As we often repeat, there is generally ever increasing emphasis on the importance of fleet compliance and safety. What was initially seen as merely just a box-ticking exercise has recently started to get the attention it deserves as clumsy attempts at cost-saving that compromise safety and compliance must no longer be an option for fleets. But safety and compliance are not only impacted by a company’s investment in risk assessment or wise processes to keep vehicles and fleet documents compliant, there is another huge factor that can definitely make a difference for a safe/unsafe or compliant/uncompliant fleet—we are talking about drivers being fit to drive.
Apart from the necessary certifications, licenses and qualifications that fleet drivers should have in order to perform their daily tasks, their health status is also extremely important as it definitely has consequences on their ability to drive and might be considered in some cases as responsible for driving behaviours bearing similarities to those of impaired driving.
Fleet driver eyesight has been under particular scrutiny recently as a police crackdown was enacted in the UK in the Thames Valley, Hampshire and West Midlands regions during the first days of September; and the last week of September has also been the UK’s National Eye Health Week.
The crackdown during the whole month of September consisted of the police stopping drivers at the roadside and checking their sight was good enough to correctly read a vehicle plate from 20 meters. Anyone not passing the test would have their licence revoked by the DVSA in an attempt to increase the safety of all road users and decrease the risks associated with drivers not having the standard of eyesight necessary for safe driving; for example, not spotting an obstacle on time, not having appropriate reaction times, which can result in dramatic consequences.
Venson, a consultant firm dealing with companies’ duty of care and compliance in fleet management, has shared the results of a study during the same period dealing with drivers’ eyesight. According to their findings, one out of four motorists interviewed were not confident at all they would pass the test posed in the new police crackdown—reading a number plate from 20 meters. Only 39% of the total respondents have expressed confidence in doing it.
According to the current legal settings ruling in the EU, employees who drive for work must have regular eyesight tests, and their employer has a duty of care to confirm drivers are physically able to do their job safely. The consequences include the possibility of prosecution and licence revocation for anyone who breaches the rules.
Drowsy driving is another issue potentially impacting on global road safety and on companies regularly relying on driving as part of their business practices. The effects of driver fatigue are partly similar to those of poor eyesight, with reduced reaction times being key, but also inability to focus, forgetting to take the correct exit on the road or getting lost without realising and constantly drifting from one lane to the other. In other news from the last few days, a research group is currently working on a new type of blood test, the stated aim of which is to detect if drivers have skipped a night’s sleep.
