The UK government has issued an emergency order to rescind Driver’s Hours rules which leaves truckers open to much greater risk of road incidents due to fatigue, according to leading road safety firm SmartWitness.
Legislation came into force last week (23rd March 2020) announcing an emergency declaration which discards trucking safety regulations that restrict the hours that drivers can be behind the wheel. You can see the UK government changes on the Gov.UK website here.
Most importantly is that the weekly maximum daily driving time of nine hours with one of 11 hours, and raising weekly limit from 56 hours to 60 hours and fortnightly limit of 90 hours to 96 hours.
SmartWitness MD Paul Singh said: “Clearly in this time of grave emergency for our country it’s important that essential supplies are getting where needed on time, but if we are going to push our truckers to the limit of their physical endurance then inevitably mistakes will be made and when these mistakes involve trucks then that will often cost lives on the road.”
And he added: ”If the number of hours that a trucker is driving is significantly increased then there must be some way provided to help check to see if that driver is alert enough to control his or her vehicle.”
SmartWitness have advised that if truckers are allowed to have what amounts to 20% more driving time then they should at least be supplied with special fatigue monitors which will alert them if they are starting to suffer from tiredness.
SmartWitness MD Paul Singh said: “Government research has shown that the risks involved with allowing truckers to driver more than 9 hours in a day significantly raises the possibility of serious accidents. Clearly some additional risks need to be taken at this time of national crisis but surely if there is equipment to mitigate these risks then it should be taken and government should look to subside truck firms that are ensuring our roads are safer in this way.”
Trucking firms are advised to install additional safety devices to help truckers know when they are getting tired and they are losing concentration. Driver Distraction Detection Systems provide audible alerts to drivers who are suffering from fatigue and also sends alerts to their fleet managers to warn of potential risks of accidents. They check to see if the driver’s eyes are open and paying attention to the road. If the driver takes his eyes off the road for more than 20-seconds an audible alarm sounds to warn him or her of a potential safety risk. SmartWitness were one of the first companies to launch these systems in the UK and have seen a massive increase in enquiries following the driving hours change.
Stuff the tech. Plan sensibly, provide us with decent facilities and cut out the stupid start times, we’ll be fine.