Key points:
- The traffic commissioners say that a lack of parking does not remove legal obligations.
- Operators must plan routes and schedules that allow drivers to comply with the law.
- Fatigue can cause impairment comparable with alcohol, so checking hours records alone is not enough.
- Repeated failures linked to poor welfare controls may lead to regulatory action.
- The commissioners do not prescribe wellbeing programmes, but expect welfare risks to be understood and managed.
Welfare is part of compliance
In a statement published on 2 November, the traffic commissioners explain that they do not regulate driver welfare as a separate issue. However, they see it as closely linked to fitness to drive, compliance and road safety.
“Welfare is therefore a necessary foundation for lawful and safe operation,” the commissioners write.
They point to several problems drivers face every day:
- a shortage of safe and legal lorry parking, especially on strategic freight corridors,
- inconsistent access to toilets, washing facilities, rest areas and food,
- insecure rest locations, which can lead drivers to cut their breaks short,
- isolation, irregular hours and lone working, which affect mental health.
No parking, no excuse
The commissioners accept that finding a safe place to park is a major challenge. However, they are clear: “Lack of parking does not remove legal obligations.”
According to the statement, operators “retain a responsibility to plan routes and schedules that allow drivers to comply with the law”. This means taking known infrastructure problems, such as full parking areas on a route, into account when planning work.
Where operators show that they understand and manage welfare risks, this is relevant to their compliance and repute. Repeated failures linked to poor welfare controls, however, may lead to regulatory action.
Good repute is one of the conditions for holding a goods vehicle operator’s licence. If a traffic commissioner finds that an operator has lost it, the licence can be revoked.
Fatigue is like alcohol
The statement warns that research links fatigue to impairment “comparable with alcohol impairment”. For this reason, the commissioners say that checking drivers’ hours records is not enough. Operators should also monitor signs of fatigue.
Poor health can also affect a driver’s medical fitness to drive. The commissioners refer to Loughborough University’s SHIFT programme, which improved physical activity, sitting time and weight among HGV drivers who took part.
What operators should do
“As Traffic Commissioners, we do not prescribe specific wellbeing programmes,” the statement says. However, the commissioners expect operators to:
- plan lawful rest and take known infrastructure constraints into account,
- monitor fatigue, not only hours data,
- support driver health,
- build an open culture in which drivers can raise concerns early.
Transport managers can share wellbeing resources at induction, use toolbox talks on fatigue and stress, and encourage drivers to report problems early. The commissioners point to the RHA’s guide on driver wellbeing and Logistics UK’s THRIVE hub, but stress that such tools are no substitute for good management.
What it means for hauliers
For UK operators, the message is that driver welfare can end up on the table at a public inquiry. A haulier that sends drivers on routes where they cannot find a legal place to rest risks not only fines for drivers’ hours offences, but also questions about its repute.
The warning comes as traffic commissioners continue to take action against operators. Recently, a haulier lost part of its licence after its drivers covered 10,535 km without driver cards. Drivers also regularly complain about poor facilities at sites such as the Holyhead lorry park.
