The Produce Connection was fined £30,000 after one of its employees died when his vehicle drifted into the path of an oncoming lorry. He had worked 76 hours in the previous four days and chronic fatigue is believed to be a major factor.

The prosecution is thought to be significant because it is the first time that a company has been fined in a case of this type where the accident occurred outside working hours. Mark Fiebig was driving home from work at the time.

Andy Leech, sales and marketing director at cfc solutions, said that the case was a strong indicator that the Health and Safety Executive was taking the subject of car and LCV fleet driver hours ever more seriously.

He explained: "Traditionally, driver hours has been a subject that fleets believe is mainly the preserve of companies that run mainly HGVs, but this is rapidly changing. We are reaching a point where it is arguable that every fleet manager should monitor driver hours while this is still a suggested practice rather than a legal requirement.

"The Produce Connection case is a further signal that the HSE is tightening up in this area. This kind of prosecution signals that employers have a wide ranging responsibility to stop fatigued drivers getting behind the wheel of vehicles, especially company ones."

Leech added that cfc would be writing to its 3,000 strong customer base in order to warn them about the implications of this case on their own fleet operations.

He said: "While duty of care as a fleet issue is getting lots of publicity, the area of driver hours - where we are actually seeing prosecutions being brought forward - is one that we believe is not being adequately talked about or acted upon."