Professional Drivers

Fatigue is a major contributor to fatal and serious injury vehicle collisions and incidents. (HSA) Thousands of crashes are caused by tired drivers. They are usually severe because a sleepy driver cannot brake or take avoidance action, so the impact generally occurs at high speed. Fatigue related collisions often result in very serious injuries or death. (HSA)

Driver Health

Promoting health at the workplace requires a holistic approach. Any initiatives should consider the worker’s private life, their working life, and the interaction between the two. Employers should make sure that drivers are fit for the job of driving for work and consider any health issues that could increase risk to workers and other and how these can be managed in the work context (HSA).

A new EU Directive - COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 2014/85/EU of 1 July 2014 amending Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on driving licences, has made new and far reaching changes to driving licensing for ordinary drivers, but especially for all types of professional drivers. All countries in the EU must adopt these new regulations by December 2015 at the latest. These new regulations especially affect sleep apnoea suffers, but also any person suffering from daytime sleepiness.