Quick answer
Assess delivery work on public roads through the journey, driver or rider and vehicle. Include realistic schedules, fatigue, distraction, weather, vehicle condition and loads, including personal vehicles used for business. Clarify working arrangements and responsibilities rather than assuming a contractor label or delivery app removes the risks.
Delivery arrangements can create risks beyond the premises
A delivery promise, repeated app notification or unsuitable vehicle can influence safety on the road. The assessment needs to cover how the business organises the work as well as the person making the delivery.
HSE’s work-driving guidance covers driving and riding, company and personal business-use vehicles, and people engaged to work. HSENI provides corresponding NI guidance. Check the actual arrangements and applicable responsibilities.
1. Assess the journey, person and vehicle together
| Area | What to check | Management decision |
|---|---|---|
| Journey | Route, traffic, stopping arrangements, time, weather, rest and welfare. | Can the route and workload be completed safely, including foreseeable delays? |
| Driver or rider | Relevant capability, training, fatigue, distraction and support. | What instruction, restrictions or changes are needed for the work? |
| Vehicle | Suitability, condition, checks, maintenance and load security. | Is it appropriate for the route, conditions and delivery load? |
HSE’s journey guidance addresses scheduling and conditions. Consult the people doing the deliveries and review how the plan works during busy periods.
2. Control time pressure, fatigue and distraction
HSE’s driver and rider guidance addresses delivery pressure, competence, fatigue, mobile technology and contractor coordination. Build realistic time into the work and provide a way to report delay or unsafe conditions without pressure to take risks.
Agree how workers use navigation, order updates and communication safely. Notifications and hands-free conversations can distract; arrange suitable opportunities to stop safely to deal with information rather than expecting attention to an app while moving.
Hypothetical example: a delayed evening round
Traffic and poor weather make the planned delivery sequence unrealistic. The manager adjusts the work and customer expectations rather than urging the rider to recover the time. The review considers the workload and the scheduling process as well as the individual journey.
3. Include personal vehicles and the actual load
HSE’s vehicle guidance includes vehicles owned by workers and used for business, often called the grey fleet. Agree suitable checks, defect reporting, maintenance and the documentation required for that vehicle category and business use.
Licensing, insurance and MOT requirements are not identical for every car, motorcycle, cycle or other vehicle. Check what applies rather than using one form as a substitute for the decision.
Assess how a delivery load is secured and whether it affects stability or control. Food-temperature arrangements also need to fit a safe transport method; they do not replace the road-risk assessment.
4. Prepare reporting and review the arrangements
Explain how workers obtain help, report defects, unsafe conditions, incidents and near misses, and use the appropriate local emergency and reporting routes. Coordinate relevant expectations with contractors or platforms where the business is involved.
Review patterns in delays, damage, incidents and feedback. A repeated difficulty may show an unsuitable route, vehicle, workload or communication method.
- Personal vehicle treated as outside the business assessment. Include business use.
- Delivery targets set without delays or breaks. Review the realistic journey.
- App use assumed safe because it is hands-free. Manage distraction.
- One rule for all vehicle types. Check the actual category and conditions.
Next steps
- Identify delivery work and the people and vehicles involved.
- Assess journeys, capability, conditions and loads together.
- Agree scheduling, communication, checks and escalation.
- Review incidents and worker feedback and change the work where needed.
Use HSE’s driving and riding guidance — Provides the official journey, person and vehicle framework for work on the road.