1 in 5 drivers exceed drivers' hours limits
Posted by AndrewT on 6th Dec 2019
A recent article in Commercial Fleet reported that according to research carried out by a Fleet Management Software supplier that 22% of commercial drivers in the UK are failing to take appropriate rest breaks. The survey carried out with fleet managers across the UK found more than one in five commercial drivers spent more than four-and-a-half hours at the wheel without taking a mandated rest break of 45 minutes. Fleet managers also identified fatigue as the cause of almost one fifth (18%) of vehicle accidents, second only to speeding with 19%.
Driver fatigue is cited as Fleet Manager’s top safety concern (45%), followed by speeding, harsh braking (44%), and use of a mobile phone whilst driving (39%).
It is not clear from the research what the sample of Fleet Managers included in terms of vehicle classification and operators’ licence. For Large Goods Vehicles (LGV) and Passenger Carrying Vehicles the digital tachograph is used to record drivers' hours data and operators can manage their compliance using analysis software such as SmartAnalysis for as little as £40 per driver per year. A small amount when you consider drivers can be hit with an on-the-spot fine of up to £1,500 by the DVSA and penalties are also likely to apply to their employer. Fixed penalties awarded to commercial vehicle operators by the DVSA increased from £4m in 2017-18 to £7m in 2018-19.
The research also revealed that fleet managers’ struggle to keep on top of managing their compliance data with almost a third (32%) spending four hours or more per week correcting and following up on mistakes in drivers’ hours and tachograph data. This amounts to 18.5 working days per year that could be spent on far more productive matters.
If you are struggling to download and manage your tachograph data to ensure compliance with your drivers’ hours compliance see SmartAnalysis, the UK’s leading tachograph analysis and reporting solution for fleets of all sizes.