A new report exposing the unchecked rise of type 2 diabetes among professional drivers as a major under-recognised health and safety crisis is now out.

Published ahead of Diabetes Week (9-15 June), the report reveals that thousands of commercial drivers may be unknowingly living with type 2 diabetes – and warns that failure to act risks undermining both public safety and national logistics resilience.

Created by the Diabetes Safety Organisation in partnership with the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety and Driving for Better Business, the Hiding in Plain Sight: The UK Diabetes Crisis – A Call to Action to the Road Transport Sector report highlights that as many as one in three adults with type 2 diabetes are undiagnosed — including many in safety-critical driving roles.

Jamie Hassall, executive director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS), said: “Diabetes is not just a public health issue – it’s a workplace safety risk. If left undiagnosed and unmanaged, type 2 diabetes can lead to catastrophic outcomes behind the wheel.”

Alarming, people who drive for a living are twice as likely to develop diabetes, yet most commercial operators have no structured approach to diabetes screening or support. Meanwhile, the presence or contribution of diabetes, or whether people were driving for work, is not recorded in collision data.

The organisations behind the report also warns that employers may be in breach of their health and safety obligations if they fail to assess and mitigate diabetes-related risks and support employees with diabetes.

H&S and equality law puts a duty of care on employers to support drivers. Yet current requirements for medical fitness-to-drive assessments do not mitigate several key diabetes risks: tests are not required until age 45 and they do not cover grey (personally owned and non-liveried) fleet. They also focus mainly on the hypo risk.

And where medical assessments are provided, those most at risk may avoid screening because of known medical conditions and fear of job loss.

The report calls for immediate sector-wide action, including workplace training on how diabetes impacts driving and how to manage personal risk, as it says that proven, low-cost interventions are available to create “diabetes safe” workplaces.

The briefing also spotlights the need to focus on the allied factors – low income, weak employment terms and conditions – and to make the system more supportive.

Experts have also called for recognition and action from the various stakeholders that influence different parts of the system – including the Department for Business and Trade, Department for Health and Social Care and others – for a cross-government commitment to making transport a diabetes safe sector.

Kate Walker, founder of the Diabetes Safety Organisation, added: “This is a silent threat to the health of our transport workforce and the safety of everyone on the road. We are calling on employers, regulators and politicians to step up now.”

Those involved in the report also want routine diabetes risk assessments for commercial drivers and the inclusion of diabetes in transport health and safety policies.

Simon Turner, campaign manager at Driving for Better Business, said: “A healthy driver is a safe driver. This report gives every transport operator a blueprint for protecting lives, livelihoods and supply chains.”

The launch of the report is also backed by industry bodies including the Road Haulage Association (RHA), FORS and major employers such as Evri.

The full report, plus an executive summary, is available for download here.