The hazards of driving for work and meaningfully improving road safety
Christmas is all about giving, and celebrating life. Sadly, for many families, it is a time of lives needlessly lost on our roads.
If it takes brutal frankness to help cut the tapestry of tragedy that haunts our roads, and ruins the lives of many each festive season, then bring on the horrible figures showing how many have died and how and when – not just for Christmas but for the whole year.
A list of experts gathered in The Johnstown Estate in Enfield, Co Meath recently to highlight the studies and surveys of one aspect of transport in particular – driving for work, with special emphasis on HGVs. They pose their own potential for carnage.
That was the blunt message from the experts: those who witness the bloody misery at the scene of a collision; and those whose daily task it is to find and tell the underlying cause of the carnage so they can warn and advise ways of reducing death, destruction and injury – all year round.
The key outcome when all was said and done in Enfield was that those at the wheel and those who employ them need to be prepared – fully and regularly – to keep themselves safe and those they share the road with.
At the time of writing (27th November), 164 lives have been lost on Irish roads in 2025 which, tragically, is seven more people (157) than in the same period to date last year.
Sadly, this year’s increase in road deaths highlights the risk we are all taking when we drive. The basic concept of transport is movement. And that incurs the ever-present risk of danger.
That is as true for someone dropping a child to school, to the responsibilities of a motor-sales employee putting a secondhand car through its paces with a potential client, or a truck towing a used van for repairs, as it does a veteran of trans-European driving or a bus driver.
The ‘Driving for Work’ seminar focused especially on the need for greater vigilance for all concerned with HGVs. But in doing so, inevitably, they shone the light of danger on all vehicles and drivers.
They insisted that all the elements of lowering risk and heightening knowledge, from employer to driver, need to be constantly updated and made aware of the consequences of poor driving or poor mechanical condition of a HGV.
The event and its stream of knowledge, would also be of particular interest and benefit to garages, employers, safety and fleet managers, self-employed – anyone who owns or drives a HGV in any work sectors – but especially those involved in routine transport of goods, equipment and materials.
Here is a shocking figure: Research shows that as many as 25 per cent of drivers involved in collisions were driving for work. And HGVs account for 10 per cent of vehicles involved in fatal collisions.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) analysis of data found that, in the case of the 10 per cent involved in fatal collisions, the HGV driver survived in most cases and the other road user died. That brings the ordinary car-owner even more prone to being killed or seriously injured if it collides with a HGV.
The impact was largely ascribed to the HGV being a heavier, taller, broader vehicle. Data here showed how of the 271 HGV drivers involved in a collision 216 were not injured, 38 were seriously injured and 17 had minor injuries.
And we were reminded that for every fatality there are 10 injured.
Some of the reasons behind those figures – and how to reduce them – were core elements of the annual Driving for Work seminar. It was hosted by the RSA, along with the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), An Garda Síochána, while members of the Irish Road Haulage Association also attended.
Commercial fleet operators, industry leaders, professional drivers, and road safety experts highlighted the huge risks associated with driving for work and the need for stronger employer-led road safety management.
The RSA Professional Drivers survey comprised data collected from 998 HGV drivers and bus drivers. These included found that:
- Fatigue is a major issue. One-in-two HGV drivers report they continue to drive when tired due to lack of suitable rest stops, or time pressure.
- One-in-three HGV drivers admitted to using a hand-held mobile phone for work purposes while driving.
- Speeding is widespread. A third of HGV drivers said they exceed 50km/h limits with some frequency. This goes to almost two-thirds of HGV drivers for 100km/h roads.
- One-in-10 HGV drivers continued despite drinking alcohol or after consuming any illicit drugs.
These HGV drivers also claimed they face challenging conditions on the roads. These include overgrown hedgerows, poor/damaged road surfaces, lack of suitable rest areas and traffic congestion.
The survey says the findings highlight the dual burden on HGV drivers: individual responsibility and systemic obstacles that make safe driving more difficult.
The survey also found that:
- Drivers spend an average of 37 hours a week driving for work.
- More than half (55 per cent) often have to drive extra hours. This applied particularly to those under 35.
- A third (34 per cent) didn’t know if their employer had a driving-for-work policy.
- Just half got clear instructions on in-vehicle safety technologies available to them.
- 53 per cent were stopped for checks in the last three years with ‘issues’ identified in 28 per cent of cases.
It is no wonder the RSA is urging all employers to review their driving-for-work policies and practices. Employers, managers and supervisors must, by law, manage the risks that employees face and create when they drive for work.
Velma Burns, research manager with the RSA, gave us an overview of the many surveys and findings, against a backdrop of increasing road fatalities.
She highlighted again that one-in-four of those involved, but not killed, in an accident last year were driving for work.
She related how drink, distraction, fatigue and speeding were all contributory factors in incidents; 16 per cent had been involved in a near-miss.
Continuing the breakdown of data, the figures show that nine per cent of HGV drivers admitted they often drank or took illicit drugs. Three-quarters (75 per cent) used hands-free systems for work but 33 per cent used hand-held phones while driving for work.
Nearly one-in-five (18 per cent) fell asleep while driving, blaming the lack of somewhere to pull in; 20 per cent “very often” drove over the speed limit.
Derek Lynam, RSA vehicle inspector, told of the dangerous discoveries made in the course of his work. One of the worst was the bus whose underpinnings were shot through. It was not roadworthy under any circumstances yet it had, that morning, brought 40 children to school.
The consequences of such a vehicle coming apart at the seams while so many young people were on board don’t bear thinking about.
Neither does the danger posed by one of the baldest tyres ever seen on a truck or any vehicle for that matter. How it could stop in an emergency would defy the laws of science.
Tyres remain a major NCT failure as people seem to ignore the facts of their lethal nature when under-shod or damaged. Time and again they are in the top echelons of getting the thumbs down from the NCT. Other surveys on tyres (not part of the Enfield conference) continuously show how much we all neglect our tyres.
Deirdre Sinnott McFeat, Senior Inspector responsible for the HSA Driving for Work Programme, said: “Fatigue is one of the most dangerous factors on the road because tired drivers make poor decisions and increase the risk of collisions. By managing fatigue and prioritising road safety, employers prevent collisions and save lives.”
Their newly published ‘Driving for Work: Risk Management Guidance For Employers’ is designed to help employers better understand their key legal obligations and provide practical steps to build policies, procedures and work practices that support safer driving for work and collision prevention across all economic sectors and vehicle fleets.
It was also frightening to hear from Garda inspector Keith White when he outlined several instances of loads not being properly fixed, such as hay bales or large flimsily attached loads. And lorries carrying far in excess of their permitted weight were found by his team too.
Loads fall off, trucks overturn – he had a litany to show. And he stressed, again, how poorly some loads are tethered. Overhead powerlines are another area of danger.
These are the reasons so many people the length and breadth of the country could have their lives changed forever over the coming days, weeks and months.
RSA inspector Eamonn O’Sullivan, said we need a system that poses the question for all concerned: are they discharging all of their legal duties?
Fitness to drive is a contentious issue. Maggy Martin, National Office of Traffic Medicine told us that your GP must be apprised of what is wrong before finding a driver fit or not fit to drive. The GP must know everything about a driver’s condition or medication, or if there is substance abuse, for example.
Traffic cones. We see them every day and probably don’t give them a second thought other than they reduce a two-lane road to one lane. We get plenty of warning to slow down; they are gradually laid out and yet (as he showed us) some drivers take no notice, some crashing when it is too late to do anything.
Gregory McMahon from Egis Lagan Services, spoke on roadworks vehicle safety. He called for a change in regulations to reduce from seven weeks the time to be allowed to work on a stretch of road needing repairs.
Others who contributed to the seminar included RSA chief executive, Sam Waide. He said: “Driving for work is a significant road safety challenge. Employers must take an active and structured role in managing driving for work risks. This means having clear policies, supporting drivers with proper training, and ensuring safety is at the centre of every journey.”
Superintendent Tom Murphy, Garda National Roads Policing Bureau said it is critical that employers prioritise policies to promote safe driving behaviours.
“An Garda Síochána is gravely concerned as to the current level of fatalities on Irish roads, and we are committed to working with all stakeholders in addressing this very concerning trend.”
Here’s hoping that all the endeavours of those working fervently on road safety will reach anyone who gets behind the wheel of a truck or a car and lead to lower road casualties this Christmas and right through the year.