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Working drivers 'responsible for 1,000 road deaths a year'

New research by the Transport Research Institute at Edinburgh's Napier University reveals that employees who regularly drive for work are much more likely than other road users to cause accidents, The Observer reported last week.

Employees who spend long hours driving to meet colleagues or clients cause around 1,000 deaths a year - almost a third of the UK's annual toll of 3,221 road deaths. The study says that these drivers break speed limits, get fined, pick up penalty points and crash more often than other drivers.

62% of those surveyed, from 23 companies in central Scotland, admitted they were often under time pressures while driving.

The study, Factors Influencing the Behaviour of People who Drive at Work, was published recently at an international conference on driver behaviour and training.

Steve Stradling , who led the research, blamed deadlines, work-related stress, fatigue, use of mobile phones and lack of driver training for staff. "Many respondents view the complex physical and mental task of driving as a time when they can think without distractions," the report concluded.

For the full article visit: http://www.guardian.co.uk