February 2025

Each month we will be sharing our monthly Fleet Safety Focus Update with you so that as part of your partner commitment you can raise awareness among your colleagues, members, and supply chains in your internal and external communications, blogs, social posts, emails and newsletters.

You can signpost this month’s resources by sharing this link: Fleet Safety Focus – Driver Distraction

If you’d like to use our wording for your communications, please feel free to copy and paste the text below:

Copy and paste the text below and use in your emails and newsletters – please ensure the links in the copy are live and signposting to: https://www.drivingforbetterbusiness.com/fleet-safety-focus-monthly-update/driver-distraction/

Driving for Better Business – new fleet safety focus update

Distracted Driving

Driving is for the most people the most dangerous activity they can do.

We know that in the great majority of cases the initial cause of a crash is around driver behaviour, with distraction, often by mobile phone, both hands-free and handheld, being a major issue. These crashes can so easily result in severe injury or fatality.

It’s vital that as an organisation, and as a manager or owner you are confident that your drivers understand the importance of not being distracted when  driving. Distraction can lead to charges of death by dangerous driving or death by careless driving, resulting in severe penalties, prosecution and even imprisonment.

Hands-free calls are dangerous. Drivers should not answer work calls until they are parked somewhere safe to take the call. And remember, distraction comes in the form of other activities as well – eating, reading and anything that takes their attention and focus away from their key task of driving.

So, how confident are you that your drivers will not be distracted when driving? Do you have a strict no-mobile policy, which requires phones to be turned off or blocked while driving?

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 Distraction and the risks around Distracted Driving, 

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 on Distraction
• Short safety messages on the risk of distracted driving to send to your drivers on their devices
• A ‘Distraction Kills’ poster for your staff noticeboards
• Information sheets from our Van Driver Toolkit on Distraction.

Access this month’s Fleet Safety Focus and watch the video here.