Managing vehicles in the summer does not necessarily mean you need to take special precautions against excessive heat like you might expect to in warmer regions, even though climate is changing and we have recently experienced soaring temperatures of up to 26 degrees Celsius in Ireland this year.
However, there are some extra measures you might take with regards to safety: the balmy months bring more vehicles on the road, including bicycles, caravans, agricultural vehicles, visiting tourists and, of course means increased traffic congestion. Given the fact that hotter weather coincides with the school holidays, there are also more children and pedestrians present on or around roads. They should be regarded as vulnerable road users who are often unaware of dangers and prone to unpredictable behaviour. We recommend careful route planning, increased attention, defensive driving and preparedness for the dangerously unpredictable actions of others.
But managing vehicles in the summer can also offer an opportunity to take advantage of what may be a slower business period and when employees to take their annual holiday—it's a good time of year to attend to the wellbeing of your fleet. Let’s have a look at some actions you might take during this holiday season:
1. Make sure you have a process in place for company cars
If some of your drivers use company cars for private driving as well, and they are supposed to leave for their holidays, make sure there is a process in place so the vehicles are safely stored in your premises. If this is the case, you may want to make use of them or have them checked on this occasion.
2. Maintenance and check-ups
If your employees are off, it might be the perfect moment to check their vehicles and do a thorough washing as well as having a look at the maintenance schedule. It might be possible to carry out some of the necessary interventions or certifications at this point to avoid downtime later.
3. Refresh your fleet policy
Check out your current fleet policy and see if it needs to be modified. Prepare yourself and the schedule for when everyone is available again. If you do not have a fleet policy, it’s a simple matter to download the sample we offer.
4. Driver training
If everyone is in-house and business is a little slower, your finances allow for it and you can schedule the time in, organise further driver training or use reports from your fleet management software to correct unsafe or fuel-inefficient driver behaviour.
5. New tools for fleet management
If you have more time available due to slower business or to staff holidays, spend it to investigate the new tools available to better manage your fleet. We are pretty sure that if you had a look at our walkaround checks software, you’ll really appreciate all the benefits of going paperless.
