World Sleep Day: Sleep And Driver Health and Safety

Sleep is vital for good health and safety – fatigue can make collisions more likely by negatively affecting our concentration, judgement and reaction times.

In December 2023, the European Commission’s Mobility and Transport department published a Safety Performance Indicator report on fatigue with a focus on the toxic mix of fatigue and driving. It estimates that driver fatigue is a contributing factor in 15 per cent to 20 per cent of crashes.

Here are a number of general steps which all organisations should take to prevent fatigue: 

• Fully consult with your workforce and their representatives about the organisation’s overall approach and your programmes of work to address the problem of fatigue.
• Develop and communicate a clear policy that destigmatises fatigue.
• Deliver workplace awareness-raising about fatigue and how to avoid it, including steps to improve and maintain good health and good sleep hygiene.
• Train both line and middle managers to raise their awareness and help them to develop necessary interpersonal skills to engage with individuals about fatigue and the issues involved.
• Take account of fatigue in all risk assessment processes, particularly for safety critical work, which includes driving.
• Review fatigue as a possible causal factor in all collisions and incidents.
• Consider any difficulties in travel to and from work which may contribute to fatigue.
• Avoid workers driving when dangerously tired, both when driving for work and driving to and from work.
• Engage outside experts to help.
• Ensure appropriate occupational health support.

Fatigue is one of the many areas covered in our article here: Behind the wheel: Protecting the mental health of professional drivers.

You can also review our driver health webpage, which features free factsheets and guidance.

For further resources relating to fatigue, listen to the latest episode of ScORSA’s Road Safety Podcast covering Driving Tired featuring Dr Karen McDonnell - Occupational Safety and Health Policy Adviser at RoSPA, and Fiona O’Donnell, who leads on driving related risk for Jacobs.