Charlotte Haye 16th November 2016

Saving Lives – Avoiding Distraction And Tiredness On The Road

There has been a great deal in the news recently about distracted HGV drivers causing shocking and tragic accidents. The sad truth is that, despite what we see in the media, tired and distracted drivers kill more people every year than drunk drivers do. More people are driving tired every single day, whether form the pressures of everyday life leading to drowsiness or a demand for travel at all hours. So how do we help professional drivers, who are on the road for hours every single day, avoid getting distracted and driving tired?

How Do You Tell If You’re A Tired Driver?

A lot of people will assume they are perfectly safe drivers, and that they don’t drive while tired. But actually a lot more people drive tired than drive drunk, often without realising it. With every Driver CPC course we teach, we ask the drivers some basic questions to make them think about whether they are that tired driver, and we’d like to ask you the same ones.

Have you every yawned frequently while driving?
Have you ever felt yourself closing your eyes?
Have you ever found yourself opening the window or turning up the radio to try and stay alert?
Have you ever driven, but not remembered driving the last few miles?

Most people will have done all of these things at least once in their driving lives, and many will do these things on a weekly basis. A yes to any one of these things puts you into the category of the tired driver.

How Do HGV Drivers Avoid Tiredness?

Now, HGV drivers spend their life driving, and like any other person, they get tired. But while you can pull your car over at any time if you get tired, a HGV driver is on a strict schedule. To combat this, there are some industry standards and regulations in place to avoid a fleet of tired drivers in control of large vehicles on the road. All drivers are only allowed to work for 60 hours a week, and that includes all loading, unloading and moving times. There is then another maximum of 90 hours every 2 weeks that continually rolls over, so no one driver can work longer hours and become more tired than another. Drivers are also required to take regular rest periods, which are defined by the government as a period of uninterrupted rest completely free of work, so they can’t even take work related phone calls during this time.

What About Distractions?

Of course, drink or tiredness aren’t the only things that distract drivers on the road. HGV drivers distracted by mobile phones have sadly become big news in recent weeks. Drivers are also notified by their equipment if they pass their junction, if they are driving faster than the speed limit or for a multitude of other reasons. Education and experience are the best ways to learn how to cope with such distractions and not let them affect you. Many companies are issuing ‘no contact while driving’ policies to stop phone calls or other communications with drivers while they are working and reduce the number of distractions. This comes after research says that when you take a call while driving, you are 70% concentrated on the phone and only 30% on the road. We all know that using your phone while driving is illegal, and penalty fines are being handed down more frequently to deter offenders. Manufacturers and companies are also working together to refine the monitoring systems so that they do not cause any distractions during driving. Sadly, there are some drivers on the road who don’t adhere to these rules as strictly as they should. That’s why companies need to be especially vigilant about the class of driver they are employing, as the ones who are bending these rules are also the ones who drive tired or distracted and cause accidents.

All drivers educated on our CPC courses are given extensive training on tiredness and distraction prevention, the regulations around hours and most importantly how to stick to them. Driving tired or distracted is dangerous for everyone on the road, and as professional drivers we are held to a higher standard and work hard to stick to them. For more information or to book onto one of our courses, get in touch today.