Driver roadworthiness: the impact of driver health and wellbeing

Driver roadworthiness: the impact of driver health and wellbeing

Vehicles don’t crash, people do – and often that’s for very human reasons, like state of mind, physical health problems or fatigue.

The theme of this year’s Driver Safety Zone at the Health and Safety Event 2025 is how to identify and manage the often-invisible risks of human health and fitness.

The Driver Safety Zone is a three-day event between April 8-10 at the NEC, Birmingham. On Tuesday 8 April, we have an extensive panel of experts to talk about road risk management and the effect of driver medical conditions and mental health issues on your risk exposure.

We also have experts talking about making sense of road risk and how to devise a comprehensive and coherent system for identifying, prioritising and managing your risk. This includes fleet experts discussing how they investigate incidents and discover actionable insights; and how to maintain motivation in pursuing safety across the organisation.

Driver roadworthiness

Driver roadworthiness is a major theme for us this year at Driving for Better Business, and at National Highways. Fleet operators are usually well aware of their legal responsibilities to keep vehicles roadworthy – and generally do this well. However, most don’t spend nearly as much time ensuring that all of their drivers are fit for the road.

Managers may traditionally have felt that their drivers’ lifestyle habits or physical health concerns were none of their business. However, the truth is they are at the heart of your business. Companies’ health and safety responsibilities include identifying and taking reasonable steps to minimise risk. Drivers with high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and several other conditions have been shown to have far higher collision risks than healthier counterparts.

Dr Grant Charles-Worth Jones of D4 Drivers and Kate Walker, CEO of the Diabetes Safety Organisation, will join Driving for Better Business Engagement Manager, Simon Turner to discuss the importance of screening drivers for relevant health conditions and the potentially catastrophic consequences of not being aware of a driver’s ill health.

Many of the most serious conditions are epidemic in modern society. 7.6 million people have heart disease in the UK. Five million have diabetes. 20-30% of shift workers report insufficient sleep and excessive sleepiness, and 1.5 million people have obstructive sleep apnoea.

If you consider your workforce demographic, it is highly likely to contain individuals with these conditions – whether or not they are aware of it.

Mental health – driver wellbeing

Senior Road Safety Policy Adviser and Driving for Better Business Programme Lead at National Highways, Anne-Marie Penny, will be launching the highly practical ‘Employer Guide to Managing Driver Mental Health’.

Like all Driving for Better Business resources, it is free for fleets to use to help improve driver safety and reduce collisions.

Not only do male van and HGV drivers have a significantly higher suicide rate than workers in other sectors, but stress, anxiety and depression can have profound effects upon the ability to drive safely.

When one in four adults in the UK has a mental health issue, and 776,000 people suffer work-related stress, anxiety or depression, there has never been a more important time to manage mental health in the workplace.

Come see us in the Driver Safety Zone on 8^th April at the NEC for more support on this topic.

And watch out for Part 2 of this blog which looks at the speakers and topics we’ll feature on 9 April.