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article  /  18th Nov 2025

Road safety at work: Guidance for Road Safety Week 2025

SECTION GUIDE

Why Road Safety at Work Week matters for employers

Road Safety at Work Week, running from 16 to 22 November 2025, is the UK’s biggest annual road safety campaign, led by charity Brake. This year’s theme — “Safe vehicles save lives” — highlights the essential role employers play when staff drive as part of their job.

At impact HR, we view road safety as a core part of workplace wellbeing and legal compliance. If your employees drive for business purposes — whether in company vehicles, lease cars or their own — then road safety becomes an employer responsibility, not just a personal one.

Why road safety is a workplace issue

Driving for work remains one of the highest-risk activities employees undertake. Estimates suggest that up to one-third of UK road collisions involve someone driving for work.

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers must manage road risk just as they would any other workplace hazard. This includes:

  • Safe journey planning
  • Maintaining safe and roadworthy vehicles
  • Supporting driver wellbeing and competence
  • Monitoring fuel/EV readiness and vehicle condition
  • Managing fatigue, lone working and scheduling pressures

Failing to do so can lead to avoidable accidents, enforcement action, financial loss and reputational damage.

Road safety at workimpact hr ident

Practical guidance to improve road safety at work

  • Plan and manage every journey safely

    Effective journey planning is the foundation of road safety. Employers should:

    • Carry out driving risk assessments covering route risk, time of day, weather, distance and rest breaks.
    • Challenge whether journeys are essential — virtual meetings can reduce risk and cost.
    • Avoid pressurised schedules that encourage speeding or skipping rest.
    • Discuss road risks directly with drivers — especially lone workers and those travelling at night or in rural areas.
    • Ensure employees understand how weather, time of day and fatigue affect risk.

  • Support safe and responsible driver behaviour

    Drivers must be supported to remain alert, focused and safe on the road:

    • Promote defensive driving and anticipation of hazards
    • Ban or restrict mobile phone use — hands-free can still be distracting
    • Encourage breaks every two hours on long journeys
    • Reinforce the importance of hydration, rest and wellbeing
    • Ensure drivers feel comfortable reporting fatigue, vehicle faults or unsafe schedules
    • Provide additional support for regular drivers and lone workers
  • Man driving for work

  • Ensure vehicles are safe, roadworthy — and have sufficient fuel or charge

    A safe vehicle must also have enough energy — whether petrol, diesel or EV charge — to complete the journey safely.

    Vehicle condition

    Employers should ensure:

    • Company, lease and grey-fleet vehicles are serviced on schedule
    • Drivers complete daily pre-journey checks (tyres, lights, brakes, wipers, fluids, mirrors, windows)
    • ADAS safety features such as lane assist, automatic braking and speed limiters are enabled and functioning

    Fuel requirements for petrol and diesel vehicles

    Drivers should:

    • Start journeys with at least one-quarter of a tank, preferably more for long or rural trips
    • Avoid running fuel low, which increases breakdown risk and encourages unsafe detours
    • Refill before long journeys, not during them under pressure

    EV charging requirements

    Electric vehicles require additional planning. Drivers should:

    • Begin journeys with a minimum 60–80% charge, depending on route distance
    • Know where rapid chargers are located on the planned route
    • Consider weather and load, which affect real-world EV range
    • Include charging stops in journey planning where necessary
    • Follow company guidelines on:
    • approved public charging locations
    • reimbursement for work-related charging
    • minimum return charge (e.g., return with 20%+)

    Running low on fuel or charge is a road safety risk, not just an inconvenience.

Road safety at work

Embedding road safety into your workplace culture

Road Safety Week is an opportunity to re-engage your workforce and strengthen everyday behaviours around road safety:

  • Deliver short toolbox talks or virtual briefings on safe driving
  • Share Driving for Work checklists (vehicle checks, journey planning, hazard awareness)
  • Review fleet procurement to ensure vehicles meet modern safety standards
  • Update your Driving for Work Policy, including EV charging, grey fleet, fatigue management and defect reporting
  • Monitor road-related risks via a simple health & safety dashboard tracking incidents and near misses

 

Put this guidance into action

Use our Toolbox Talk to brief your managers and supervisors, and share the Checklist with your wider team to help embed safe working practices across your organisation.

Employers can share this during Road Safety Week to reinforce safe habits and ensure consistent messaging across the organisation.

Download Toolbox Talk    Download Checklist

 

road safety saves lives

The bigger picture: Why road safety saves lives

According to Brake:

  • Over 1,700 people die on UK roads each year
  • More than 30,000 suffer serious injuries

Many of these incidents involve people driving for work. Road safety is not simply a compliance issue — it protects employees, reduces operational risk and demonstrates responsible business practice.

Improving road safety also strengthens:

  • Employee confidence and wellbeing
  • Insurance and claims performance
  • Brand reputation and client trust
  • Operational efficiency

Making road safety part of your everyday impact

At impact HR, we support organisations to build safer, healthier and more resilient workplaces — and road safety plays a vital role in achieving this.

By focusing on:

  • safe, well-maintained vehicles,
  • sufficient fuel or EV charge,
  • effective journey planning, and
  • responsible driver behaviour,

employers can significantly reduce risk, protect their workforce and uphold their legal duties.

If you’d like help reviewing your Driving for Work Policy, carrying out risk assessments or delivering road safety training, our team is here to support you.

Your Questions Answered

Everything you need to know about road safety at work

  • Do road safety responsibilities apply to employees using their own vehicles (grey fleet)?Reveal

    Yes — if an employee uses their own vehicle for work, it must be safe, insured for business use and properly maintained.

  • Should EV drivers complete different checks to petrol or diesel drivers?Reveal

    EV drivers must check charge levels, plan charging stops, and understand factors affecting range. Petrol/diesel drivers must check tank level and refill before long journeys.

  • What is the minimum fuel or charge level employees should start with?Reveal

    We recommend at least 25% fuel for petrol/diesel vehicles and 60–80% charge for EVs before any work-related trip.

  • What causes most work-related road accidents?Reveal

    Common causes include fatigue, poor scheduling, distracted driving, bad weather conditions and inadequate vehicle checks.

  • How can we improve road safety quickly?Reveal

    Update your Driving for Work policy, deliver toolbox talks, require daily checks and ensure clear guidance on EV charging and fuel levels.

Where to find out more A collection of hand-picked useful resources for road safety at work from impact HR and beyond

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