UNREALISTIC work schedules forcing van drivers to drive too fast, skip rest-stops and take unnecessary risks are making them a danger behind the wheel, a new study has found.

Some drivers quizzed as part of the study admitted that as a result they eat, drink and read maps while driving – often while tired.

The findings are published in the AA Motoring Trust’s Living With The Van report, produced on behalf of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, which looks at drivers’ attitudes and how companies tackle safety.

Although the report applauds many companies for their efforts in protecting drivers on the road, it also highlights serious flaws that are compromising safety and putting all road users at risk.

It also found that where companies are doing well in terms of driving training, the positive effects are often cancelled out by a lack of communication between staff and management.

The report said: ‘Much of the time there is poor communication between managers and drivers. This needs to be improved. If management and staff cannot agree on what safety action is being taken in the company, all the policies, all the vetting and all the training schemes will have little effect.’

And different attitudes towards professional drivers, such as those who make deliveries and those who use a van to do their job, such as plumbers and mechanics, were identified.

For employed dedicated drivers – typically those working for small or medium-sized courier companies – it found that half the companies interviewed had no driving-related induction in place while the other half used a ‘buddy’ system, in which existing employees accompanied new drivers.

Further driver training was not carried out in any of the companies and only one interviewee reported regular driver assessments.

It was these same drivers who complained they were not given enough time to make their deliveries.

Most tradesmen were unsure whether their companies had a written safety policy and, with one exception, no specific driving induction procedures existed.

Commenting on the findings, Claire Shrewsbury, programme manager for SafED, which promotes safe and fuel efficient driving, said: ‘We remind companies that there is a Government supported scheme for training van drivers, with many of the places free.’

  • Fleets wanting more information about the scheme should log on to www.safed.org.uk