diff --git a/docker/docker.go b/docker/docker.go
index b4d7879397..a552b8318a 100644
--- a/docker/docker.go
+++ b/docker/docker.go
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@ func main() {
 			// If we do not have a host, default to unix socket
 			defaultHost = fmt.Sprintf("unix://%s", api.DEFAULTUNIXSOCKET)
 		}
+		if _, err := api.ValidateHost(defaultHost); err != nil {
+			log.Fatal(err)
+		}
 		flHosts.Set(defaultHost)
 	}