Commercial drivers show serious lack of concentration

19 October 2010

Leading fuel card reseller The Fuelcard Company is reminding commercial drivers to keep their minds on the job after shocking figures reveal motorists concentrate on the road just 25 percent of the time.

The figures also show that the most dangerous hours of the working day are from 8am-9am and 5pm-6pm with most casualties occurring within these time slots.

More than 20 people a week are killed in work-related driving accidents, with some 250 suffering serious injury.

Jakes de Kock, The Fuelcard Company Marketing Director, said the findings show commercial drivers are the most at risk on the road and is urging fleet managers to invest in anti-collision warning and emergency braking systems for their vehicles.

“The business driver is often surrounded by communication devices from smart phones to sat navs, so the temptation to let concentration wonder from the road is always there. Recent digital developments such as hand-held computers have further intensified the problem by turning the passenger seat or van cab into a moving office and encouraging a dangerous culture of multi-tasking while on the road.”

 “Communication devices are essential for the business driver, but we are developing a dangerous culture of multi-tasking on the road with drivers checking emails and programming sat-navs while on the move.”

Anti-collision warning and emergency braking systems are becoming more widely available with many manufacturers installing them as standard on new vehicles.

“Although these kinds of warning systems should never become an alternative to concentrated driving, they could mean the difference between life and death and should be on the radar of all fleet managers. In our growing 24/7 society, this type of technology is going to become essential as demands on our time become even greater, particularly in the current economic crisis. Fleet managers who aren’t already thinking about investing in anti-collision systems need to wake up to this and take precautions before it’s too late.”