Road Safety Minister, Jim Fitzpatrick, has told fleet operators that will target them in upcoming campaigns to ensure they comply with their legal duty to look after the health, safety and welfare of employees who drive as part of their work.

Around one-third of all road crashes involve people who are driving for work, he said. In human terms, those accidents account for about 1,000 deaths each year.

“That is a stark reminder, if one was needed, that these are people we clearly need to target effectively,” said the Minister. “We have to do our utmost to push the message that driving for work can, and should, be managed like any other part of business.”

He pointed out that some companies, such as Tesco, are at the forefront of ensuring the safety of their drivers.

"But I firmly believe that we can persuade a lot more people to go a lot further and get our casualty figures down.”

Future campaigns will highlight the dangers of distractions such as eating and drinking, reading maps or talking on the hands-free phone while driving.

They will also target company car drivers who rush between appointments or work through the fatigue.

"When this phase of the programme launches in March next year, I want to spell out to employers and employees alike that there are more effective ways of getting the job done than by risking lives,” said the Minister.

"Each and every single company that embraces safer driving gives us a better chance of reducing the 20 deaths each week that are associated with driving for work.”