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Many of us drive to and from work, trying to avoid the busiest routes, attempting to evade getting stuck in traffic jams and striving to arrive at work on time, and that is more than enough of a chore. But others drive all day every day in order to make a living and are in constant fear of the time when they are involved in a collision and will have to make a no win, no fee road accident claim in order to recover damages.

Without couriers, taxi drivers, bus drivers and, most specifically, emergency vehicle drivers, the world as we know it would come to a stand still. Important business documents wouldn't get delivered, people without their own transport wouldn't be able to get from A to B with ease and those that need assistance from the police force, ambulance service or fire service would almost certainly face serious consequences.

It is fair to say that Britain's professional drivers are fundamental to the structure of the country. Taxi drivers have even been named as the fifth emergency service because when a shortage of ambulances, trains and many other vehicles occur they are next on our speed dials. But driving for a living is not without risk.

Research carried out by Broughton et al (2003) revealed that drivers who drive more than 80% of their annual mileage on work-related journeys had about 53% more accidents than similar drivers who had no work-related mileage. Earlier research showed that those who drive company cars in the UK are one group at a particularly high work-related road accident risk as they are 49% more likely to be involved in an accident than an ordinary driver.

A crash could result in personal injury to the driver, any passengers, other drivers and pedestrians, resulting in the need for whiplash compensation claims for painful neck injuries or any number of road accident injury claims to be made.

Two major causes of occupational road accidents are fatigue and stress. Many drivers work long shifts; taxi drivers especially favour shifts after 11.00pm as they make much of their money at closing time when pub-goers need to get home. However, many drivers opt to work all day and continue into the evening so that they can make a few extra quid.

Time pressure is also stress inducing. Delivery drivers may receive performance-related pay and so have particularly tight schedules to meet. Similarly, passenger carrying vehicles have pick-ups to make and deadlines are very strict. Such pressure may encourage drivers to exceed the speed limit to make up a little extra time, which in itself is increasing the risk of a road accident occurring. Being under tremendous pressure whilst behind the wheel is also likely to affect a driver's concentration and slow their reaction times, again elevating the risk of a vehicle accident.

Mobile phone use while driving is another contributory cause to these particular motor accidents. According to road safety charity Brake (2001), high-mileage company car drivers were more likely to use mobile phones while driving than other drivers. The new hand-held mobile phone law may have some impact on this dangerous driving activity since drivers caught using a hand-held device behind the wheel face three points on their driving licence as well as a maximum fine of �1,000 for car drivers or �2,500 for bus, coach or goods vehicle drivers as of the end of February 2007.

For delivery drivers and couriers, a reliance on maps and GPS systems to find unfamiliar destinations is also thought to be high a contributor to vehicle accidents. Many drivers fail to pull over when they are trying to decipher their destination and will risk taking their eyes off the road to look at a map or GPS system while attempting to drive.

An In-depth Study of Work-related Road Traffic Accidents carried out on the behalf of the Department of Transport uncovered some interesting results. The six main types of vehicle involved in work-related road accidents were company cars, vans/pickups, LGVs, buses, taxi and emergency vehicles.

In short, drivers of vans and LGVs had a high 'blameworthiness ratio in their accident involvement. Van drivers showed fault with their observational skills whereas LGV drivers displayed fatigue and vehicle defects as major reasons. On the other hand, those that drive taxis and emergency vehicles were less to blame. While these drivers still made a variety of motoring errors, they were more likely to be involved in a road accident caused by another driver.

It has been suggested that driver training may decrease the likelihood of work-related road accidents occurring. Not only would professional drivers benefit from advanced driver training to improve their motoring skills and attitudes while on the road but their employers would also benefit from not having a fleet of drivers at so much risk as well as having a decreased chance of having personal injury compensation claims made against them after drivers experience accidents at work.

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Simon Jacobs, Car Accident Advice Line http://www.car-accident-claim.com/car-accident/car-accident-compensation-for-holiday-crashes.htm helps people to claim compensation after they have been injured in a car accident that was not their fault. You can call us now on 0808 143 43 42