This month the focus is on our health due to spending many hours on the road as driving for work may cause some of us to lack the time to focus on health and exercise. High blood pressure can be a silent killer, so taking the time to remind ourselves of managing our health is a positive way to stay fit & healthy.
Post Collision Investigation is a key part of a fleet manager’s role. We take a dive into the issues and offer best practice.
KNOWING YOUR NUMBERS HELPS FITNESS TO DRIVE
Right now, 5 million UK adults aged 18-64 may have undiagnosed high blood pressure – increasing their risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease. Many don’t even know their numbers and some of us may have high blood pressure and not know due to the lack of any symptoms. That’s why it’s known as ‘the silent killer’.
According to The British Heart Foundation about a third of the UK population has high blood pressure, with many people being unaware that they have the condition.
By being proactive and taking responsibility for health, knowing your numbers gives you the power to act – whether that’s eating less salt, being more active, or starting medication if needed. Age doesn’t matter. Everyone should Know Their Numbers!
Blood pressure has an impact on ‘fitness to drive’ and maintaining a healthy blood pressure is important for safe driving. In some collisions accident investigators will be informed that ‘the driver lost control of the vehicle after suffering a medical episode’ and the most common causes in these scenarios are heart attacks, strokes and fainting linked to issues with blood pressure.
Whilst high blood pressure can lead to heart attacks and strokes, low blood pressure can cause dizziness, blurred vision and confusion. These are all dangerous conditions for a driver to experience when focus is needed for driving a vehicle.
Literally ‘knowing your numbers’ can save lives on the road. Taking a blood pressure reading and understanding the readings, in order to get treatment and support if necessary, is part of a driver’s fitness for safe driving at work. Making healthier lifestyle choices or taking prescribed medicines will be necessary if a blood pressure reading is too high or low. Any drivers taking medication should also be alert to possible side effects from their medication that could interfere with their driving capability.
Blood pressure is measured using two numbers:
Systolic pressure: which is the higher of the two numbers and is the pressure against the arteries when the heart is pumping blood around the body.
Diastolic pressure: is the lower of the two numbers. It shows how much pressure is in the arteries when the heart relaxes between beats. doesn’t often come with symptoms, knowing you have high blood pressure could like heart attack and stroke.
Blood pressure is very important no matter your age and it’s never too late to take action to lower blood pressure. High blood pressure is not simply a part of growing old.
Risk factors that may cause high blood pressure (hypertension) to develop include:
-
Sitting for long periods and having a sedentary lifestyle
-
Consumption of high fat, high salt and processed foods
-
Regularly consuming alcohol and exceeding recommended guidelines
-
Lack of physical activity and regular exercise
-
Family history of blood pressure issues
Home monitoring kits are readily available from local Chemists and are an effective and inexpensive way to keep blood pressure under control. Monitoring offers a practical way for you to take control of your health, feel confident, and ensure you keep driving safely. Alternatively, a GP, Nurse or Chemist will be able to take a blood pressure reading if an appointment is booked.
THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLISION INVESTIGATION
The importance of effective investigations helps an organisation learn from mistakes, check on performance and improve risk controls. The information gathered from an investigation can be used for safety messages and it can help grow a positive safety culture. Other benefits include trend analysis and being able to identify problem routes or locations.
Gathering data on minor incidents as well as significant collisions can prove challenging. However, efforts should be made to record incidents of any size.
Collisions don’t need to be investigated to the same standard. Serious collisions should receive the most investigative effort. That’s not to say that near misses, with the potential to be serious, should not receive a good level of attention.
A suitable investigation should:
-
Identify the reasons for poor driving performance
-
Give learning from the incident
-
Help prevent a recurrence
-
Obtain details for effective claims management
Investigations should be conducted promptly after a collision and should include the collecting of evidence on what happened, considering the evidence, comparing the information with company standards and implementing the findings from the investigation. Stresses outside work can cause fatigue or distraction when the you are behind the wheel. There is a standard report form and witness statement form available in the master document folder.
Wishing you a healthy and safe month on the roads.
All the best
Paul
