Venson Automotive Solutions will raise awareness for mental health in the industry with a new whitepaper at Fleet Live.

Visitors to Fleet Live this October are invited to go to Venson Automotive Solution’s stand (B10) to receive a copy of Venson’s new white paper titled ‘It’s good to talk: caring about mental health’.   

The white paper looks at the connection between mental health and driver safety at work, including the causes and symptoms of stress, dealing with productivity demands and increasing workloads. 

Employees suffering from stress are 50% more likely to drive dangerously, underlining the need for employers to consider stress and mental health as a key focus of their driver safety policy, says Venson.

Driving is the most dangerous work activity that most people undertake, ranking as more dangerous than working in the construction industry and being on a par with mining, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), the risk management partner of Venson Automotive Solutions.

Safety is central to the Freight Transport Association (FTA) Van Excellence Programme and it has always placed real importance on the value of caring for the health and wellbeing of van drivers. 

FTA’s head of vans Mark Cartwright said: “Driving can be stressful and tiring and spending many hours behind the wheel isolates drivers from the friends and family. 

"Long days and tight deadlines can also leave little time for exercise.  No wonder many drivers suffer from physical and mental health problems.”

RoSPA says that employers “should include” driving for work within the scope of their stress risk assessments and the Mental Health Foundation says that with van drivers experiencing an increased rate of poor mental health “we need to create a culture in which anyone experiencing problems can ask for help in the knowledge that they will be supported.”

Venson Automotive Solutions’ director of client management Simon Staton said: “Managing the driver, vehicle and journey are the main areas employers need to focus on, when it comes to the safety of their drivers, but all too often mental health is overlooked.

"Our white paper outlines the challenges facing businesses, and asks them to question if their drivers are sufficiently fit and healthy to drive safely and not put themselves and others at risk.”

 

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