When we think about road safety risks, the obvious risks that come to mind are speeding, drunk driving, phone-use and so on. However, one of the most dangerous and unrecognised threats to road safety is driver fatigue.
Whether you operate a fleet of HGVs, vans, or grey fleet vehicles, fatigue can be a critical factor in incidents, near misses, and long-term driver health. The effects are subtle, cumulative, and, if left unchecked, can have devastating consequences for businesses, employees, and the general public.
What is Driver Fatigue?
Driver fatigue is more than just feeling a bit tired. It’s a serious safety risk that slows reaction times, weakens decision making, and reduces concentration, all of which can be described as serious road risks. As an employer, you are responsible for ensuring your drivers aren’t exceeding the permitted daily driving time and ensuring they have enough rest between shifts to maintain driver wellbeing.
The DVSA and other road safety bodies recognise fatigue as a major contributor to accidents. It is estimated that roughly 10-20% of road accidents are caused by driver fatigue (Brake, The Road Safety Charity).
Why it is a risk to your fleet:
One of the biggest challenges with driver fatigue is that it often goes unnoticed until it’s too late. Drivers might not report it, managers might not detect it, and paper-based systems rarely reveal patterns. Far too often drivers are exceeding the legal driving duty time to try and earn money, work multiple jobs, to work to unrealistic schedules, lack of awareness or a lack of efficient record keeping, especially under GB Domestic Rules. That’s where we can help!
How can we help?
If your drivers operate under GB Domestic Hours rules or you want to manage drivers hours for fatigue purposes, keeping accurate, consistent records is not just a regulatory requirement, it’s essential for protecting your business and your drivers safety. Unfortunately, many companies still rely on paper logbooks that leave them exposed to human error, lost records, non-compliance, a lack of real time visibility and no effective way of managing your infringements.
At CheckedSafe, we’ve developed a specific GB Domestic Hours App that replaces outdated, unreliable methods with a digital solution, meaning drivers can record their hours all via our App, and managers have instant visibility of all entries, records and infringements if any. Priced at just £1 per week per user, can you afford to take the risk with driver safety?
Driver fatigue is a serious but preventable risk. For businesses operating under GB Domestic Hours rules or general fatigue management, the key to managing it lies in accurate records, real-time visibility, and proactive monitoring. Paper based systems simply aren’t good enough anymore. Ready to explore our GB Domestic Hours App?
