For fleet managers, a bad day at work can mean a lot more than a delayed delivery. The call that says a driver has been involved in an accident will still send a chill through the most experienced manager. Keeping drivers – and other road users – safe is the top priority for any fleet but accidents continue to happen, with human error responsible for around 90% of UK crashes. High on the list of contributing factors is fatigue.
In this article, Damian Penney, chief revenue officer at Optix, discusses why fleet and transport managers need to be more aware of driver fatigue.
The consequences of an accident can be severe. Aside from the worst case scenarios of human injury or even lives lost, the financial cost can be high. Vehicle repairs, higher insurance premiums and a damaged reputation all add up. A report for National Highways estimates that tiredness among work-related drivers costs the UK economy around £9.2 billion every year.
Fatigue doesn’t come with a warning light
Despite this, the risk of fatigue continues to be underestimated. A report from the Department of Transport indicates that although recorded accident statistics attribute only an estimated 10–20% of all collisions, the real number is likely to be much higher. Unlike alcohol or drugs, tiredness is hard to recognise and there is no simple test to detect it. It can also escalate in moments and even the smallest microsleep can be catastrophic. Driving for Better Business highlights that a driver who experiences a two-second microsleep in a van travelling at 56mph will result in 50 metres of unconscious travel – roughly half the length of a football pitch.
While spotting fatigue is not easy, advancements in video technology are now enabling fleets to identify the signs more quickly and accurately. By embracing a three-pronged approach – combining technology, human expertise and data – fleets can turn insights into action.
The tech that knows you’re tired
AI-powered video technology is helping fleets to spot the signs of fatigue early – sometimes ahead of the driver themselves. This technology can track multiple fatigue-related behaviours, such as eye and head movements. Importantly, it has now achieved a level of accuracy where it also makes the distinction between a driver momentarily looking down to change gear and someone whose head is dipping from drowsiness. In-cab technology alerts drivers to risk in real-time via a seat vibration or an audio-visual signal. This prompt means the driver can take a rest break, putting themselves and others out of harm’s way.
It’s still about the people
While in-cab alerts can help to decrease behavioural risk by as much as 80%, technology alone cannot eliminate it entirely. Fleets must be prepared for scenarios where in-cab alerts have been missed or mistakenly interpreted by drivers. In these scenarios, remote monitoring teams play a vital role. AI detection is used to send footage to trained specialists who review this in near real time, alerting managers to high risk situations within three minutes. Managers can then contact at-risk drivers and remove them from the road within minutes. At Optix, our team reviews up to two million video events a month. In 2025 alone, this helped to prevent tens of thousands of incidents globally.
Using data to spot the signs of risk
Actively monitoring drivers for signs of fatigue is essential to preventing incidents. Just as important is understanding the root cause and whether there are broader, underlying factors that may be contributing. Data captured by in-cab technology and assessed by humans can help reveal patterns and allow fleets to address potential triggers before they become a problem.
For example, UK-wide research from Brake shows that drivers are 20 times more likely to fall asleep at the wheel at 6am than 10pm. Within individual fleets, there may be additional patterns that indicate higher risk – such as specific times of day, or routes that have long stretches and limited places to stop.
Access to insight about patterns like these can transform operational decision making and allow fleets to act. In practice, this could include reviewing scheduling and break structures, strengthening daily communications and refining driver coaching and support.
Managing fatigue effectively takes more than installing a device in a vehicle – it requires a connected approach that combines sophisticated fatigue detection technology, rapid human intervention, and data-driven analysis. This not only protects drivers in the moment but also helps to address any underlying causes before they escalate. In doing so, fleets can protect their drivers and ensure that all road users end their journey safely home.
