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New Service Reduces Road
Risks for Company Drivers
A Leicester-based vehicle
management company has introduced a new “Vehicle Monitor” service to help
businesses tackle the risks and costs resulting from poor maintenance of
vehicles used on company business.
Under Health & Safety
legislation, a company can be prosecuted if an employee driving an unsafe
car is involved in an accident while on company business, whether the
vehicle is company or privately owned. According to the DfT, around a
third (1,000) of road deaths each year involve people who are working.
Simon Hill, managing director
of Total Motion Vehicle Management says: “Over the last two years we have
monitored every fleet vehicle returned to us, and it is clear that,
regardless of any steps our clients may have taken, many drivers are
failing to care for their vehicles properly.”
The problem may be even worse
with the growing number of private vehicles used on company business,
which tend to be older, serviced less often, and are very rarely checked
by the fleet manager. With cash for car and opt out schemes causing more
people to choose this option instead of a car, around 5 million drivers
now use their own car on company business.
Total Motion Vehicle Monitor
offers a team of industry-qualified field engineers to undertake
appraisals on drivers and cars driven for business purposes, whether they
be company-supplied or covered by cash for car, car ownership or private
vehicle use arrangements.
The appraisals can be
conducted on a random or scheduled basis, and include checks on the
vehicle’s condition and general roadworthiness, its service history and
documentation, and the driver’s licence and insurance. Completed appraisal
forms and digital images are sent to the fleet operator within 24 hours,
allowing them to act quickly. Costs start from just £7.00 per vehicle.
Total Motion can also act for
the client to deal with any legal issues on the spot, including organising
immediate remedial work or, in the most severe cases, confiscating company
cars.
“The only way to prove you
have taken all reasonable steps is to physically appraise drivers and
their vehicles on a regular basis,” says Mr Hill. “We believe that,
regardless of the size of fleet, Vehicle Monitor will save fleet operators
thousands of pounds each year, and in the long term will help make our
roads a safer place for everyone.”
Total Motion is already in
talks with a number of major insurers to see whether participation in such
a program could have an effect on insurance premiums. It is also
negotiating with driving training organisations to offer training as part
of the appraisal package.
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