How Serious Is Poor Mental Health Amongst Drivers?
Tuesday, 14. August 2018
I was reading a report prepared by road safety charity Brake, about the mental health of company car drivers the other day. The report was rather worrying because it was calling for companies to up their game in this area and identify earlier mental health problems that could affect their drivers.
However, as I read the report I started to think that this situation affects all drivers not just company car drivers so whilst companies could have checks in place, what checks are there when it comes to non-company car or business drivers? The report points out that whilst a happy driver with a positive attitude is not necessarily a safer driver, nor does it mean that a driver with mental issues will not make a perfectly good driver but psychologists have shown that poor attitude and a negative state of mind can adversely affect driver safety.
There is also little information regarding the state of a driver’s mind following an accident. So when an accident occurred as a result of a car going out of control the blame is often put down to tiredness or distraction rather than a sudden attack of depression. This can take the driver into a very dark place leading to suicidal thoughts. And this is worrying.
Companies have and will encourage employees to talk about mental issues which still carries a stigma. Brake wants companies to take this further and in the same way that businesses ensure that their vehicles are properly maintained and roadworthy similar checks on their drivers should also be put in place with drivers’ mental health assessed.
In a response reported in Business Car, Alison Moriarty, road risk and compliance manager for Skanska agreed with the views expressed by Brake but added potentially risky conditions for drivers which included depression, that could make them unconcerned for their own and others’ safety, and anxiety, which could cause sufferers to experience periods of unintended helplessness close to a state of paralysis – potentially dangerous when drivers may need to take split-second decisions to avoid a crash.
A string of recommendations was made to make it easier for employees to discuss mental problems and the importance for businesses to understand and react to the issues when identified. All good news which will hopefully make driving safer but the same checks and balances should also be applied to non-business drivers. Whilst it is believed that business drivers spend more time alone with little interaction with others with whom they can discuss their feelings the same must apply to those who don’t drive as part of their job.
I find it all very worrying. Maybe crashes need more investigation into the mental health of those involved and in-car telematics could be used to check for erratic behaviour. More certainly needs to be done in this area until all cars become driverless. By Graham Hill
