The dangers of drowsy driving for operators and drivers

One in five of all crashes on major roads are caused by tired drivers, causing around 300 deaths every year. Operating a vehicle when you have been awake for 17 hours doubles your collision chances. Operating a vehicle having been awake for 24 hours makes you seven times more likely to have a crash, impairing driving to the level of a driver with an illegal blood alcohol level of 1%. An estimated 40% of fatigue-related incidents involve commercial vehicles.

“Drowsy driving” is not an exclusive phenomenon to professional HGV drivers, it equally can occur to ordinary motorists, and most will have seen the motorway signs warning ‘not to drive tired’. There can be devastating and life changing consequences for all involved, and Operators will want to do all they can to avoid the risk of ‘drowsy driving’. Operators must be aware of the consequences they face if one of their fleet is involved in a fatigue-related collision.

There are natural human challenges working in a demanding industry where customer deadlines are the norm. Drivers will already be abiding by the drivers’ hours regulations and dealing with driver infringements as appropriate.   

In the event of an accident involving a fatigued driver, careless or dangerous driving offences may be brought against the driver by the police or the CPS. The police can capture evidence which may establish that a driver was fatigued. Drivers’ technology itself can warrant evidence of driving tired. Smart watches which monitor a person’s sleep pattern might establish that a driver has had a poor night sleep before driving or reveal the hours that a driver had been awake. Expert evidence may be obtained from road traffic collision investigators showing the driver was drowsy when the collision occurred, possibly with delayed reactions or in-cab AI technology. For commercial HGV drivers, tachograph and telematics data could be the crucial evidence. If there is any indication that you have not complied with the drivers’ hours regulations this will likely be used in a prosecution in the event of a collision. 

In the event of a fatality, a fatigued driver might be convicted of causing death by careless driving carrying a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and an obligatory disqualification period of 12 months. Evidence of being tired or falling asleep while driving can be considered an aggravating factor for this offence which will be considered in determining a sentence and may increase the seriousness of an offence and the potential penalty. It may also have the effect of uplifting the category of the offence and standard of driving from careless, to dangerous.

A conviction for causing death by dangerous driving carries a sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment, a driving ban for a minimum of two years, and 2-11 penalty points on your licence. There are also the wider implications for the driver such as loss of job, vehicle, and independence, as well as the huge emotional impact. 

Operator risks

As an Operator, you are responsible for ensuring your drivers are fit to drive. This includes being responsible for managing driving hours, rest periods, daily rests, weekly rests, record-keeping, tachograph use and monitoring. If incidents occur and you have not properly managed your responsibilities, you are likely to face intervention by the Traffic Commissioner.  This may include being called to a Public Inquiry where the Traffic Commissioner can suspend, curtail, or revoke your Operator licence. They may also disqualify a company or individual from holding a licence and disqualify your Transport Manager.  

Not taking reasonable precautions as an Operator to ensure that your drivers are fit to drive could also lead to a criminal prosecution. Where serious or fatal accidents occur, the Operator could be prosecuted for failing to discharge their duties as an employer under section 2 and section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Under the Act you have a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of your employees, and those not in your employment. If convicted of offences of this nature you can face an unlimited fine and/or a two-year custodial sentence. In 2020, a rail contractor company was prosecuted following the death of two of its workers for failing to discharge its duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 following an accident caused by fatigued driving.  

Preventative measures

Drivers must be educated in identifying signs of fatigue. These include head nodding (microsleeping), yawning, struggling to keep their eyes open, or forgetting sections of the road or their journey. Microsleeps happen when a person drifts into sleep for between two-30 seconds without realising or remembering. During this time, drivers will be unable to control their vehicle and might not know that it has happened. If you have a microsleep whilst travelling at 60mph, in three seconds you can travel 90 metres. Fatigued drivers are more likely to have irrational or emotional reactions, they have poorer lane discipline, fluctuating speed, and poor reaction time, significantly increasing the risk of serious fatal accidents.  

As an Operator you should consider taking the following steps to limit the risk of fatigue related accidents:

Culture:

• Train drivers to identify fatigue. Cultivate a culture where drivers don’t feel under pressure to drive when tired and feel able to voice concerns about their ability to drive if tired. Communicate the importance of preventing fatigue as a safety measure to help drivers avoid being in a collision. 
• Be alive to a driver’s personal circumstances.

Risk assessments:

• Identify the nature of the journey, and they type of work you are carrying out, observe where risk might arise. Arrange regular check ins with drivers, are any of your drivers on medication or at risk of having issues with their sleep?

Reporting systems and software:

• Record all near misses and investigate data for underlying issues. Consider implementing driver distraction and drowsiness recognition technology to alert drivers to take a break.
• If you have in-cab technology, monitor it.

Route planning:

• Make sure your journey schedules are not too onerous on drivers. Schedule breaks and sleep stops properly. Arrange appropriate overnight accommodation if necessary. Prevent rushing to destinations. Monitor deadlines to ensure deadlines can be met even if drivers are incapacitated. 

The dangers of drowsy driving cannot be overstated as the statistics show. Both drivers and Operators face extensive consequences if fatigue related accidents occur, not to mention the third parties who could be involved in the worst-case scenario. Operators should focus on fostering a culture whereby drivers feel comfortable addressing the issue with them, without repercussion. In ensuring that drivers are aware of the risks and providing combative processes and systems, Operators can protect their drivers and the public but also safeguard their operation from regulatory intervention and criminal prosecutions. 

If you require advice relating to transport regulation and Operator licensing, health and safety, and criminal defence, please get in touch with Birketts Regulatory and Corporate Defence Team.