With drivers often on the road for long hours at a time, a key part of fleet management is ensuring their safety. Yet over a third of fleet managers (38%) said they feel the industry under-appreciates the road safety risks their drivers face.

Drivers need to feel confident that they are supported on the road and that their fleet manager is aware of and addressing issues that could pose a risk to their safety, while customers need to have confidence that their delivery will be made as safely and efficiently as possible.

Driving safety (including issues such as mandatory use of seatbelts and a ban on the use of mobile phones behind the wheel) was rated as the biggest issue by 29% of respondents.

Poor road and weather conditions were also among the top factors fleet managers need to consider when managing their drivers’ safety, particularly among those operating cars; 69% of whom rated it as a main concern.

Driving in poor weather is perhaps the hardest to manage because weather is hard to predict – events such as snow, fog and heavy rain can occur without warning and impact seriously on driving conditions – reduced road grip and reduced visibility add up to an increased risk of an accident or vehicle failure. And driving at night is another area that fleet managers must be alert to – 40% of all collisions happen in the hours of darkness, according to research by RoSPA.

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Shell and Fleet World Valuing People Survey

In the second part of our series of exclusive surveys, Shell and Fleet World questioned 266 fleet executives to find out how they interact and monitor their drivers. Covering car, van and HGV operators, the results reflect some surprising attitudes to the issues facing fleet managemen