The German testing organisation DEKRA found that almost two-thirds of surveyed drivers repeatedly had to park on access roads, exit lanes, or roadsides to comply with rest-time rules. More than half said they regularly drove more than 20 additional kilometres searching for a space, adding time pressure at the end of already demanding shifts. The paradox is clear: rules requiring drivers to stop and rest can, in practice, leave tired drivers searching even longer for somewhere legal and safe to park. DEKRA’s findings appear in its 2026 Road Safety Report, titled Workplace Road Traffic, which examines accident risks for people who work on or near the road, including truck drivers, courier drivers, emergency services and road maintenance workers. Presenting the report in Berlin, DEKRA Automobil managing director Jann Fehlauer said accident prevention requires a closer look at the causes of crashes and at the measures that can either prevent them or reduce their consequences.
Fatigue remains one of the biggest risks
DEKRA identifies fatigue as one of the most important risk factors in road transport, citing research suggesting that lack of sleep can increase crash risk eightfold. Professional drivers can cover more than 100,000 kilometres a year, often through heavy traffic, bad weather, monotonous routes and time pressure. DEKRA says these conditions can combine with irregular working hours and demanding schedules to reduce concentration behind the wheel.
“Compliance with driving and rest-time rules, together with targeted health-promotion measures, can help reduce tiredness, stress and strain,” said Fehlauer.
However, the report makes clear that rest rules can only work properly if drivers have realistic access to safe places to stop. When parking spaces are unavailable, drivers may be forced to choose between continuing to drive while tired, stopping in an unsafe location, or risking a breach of working-time rules.
Digital distraction adds to the pressure
The report also points to another growing workplace risk: distraction. Navigation systems, order-management platforms, smartphones and automated driving functions are now part of everyday work for many professional drivers. While these systems can support drivers and improve efficiency, DEKRA says they also create new demands by forcing drivers to process several sources of information while monitoring traffic. The organisation calls for binding measures to reduce distraction in road traffic. At the same time, it says well-designed technology can help prevent crashes. DEKRA highlights the role of intelligent transport systems and safety devices, including emergency braking systems, blind-spot and turning assistants, and cooperative intelligent transport systems, known as C-ITS. These allow vehicles and infrastructure to exchange real-time warnings about hazards such as roadworks, obstacles or slow-moving traffic. In DEKRA’s own tests, C-ITS-based warnings for roadworks gave drivers advance notice of hazards that vehicle sensors might not always detect early enough on their own.
Roadworks protection also under scrutiny
The report also examines risks around roadworks and mobile work zones, where both drivers and road maintenance staff can be exposed to serious danger. DEKRA carried out crash tests comparing conventional trailer-mounted warning boards with energy-absorbing protection systems. According to the organisation, energy-absorbing systems reduced impact forces and helped keep the protection vehicle more stable. By contrast, conventional trailer-mounted systems absorbed far less energy and could push the safety vehicle further into the work area, increasing the risk for people working behind it. Modern automated emergency braking systems were also tested in roadworks scenarios. DEKRA found that the systems generally reacted reliably to mobile barrier boards at 60 km/h and 85 km/h, although reaction windows could be shortened where visibility was restricted, such as behind bends.
Technology alone will not fix the problem
DEKRA’s report argues that road safety at work cannot be improved through vehicle technology alone. The organisation says accident prevention depends on the combination of technology, infrastructure, regulation, workplace organisation and personal responsibility. Its ten-point demand list includes:
- better protection for roadworks,
- more complete recording of work-related road accidents,
- improved working conditions in transport,
- stricter monitoring of load-securing rules,
- continued development of dangerous goods regulations,
- strict enforcement of driving and rest-time rules,
- more safe truck parking,
- and mandatory health-promotion programmes for professional drivers.
Antonio Avenoso, executive director of the European Transport Safety Council, said workplace road safety should not be treated as a niche issue, but as central to Europe’s Vision Zero target of reducing road deaths and serious injuries to near zero by 2050. The parking shortage will not explain every accident involving professional drivers. But DEKRA’s report underlines that fatigue is not only a question of individual responsibility. It is also shaped by the infrastructure available to drivers when they are legally required — and physically need — to stop.
