The clocks have gone back; the evenings are darker, it’s wet, and it won’t be long until frost warnings start appearing on weather forecasts.
For fleet managers, this means more than adjusting the office thermostat. It is a period that requires extra protection for your drivers, maintaining further compliance whilst keeping operations running smoothly.
The Reality of Winter Driving Hazards
Every seasonal change brings its own unique challenges, but autumn and winter present a particularly dangerous combination of conditions. Your drivers are now contending with wet roads, reduced visibility, lower temperatures, blinding sunshine in the mornings; the unpredictable nature of British weather.
According to guidance from Driving for Better Business, the statistics are sobering: stopping distances can be up to 10 times greater on wet roads compared to dry conditions. That safe two-second gap your drivers usually maintain in summer? It now needs to be doubled in adverse weather conditions.
The hazards stack up quickly at this time of year:
- Wet weather While 2025 has been drier overall than 2024, we've seen more frequent periods of heavy rainfall. With UK winters expected to become wetter in the coming years, these intense rain events create challenging driving conditions. Wet weather means reduced tyre grip and less effective braking, particularly if vehicles encounter deep water. When rainfall is concentrated into shorter periods, roadside gullies struggle to drain effectively, leading to more standing water and spray that affects visibility.
- Darker evenings compress working hours and force more journeys to take place in low-light conditions when visibility is naturally worse. The sun setting low is the sky during late afternoon creates significant visibility issues.
- Debris like leaves on wet roads create unexpectedly slippery surfaces that catch even experienced drivers off guard.
- High Winds pose particular risks for high-sided vehicles, with bridges and exposed routes dangerous during severe weather events.
Your Legal Obligations Don’t Change with the Seasons
Whilst weather conditions may be unpredictable, your legal responsibilities as a fleet manager remain constant throughout the year. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires you to take appropriate steps to ensure the health and safety of employees and others affected by your business activities. This explicitly includes work-related driving.
Mike Hayward from Woodfines Solicitors explains in his legal update for Driving for Better Business (DfBB), the HSE is clear that journey planning should:
- Take account of appropriate routes
- Incorporate realistic work schedules
- Not put drivers at risk from fatigue
- Take sufficient account of adverse weather conditions
This last point is particularly important now. If an incident occurs that’s attributed to a driver’s failure to account for road or weather conditions, it could lead to roadside enforcement, court proceedings, or worse. Under the Road Traffic Act, careless driving is defined as "driving falling below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver.” The Crown Prosecution Service will specifically consider whether drivers appropriately adjust their behaviour for prevailing weather conditions.
The rules are straightforward: drivers must have a full view of the road and traffic ahead at all times. This means properly cleared windscreens, clean lights and legible number plates. Failure to comply can result in fixed penalty fines and points on licences.
Practical Steps to be Prepared
So what does effective winter preparation actually look like? Here’s a checklist to get you started:
Vehicle Readiness
Before the weather worsens further, ensure your fleet vehicles are winter-ready. Check that:
- Tyres have good tread depth and are properly inflated
- Oil and coolant levels are topped up
- All lights are working and clean
- Wipers are in good condition
- Washer fluid is filled (and contains appropriate winter additives)
Journey Planning
With darker evenings now a reality, journey planning becomes more critical. Where possible, plan routes to maximise daylight hours. Build in realistic time buffers that account for slower speeds in adverse weather conditions. Consider alternative routes that avoid exposed bridges or areas prone to flooding.
Not only is this good practice, it directly addresses your HSE obligations journey planning and fatigue management. A driver rushing to meet unrealistic schedules in poor conditions is a liability waiting to happen.
Driver Communication
Your drivers may well believe they’re perfectly competent in all conditions, but assumptions don’t hold up in court. Set clear expectations through your driving for work policies and employee handbooks. During regular meetings or stand ups, remind them that:
- Stopping distances double in wet weather and can increase tenfold on icy roads
- It’s illegal (and environmentally harmful) to leave engines running to defrost windscreens
- Fog lights must be used in low visibility
- Driving though puddles that splash pedestrians can constitute inconsiderate driving
Emergency Preparation
Every vehicle should carry basic winter essentials, snacks, a fully charged mobile phone or powerbank, appropriate clothing, a scraper, and a high-visibility jacket.
The Balance of Common Sense and Compliance
You can’t control the weather, but you can control how you respond to it. The law provides the framework, but effective fleet management requires coupling regulatory compliance with practical common sense.
This means empowering your drivers to make sensible decisions. If conditions are genuinely dangerous, they should have the authority to delay journeys without fear of repercussions. Building this culture of safety protects your drivers and your business from legal and reputational consequences of preventable incidents.
It also means regular communication. Don’t assume a single briefing in October will carry drivers through until March. Make it a recurring topic in team meetings.
Taking Action
The seasonal transition is already underway. Darker evenings are here, wet weather is coming and winter conditions will arrive sooner than expected. Fleet managers, start preparing now rather play catch up after an incident has happened. If you are asked “did you do everything reasonably practicable” to protect your drivers what will your answer be?
Continue daily checks, update journey planning protocols, and refresh drivers on seasonal hazards. And most importantly, build in the time and flexibility that allows drivers to adjust their behavior appropriately for the conditions they actually encounter on the road.
Every season has its risks, but preparation and awareness can make all the difference in keeping your drivers safe and your fleet running smoothly.
This article draws on guidance from Driving for Better Business, a Department for Transport funded road safety initiative providing free support to businesses managing work-related driving. Additional legal insights provided by Mike Hayward of Woodfines Solicitors.
