Hundreds of companies have failed to implement fleet safety initiatives, are ignoring technology that could help cut operating costs and are leaving the door open for their van drivers to receive huge tax bills from HM Revenue & Customs.
The worrying picture of inaction comes from a survey undertaken in March 2008 of 504 fleet decision-makers by Northgate Vehicle Hire, Britain’s largest vehicle rental company, which operates a fleet of 68,500 vehicles from 90 outlets across the UK.
Phil Moorhouse, managing director of Northgate Vehicle Hire, said: “Our survey shows up significant weaknesses in the policies and procedures of many companies. It is of paramount importance that businesses get to grips with these issues as quickly as possible.”
Driver Safety More than half of the fleet decision-makers surveyed (51%) say their at-work drivers have not undertaken a risk assessment as part of their employers’ occupational road risk management strategy. With the Government, police and Health and Safety Executive increasingly taking initiatives to crackdown on the number of road crashes involving at-work drivers, best practice suggests that all at-work drivers should undergo an assessment to measure their risk exposure and their attitude and behaviour when behind the wheel.
While 210 fleet decision-makers (42%) said their at-work drivers had completed a risk assessment, alarmingly 36 people (7%) didn’t know.
