The unrelenting stress of work can turn a business driver from a considerate ‘Jekyll’ into a ‘Mr Hyde’ menace, the AA has warned.
Under pressure from work schedules, the AA claims driving focus becomes increasingly self-centred with the work need justifying changed behaviour and a driver's assertion of their ‘rights’ of the road.
“Drivers become the road equivalent of barrack-room lawyers - judgemental and keen to express their interpretation of road laws,” explained the AA’s head of road safety Andrew Howard.
“In its last stage, they become the most important driver on the road and ignore normal rules and norms.”
Drivers need to identify when this is happening and find ways of relieving the pressure and employers need to watch that they are not putting their drivers under too much stress.
“An overstressed company driver isn't only a road safety problem, but could also be an employee storing up other stress-related problems for the future,” added Howard.