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📋 Toolbox Talk · Health & Safety

Driving for Work:
The Risk That Follows You Home

Health and safety law applies on the road as much as on site — employer duties, fatigue, mobile phones, vehicle condition and your right to say no.

✅ Verified August 2026📚 HSE · Driving at Work guidance🇬🇧 Applies across the UKukworkrights.co.uk

The risk

Why driving is a work safety issue

Work-related road incidents account for a large share of all UK work-related deaths — far more than falls or machinery, though they are counted separately from HSE's workplace figures
It covers anyone driving as part of their job — vans, cars, HGVs, and grey fleet drivers using their own vehicle
Commuting is generally excluded, but travelling between sites during the working day is work
The main causes are fatigue, time pressure, distraction and poorly maintained vehicles
Employers can be prosecuted under health and safety law for a fatal collision, not only under road traffic law
Employers must assess driving risk and manage it just like any other work activity

⚠ Health and safety law doesn't stop at the gate

If you drive for work, your employer has duties towards you and towards other road users. Unrealistic schedules that can only be met by speeding are the employer's problem, not just yours.

The controls

What has to be managed

The driver — licence checked, fit to drive, trained, not impaired by medication, alcohol or fatigue
The vehicle — roadworthy, maintained, insured for business use, with defect reporting that actually works
The journey — realistic schedules, planned breaks, weather considered, alternatives to driving considered
Handheld phone use while driving is illegal, including at traffic lights and in queues, and covers almost any handheld device use
Hands-free is legal but still a distraction, and an employer requiring calls on the move is creating risk
Drivers' hours rules apply to many vehicles over 3.5 tonnes and to some vans — check whether they apply to you
Grey fleet drivers must have business use insurance and a valid MOT, and the employer should verify it

Fatigue is not something you can push through

Being awake for 17 hours impairs performance about as much as being at the drink-drive limit. Tiredness is a genuine reason to stop, and no delivery is worth a fatal collision.

Your rights

What you can insist on

A safe, roadworthy vehicle and a working system for reporting defects
Realistic schedules that do not require speeding or skipping breaks to meet
Rest breaks under the Working Time Regulations 1998, and drivers' hours rules where they apply
Not to be pressured into driving while unfit through tiredness, illness or medication
To refuse to drive where you reasonably believe it is seriously and imminently dangerous — Employment Rights Act 1996 s.44 and s.100
Clear guidance on phone use, and not to be expected to take calls while driving

Say it before the journey, not after

If a schedule cannot be met safely, raise it before you set off and put it in writing. Once you have set off under pressure, the risk and the liability are both yours to carry.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Does health and safety law really apply to driving?

Yes. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires employers to ensure the health and safety of employees and of others affected by their work, and that includes driving. HSE and the police can investigate work-related collisions jointly, and employers have been prosecuted under health and safety law following fatal crashes.

Can my employer make me use my own car for work?

They can ask, but the vehicle must be roadworthy and insured for business use, and the employer should check that. They must also assess the risk of that driving. If you use your own vehicle, you may be entitled to mileage payments — check your contract and HMRC approved mileage rates.

Can I refuse to drive if I'm too tired?

Yes. Driving while impaired by fatigue is dangerous and potentially criminal. You are protected from dismissal and detriment for refusing work you reasonably believe is seriously and imminently dangerous. Raise it before the journey and keep a written record.

For whoever runs this talk

Delivery notes & attendance record

Suggested length: 10–15 minutes. A toolbox talk is a short briefing on one hazard, given by a supervisor to the crew doing the work.

Before you start

The point people find surprising is that health and safety law does not stop at the site gate. Employers must assess and manage driving risk. Ask about schedules — most work-driving pressure comes from unrealistic timings, not bad driving.

Questions to ask the team

Are the journey times you're given actually achievable at legal speeds?
When did you last check tyres, lights and oil on the vehicle you use?
Has anyone driven while too tired to be safe? What made that happen?
What is our rule on phone calls while driving, including hands-free?

The law behind this talk

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 s.2 and s.3; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 reg. 3; Road Traffic Act 1988; Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007

Employers must give workers comprehensible information, instruction and training on the risks they face — Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 s.2(2)(c) and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 reg. 10. Keep the record below as evidence that you did.

Attendance record

Topic	Driving for Work: The Risk That Follows You Home
Date
Site / location
Delivered by
Actions agreed
Next talk due

Attendees

Name	Signature

Use the Print handout button to print this record. General guidance only, not legal advice.

Free H&S guidance

Driving for Work
free guidance

Get plain-English guidance on your rights and your employer's legal duties.

HSE Infoline

0300 003 1747

hse.gov.uk

ACAS

0300 123 1100

acas.org.uk

Citizens Advice

0800 144 8848

citizensadvice.org.uk

UK Work Rights

Driving for Work

ukworkrights.co.uk/toolbox-drivingforwork.html

Driving for Work:The Risk That Follows You Home