THE owner of a delivery company has been fined £2,500 for breaching health and safety regulations after a driver suffering from exhaustion was killed in an accident – even though he was not working at the time of the crash.

Industry experts warn the ground-breaking case sets a dangerous precedent for companies, which could find themselves facing a string of fines following the case. The driver died instantly in the accident when his car left the road after hitting a pile of stones. On the day of the accident he had finished working on a series of shifts that had lasted more than 16 hours.

The director of the employee's company, which is not being named, was prosecuted after admitting failure to ensure the health and safety of employees by letting him drive excessive hours without appropriate rest breaks.

Insurance company Zurich highlighted the case to warn fleets to be aware of their health and safety responsibilities. A Zurich survey has revealed that 30% of serious motor accident claims it has received in the past five years were caused by driver fatigue.

It adds that an estimated 300 people are killed every year on Britain's roads where the driver has fallen asleep behind the wheel.

A Zurich spokesman said: 'Driver fatigue is a 'silent killer' and the situation is getting worse with increasing pressures thrown at us by the combination of life and work. In addition, while the driver of a heavy goods vehicle is restricted to driving a maximum of four-and-a-half hours without a break, there is no such legal limitation on the drivers of company cars in general.'

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said it was possible for a company to be prosecuted for an offence involving an employee, even if they were not killed or injured while driving for work.

He said: 'It would be the police who instigated such a charge rather than the HSE, but it is possible and it can affect all fleets, not just lorry drivers.'