones using hands free is commonplace. Legal phone use, even by very experienced drivers, can still be distracting and increase the risk of an incident.

Hands free doesn’t mean risk free! This is because a driver using a phone can be distracted by the content of a text or concentrating on the conversation rather than on the road.

It is illegal to use any device including smart watches when driving unless it can be operated without touching it (e.g. by voice).

Contact strongly recommended that mobile phones, or other devices are not used whilst driving as they can cause distraction.

If you feel it necessary to take a hands-free call, it’s YOUR CALL but it’s recommended that you:

keep the conversion short.
don’t engage in complex or emotional conversations.
tell the person on the other end of the phone that you’re driving and may have to end the call abruptly.
end the call if it's distracting you from driving.

If you call someone and they pick up your call when driving, Contact strongly recommend you tell the person you are ending the call and will arrange a call when they are not driving.

Booking a vehicle

Some vehicles are assigned to individuals due to their roles, and these are not bookable. People may book pool vehicles via the main SharePoint page and searching for “IVMS” in the applications menu. If a vehicle is booked but does not leave the site within 30 minutes of the booking start time the booking will be cancelled. You can only book a vehicle if you have completed a TORO form.

Electric vehicles (EVs)

We have a wide range of EVs, and vehicle familiarization training can be made available at site through the site administrator or fleet coordinator on request.

Charging

We have accounts with ChargeNet and BP, and each EV has a key fob or card for each that can be used to pay for charging at ChargeNet and BP public stations. Instructions for how to charge vehicles are in the glovebox of all EV’s.

The power of chargers can vary from 50 KW to more than 300KW so bear this in mind because it will impact how long you need to charge for before continuing your journey.

There are also other public stations and if ChargeNet or BP is not available, you should use these and pay with a Contact Purchasing Card or your own funds and claim back through an expense claim. The ChargeNet or BP app are the best way to find charging stations but there are also several other sites you can access charging station locations from including:

ChargeNet: https://charge.net.nz/map/

BP: Find a charging station | Products and services | Home

https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/ev-chargers

The Public Charging Network - Drive Electric

Taxi and ride sharing

Where Contact employees require transport that is work related and short distance in nature (for example a ride to the airport for a work-related trip) Taxi’s and Rideshare providers are to be used.

Contact has corporate accounts with both Uber Business and Corporate Cabs and employees should use these services where they are available. If these providers are unavailable the use of other licensed and reputable taxis is acceptable.

For your own safety and security when using Uber, employees should verify the driver’s identity and vehicle details before commencing a ride by ensuring these details match the information provided in the app. Uber also provides additional security features which can be turned on in the app.

Employees are required to always wear seat belts during the ride, and we recommend employees share their ride details with a colleague or family member using the app’s safety features.

Employees should decline a ride if the vehicle appears unsafe, this should also be reported to the Procurement Team to allow them to communicate this with the provider. Any inappropriate behaviour or unsafe driving should also be reported to allow us to escalate this to the provider.

Employees MUST maintain professional conduct during their ride and treat drivers with respect and adhere to company conduct policies.

Please contact the Procurement team if you require a login for UBER Business. Employees do not need to have receipts or make individual claims when they have an Uber for Business login as this is all completed for them. If an employee uses Contact’s Uber profile for a trip that is not work related, they will be required to transfer this ride to their personal account which can be easily done in the app.

Fueling vehicles

All Contact-owned or leased vehicles that run on petrol or diesel have a BP fuel card to allow fuel to be paid for. Please record the mileage when completing the transaction.

Accidents and emergencies

All Contact-owned or leased vehicles will carry an incident emergency card in the glovebox to assist and guide people in the event of an emergency or accident.

All incidents, events, or near misses MUST be recorded in the Incident Management System (Cintellate) and investigated if appropriate.

Each vehicle has a sticker in the cab identifying the emergency number to help in the event of a breakdown or accident.

Specialist vehicle licences and training

You MUST be trained and/or deemed competent to drive a specialist vehicle, drive off-road or with a trailer.

You MUST hold the appropriate licence for any other vehicles you may be required to drive. A list of vehicle types showing licence requirements is here.

Specialist driver training for off-road vehicle users, side by sides, towing, golf buggies, heavy vehicles, crane trucks, forklifts, etc. is the responsibility of business units to organise.

Before engaging a training provider, you MUST ensure that the training organisation is an approved training provider to deliver the training to the required NZQA standard or to a standard that has otherwise been assessed as suitable by the H&S Team.

Disciplinary implications

Where an individual’s license is revoked for any reason and being able to drive forms part of the Driver’s requirement in satisfactorily performing the duties of their role, the staff member may be subject to disciplinary action, or their employment agreement may be terminated unless suitable alternative transport arrangements can be made by the Driver. Contact will not cover the cost of alternative transport arrangements.

Important resources