Why driver health belongs on your risk register

We know far less about the condition of the person sat behind the steering wheel than we do about the condition of their tyres.

Simon Turner reflects on Driver Health Day which took place at Loughborough University recently and why driver health belongs on every fleet manager’s risk register.

We spend a great deal of time and money making sure the vehicle is fit for the road. We spend almost none making sure the person operating it is fit to be in it. The evidence now says that gap is where a significant share of our collision risk actually sits.

• New Loughborough University data drawn from 87,517 driver medical records shows that only 25% of drivers have healthy blood pressure. 1 in 5 of those aged 31–45 and almost 1 in 3 of those aged 46–50 are hypertensive.
• Drivers who were dehydrated, or who slept under seven hours, reported measurably more near misses than those who weren’t.
• A Transport for London-funded review found UK HGV and bus medicals are the least rigorous of any safety-critical transport role in the UK, and behind almost every comparable country.
• A pilot wellness check programme found untreated diabetes in 8% of the drivers screened.
• The business case is now quantified: insurers are treating driver turnover as a lead risk indicator, and a single fatality linked to an undisclosed health condition can generate claims above £20 million.