diff --git a/nginx_reload.sh b/nginx_reload.sh
index d8efa3c..bd5dbb3 100755
--- a/nginx_reload.sh
+++ b/nginx_reload.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 declare nginx_container="${1:?}"
-if [[ "$( docker container inspect -f '{{.State.Running}}' "${nginx_container}" 2> /dev/null )" == "true" ]]; then
-    docker exec -t "${nginx_container}" sh -c 'nginx -t &>/dev/null' && \
-    docker kill --signal SIGHUP "${nginx_container}"
+if systemctl --quiet is-active docker.service; then
+    if [[ "$( docker container inspect -f '{{.State.Running}}' "${nginx_container}" 2> /dev/null )" == "true" ]]; then
+        docker exec -t "${nginx_container}" sh -c 'nginx -t &>/dev/null' && \
+        docker kill --signal SIGHUP "${nginx_container}"
+    fi
 fi