‘Driving Down Inequality’ campaign highlights legal & safety imperatives for work-related drivers
A new national campaign “Driving Down Inequality launched on 3 June 2025 by Driver First Assist (DFA) in collaboration with Beverley Bell CBE, former Senior Traffic Commissioner for Great Britain. The campaign is shining a spotlight on a crucial gap in workplace safety:
The alarming lack of first aid training for drivers who operate for work
Although the road is the UK’s most dangerous workplace, millions of professional and grey fleet drivers often miss out on basic safety provisions like first aid training. Driver First Assist warns that this disparity not only puts lives at risk but also risks legal consequences for employers.
David Higginbottom, Driver First Assist CEO says:
“Employers have a legal and moral duty to protect their people, wherever they work. If you wouldn’t leave a warehouse or office team without first aid support, why is it considered acceptable for drivers?”
The stats don’t lie
- 1 in 3 road deaths and 1 in 5 serious injuries involve someone driving for work – Drive First Assist
- At least 1 in 3 fatal collisions and 1 in 4 serious injury collisions in Britain involve professional drivers – Drive First Assist
- In 2018 alone, there were 478 fatal collisions involving at work drivers – Drive First Assist
- Business driving causes four times more fatalities than any other type of workplace incident in the UK – Drive First Assist
- Every week, more than 100 people are killed or seriously injured in RTCs involving someone driving for work – Drive First Assist
Given these alarming figures, DFA asserts that first aid training for drivers isn’t optional it’s a legal requirement under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the First Aid Regulations 1981, which have no exclusions for on-road workers.
First Aid
The Driver First Assist white paper published in 2022 highlights a number of key points:
- When workers suffer critical illness or injury at work, the outcome depends heavily on the immediate availability of first aid. In many cases this action can be the difference between life and death.
- While replicating fixed-site first-aid resources on the road is impractical, DFA recommends training a cohort of drivers across aligned businesses to become on road first aiders, closing the gap between mobile and stationary workers Fleet.
- Legally, while the First Aid Regulations focus on employees, the HSE “strongly recommends” coverage for non-employees too such as other drivers on the network if the aim is comprehensive on road safety.
What employers must do
To meet their legal Health and Safety obligations and protect drivers, employers are advised to:
- Perform risk assessments for driving tasks and road related hazards.
- Provide tailored training, including first aid under mobile conditions.
- Ensure vehicle safety through regular servicing and inspections.
- Establish safe-driving policies, specifying hours, rest, incident reporting, and emergency protocol.
- Engage drivers—involve them in developing practical safety measures.
Failing on any of these fronts could lead to prosecution, fines, and reputational harm. As recent coverage in Business Motoring and Fleet News reiterates:
Employers face real legal and ethical consequences.
The full report can be read here
The road ahead
The Driving Down Inequality campaign calls for a systematic rethink: employers across sectors should join forces to fund and staff a network of on road first aiders, supported by a specialist DFA training programme
For health and safety managers now’s the time to take action:
- Audit your driving-related operations and current first-aid capability.
- Map the gap: how many drivers currently lack first-aid skills?
- Work with DFA or accredited providers to train a core group of on-road first-aiders.
- Document your actions—risk assessments, training records, policy updates—as evidence of compliance.
