A recent survey published by Fleet News and conducted among the senior management of around 400 business from the UK has found out vehicle safety checks are not carried out regularly by a quarter of the companies interviewed. An analysis of the breakdown of results might seem a bit shocking as it suggests work still needs to be done with regards to compliance, safety and risk assessment.
According to the survey:
• though 89% of companies do perform driver documentation checks, only 43% of them carry out the same check regularly and follow-up with subsequent checks
• 15% of companies only check documentation in the event of a new hire
• 60% still perform manual/paper checks
• 21% of grey fleets do not conduct driver insurance documentation checks at all
The issues highlighted by the survey probably indicate potential breaches in the safety, compliance and maintenance systems of the interviewed as they are all connected. Not doing regular vehicle checks is not beneficial for your business: it is strictly advisable to determine who exactly is responsible for maintenance; it impacts on the safety of the team and affects risk assessments. If we take walkaround checks that should be carried out by drivers and aren’t, because individual and team responsibilities aren’t made clear, if those checks are not done, then the lack of proper records necessary for a specific system will inevitably lead to non-compliance.
Regarding driver checks: ultimately, this is still something for which your company is responsible. You might be putting drivers and other road users at risk; you could easily be ignorant of any penalty points they have accrued and they might not be fully authorized to drive or be forced not to work in the event of an inspection, all of these issues might imply a sudden shortage in your workforce, less business, higher risks and more wear and tear on your vehicles.
And what if, despite having maintenance, safety and compliance procedures fully implemented in your fleet, you still belong to the 60% who still perform manual checks? You probably have to devote a lot of time to this task, even though you could benefit from the technological systems that are now available in order to streamline all these processes.
Today, with software and app suites like SynX Maintain you can accelerate the process, make it paperless and carry out vehicle and staff checks in a fast and easy way, without making mistakes. If you want to know more, check out Maintain or reach out to us for a free trial.
