Managing driver health and duty of care

23 January 2024

Driver health is an essential part of their fitness to drive – and as such, managing driver health is an essential part of the fleet operator’s duty of care. The National Highway’s Van Driver Toolkit  has useful resources on all of these driver well-being issues, as well as a comprehensive look at vehicle and driver safety.

Fatigue causes one in five collisions. Many adults in the UK admit to sleeping for only four to five hours a night – and one week of that level of sleep impairs performance as much as being drunk.

According to the Department of Transport’s official statistics for 2021, drugs were detected in 20% of all deceased drivers, and 34% of those for which toxicology information was available. This compares to 11% and 20% respectively in 2014.

Mental health is a major concern in the UK. One man kills himself every two hours. That’s a horrifying statistic. Untreated mental health issues, such as depression, can affect judgement and decision-making, which can be dangerous when driving. Poor mental and emotional well-being is also linked to other dangerous conditions such as insomnia.