Driving for Better Business – new fleet safety focus update
Mental Health and Driver Wellbeing
Driving is for most people the most dangerous activity they can do.
We know that in the great majority of cases the initial outcome of a crash is around driver behaviour, with distraction, fatigue and medical issues being the root cause.
It’s fundamental that as an organisation and as a manager or owner you are aware of your drivers’ mental health and wellbeing, as well as their physical health, because mental health problems can affect driving performance. Stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues can affect a driver’s driving style, judgement and reaction times.
Check in with your drivers, make time to talk, and educate managers so they know how to respond if they suspect someone is suffering, or if they are approached by an affected employee. Ensure drivers eat well, stay hydrated, exercise and take adequate and healthy rests from driving.
So, how confident are you that your drivers are in good mental health and fit to work and drive?
Driving for Better Business in collaboration with the National Highways Commercial Vehicle Incident Prevention Team are providing free-to-access resources to help those who manage and employ drivers. Their Fleet Safety Focus Updates cover an important area every month. This month’s update focuses on Mental Health and Driver Wellbeing.
It includes a link to a file of useful resources for you to download and share with your drivers, including:
- an article to share with your drivers
- short safety messages to send to your drivers on their devices
- posters for your staff noticeboards
- information sheets from our Van Driver Toolkit and Car Driver Toolkit.
Access this month’s Fleet Safety Focus and watch the video here.
