People & drivers
Planning fair courier shifts and reducing driver fatigue
How to combine legal limits with realistic route planning, recovery time and a culture where fatigue can be reported.
In brief
What an operator should know.
A route can be technically legal and still be badly planned. Fatigue control starts with start times, loading, traffic, waiting, return mileage and whether a break is genuinely usable.
Separate legal rules from fatigue risk
Goods-vehicle rules depend on weight, journey and use. Vans under 3.5 tonnes commonly fall under GB domestic rules, while heavier combinations may fall under assimilated rules. Legal compliance is the minimum; consecutive long days, night work and poor breaks can still create fatigue risk.
- Classify each vehicle and journey
- Consider previous work and rest
- Treat early starts and night work as specific risks
Build a rota that can survive real life
Include loading, security, traffic variation, breaks, refuelling and the return to base. Publish rotas early and explain how late work is allocated. DVSA encourages van drivers to take a 45-minute rest for every 4.5 hours of driving.
- Plan a usable break location
- Add delay recovery time
- Do not treat unknown waiting as rest
Respond properly when fatigue is reported
Give drivers a clear instruction: stop safely, report the concern and do not continue when unsafe. Protect the immediate job, then review why the plan failed. Repeated fatigue on one route is operating data, not an individual weakness.
- Keep a 24-hour escalation contact
- Record the planning cause
- Change the route, timing or handover where necessary
Practical action plan
What to do next.
- 01Classify the work
Document which drivers' hours and working-time rules apply.
- 02Add real buffers
Include loading, waiting, breaks, traffic and return mileage.
- 03Publish a fatigue process
Tell drivers how to stop safely and who to contact.
- 04Review rota hotspots
Investigate repeated overruns and difficult shift patterns.
Operator measures
Figures worth monitoring.
Shows where routes systematically overrun.
Track changes inside the agreed notice period.
Use reports to improve planning, not suppress reporting.
Source notes
Guidance used for this article.
- GOV.UK — Drivers' hours: goods vehicles, reviewed 2026.
- Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency — Working time rules, updated 1 July 2026.
- Health and Safety Executive — Driving and riding safely for work: worker health.
Sources are cited by name without external links. This article provides general operational guidance and does not replace legal, HR, tax or safety advice for a specific situation.
Direct answers
Common questions.
Do the same rules apply to every courier van?
No. The applicable rules depend on weight, use and journey. Check the exact operation.
Is waiting time always a break?
No. If the driver must remain available or the duration is unknown, it may count as work.
What should dispatch do when fatigue is reported?
Help the driver stop safely, protect the job and investigate the planning factors that created the risk.