Firms warned about workers at the wheel

25 April 2007

RoSPA issues fatigue warning to employers
Warning comes after worker fell asleep at wheel
Call to manage occupational road-risk better

Employers have been warned to ensure their employes aren't too tired to drive

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A new warning has been issued to employers about the risks of fatigue when their employees are on the road.

The warning was made by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), and comes after a 23-year-old kitchen fitter had an accident after falling asleep at the wheel.

The kitchen fitter began work at 3:30am and fitted two kitchens 122 miles apart. He drove home at 10:15pm after working 19 hours. It was during this journey that he momentarily fell asleep at the wheel, crashed and was flung from his van. The accident left him paralysed.

The Court of Appeal awarded him a £400,000 interim payment after ruling that he could sue his employer for damages. However, his final payment will be reduced by a third because of his own contributory negligence for not wearing a seatbelt and knowing he was at risk of falling asleep on the way home.

RoSPA's Occupational Safety Adviser, Roger Bibbings, said: 'Employers have a clear duty to ensure the safety of their employees who drive as part of their job, and to those on the roads around them. They need to have the people, policies and procedures in place to manage risk on the road in the same way they manage other aspects of health and safety'.

Between 800 and 1000 deaths a year on UK roads have been linked to people being at work at the time. More employees are killed while at work on the road than in all the other workplace accidents put together.

Tips to keep you safe
• Never drive longer than two hours or 100 miles in a stretch, whichever comes first.

• If you feel as though you're fighting sleep, stop. Find a spot and take 10 or 15 minutes' sleep - you'll feel better, and you'll pose less of a risk when you rejoin the road.

• If you're on the motorway and feel sleepy, don't wait until the next services. Come off at the next junction and find a lay-by or car park and have that 15-minute nap.

• If you're really struggling until you find that stop, roll down your windows and let the air buffet you to refresh you.

• Don't rely on coffee; it may be useful as a short-term measure, but if you're feeling sleepy, the only cure is a nap.