‘At-work’ drivers suffer fewer substance abuse-related crashes

Drivers at work are considerably less likely to be involved in a crash due to ‘substance impairment’ or speeding than other drivers, a study says. But they are more likely to demonstrate other forms of risky behaviour on the roads.

AA DriveTech recently commissioned a study by Road Safety Analysis which focused on accident statistics between 2008 and 2012, putting at-work drivers into four distinct categories: working car drivers, commercial, other working drivers and taxis. The aim was to discover more about the driving behaviour of these groups.

The research analysed the 1.4 million road accidents in the UK and compared these categories to the national norm, resulting in clear differences between how at-work drivers and other motorists suffer accidents.

One striking example is how at-work drivers contribute far less to car accident statistics due to substance impairment than any other group, with 85% fewer crashes on average. The same could generally be said of accidents that occur due to speeding.

This is not to say that at-work motorists are more responsible in all areas. Instead it was found that commercial drivers are more liable to be responsible for a number of other examples of poor road behaviour. In fact, the study showed that they are 40% more likely to tailgate and 48% more likely to drive when fatigued. In terms of manoeuvre errors, they make 40% more mistakes when driving than those not “at work”.

For working car drivers, the pitfalls are slightly different. The highest risks here were getting distracted (15%) and committing errors at junctions (25%). Fatigue and tailgating were had a lower prevalence in this category, at 23% and 14% respectively.

Taxi drivers are a massive 52% more likely to be guilty of traffic contraventions, such as not stopping at a red light or zebra crossing. Distractions are also a problem here, with 21% frequently losing focus behind the wheel due to mobile phones. General unsafe behaviour is also 26% more likely to occur.

Speaking to Fleet News, David Richards from AA DriveTech said the data would benefit both fleet managers and driver trainers.

“This kind of information can really help them tailor training and education to the individual, rather than just using generic material,” he said.

“As well as looking at the statistics that show the ways in which at-work drivers are more likely to contribute to collisions, it’s also really interesting to look at those contributory factors in which they are under-represented.”

Have you been involved in a non-fault commercial vehicle accident or taxi accident in the last three years? Call Winns today on 0800 988 6288 and find out how we can help you pursue the appropriate compensation.