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Pressure of Work Causing Drivers To Ignore Vital Road Safety Policies

Company car drivers are not taking vital breaks from driving due to the pressures of work, and many are not conducting important checks on their vehicles to ensure they are roadworthy.

These worrying statistics come from a survey conducted by E-Training World, the specialist provider of online driver risk assessments and e-driver training solutions to the fleet sector.

The survey, of 217 drivers found a massive 82.7% of drivers are not conducting regular vehicle checks of tyre pressures, oil levels, water levels and lights.

It also identified that 34.7% never stop for a break – mainly because they are under so much pressure to get to their next appointment. The encouraging news, however, is that 29.8% of driver say that they do take a break every 1 to 2 hours, and 21.5% every 2 to 3 hours.

“Using data from our driver risk assessment system we identified that more than a third of drivers never stop for a break”, said Hurdle. “And whilst this is not against the law, it is extremely dangerous and breaches most companies policies which recommend a minimum of 20 minutes break for every 2 hours of driving.

“When you consider that fatigue is one of the key causes of accidents, and our motorways often now carry warnings recommending that drivers take a break, it is a startling statistic to consider that more than a third of company car drivers on our roads are ignoring the need to rest properly.

“As for vehicle checks, due to the technology built into modern cars, drivers probably think that if a warning light doesn’t appear on the dashboard, the car doesn’t need checking. However, company directors should take heed that if the company handbook does not stipulate regular safety checks, and a driver has a blameworthy accident as a result of, lets say, a worn tyre or the inability to see properly due to there being no water in the windscreen washer, they could be personally liable.

“This extends to the ‘grey’ fleet of drivers using their own vehicles for business use. With company owned or leased vehicles there is always a greater element of control over the condition of a vehicle, but with grey fleet vehicles the policies and procedures with regards to them being in a safe condition have to be watertight.

“As we head towards winter, I would urge all companies to properly risk assess their drivers which can be done quickly and efficiently online, re-check their policies, and ensure proper breaks and vehicle checks are being taken by their staff”, concluded Hurdle.

Source: E-Training World