The RoSPA and Allianz Commercial has announced they are renewing a two-year partnership to promote effective risk management for any company operating a fleet of vehicles. The two companies have been working together since 2007 and they both offer a range of courses and commercial insurance solutions.

Some new courses have been added for Allianz Commercial Policyholders as follows;

1. ECO-Driving - this course provides advice on how you can change driving techniques to save fuel, reduce CO2 emissions and reduce tyre wear. More information on eco-safe driving is available here.
2. Licence Check- always an issue with company car drivers, this product offers online checking to verify that employees’ driving licences are valid and that they have an entitlement to drive a company vehicle.
3. Driver Profile Managed Service - This product offers a cost and time-efficient method of risk assessment where the RoPSA manages the “back-house” administration.

Every employer that runs a fleet of vehicles, or where an employee drives their own car on business, has a duty of care responsibility to comply with. Full details of all the courses and products available can be found from the RoSPA website.

Volvo

Ultimate Car Control has teamed up with Volvo to offer company car drivers an Excellence in Professional Driving (EPD) training programme. This is the only fully legally compliant driver training programme in the UK and Ultimate Car Control chose Volvo for their safety reputation and innovative new technology. Organisations are now legally obliged (Duty of Care) under Health and Safety legislation to develop company policies that protect their employees if using their car (or van) for work purposes. Ultimate Car Control has reported that companies who have put their fleet drivers through the one-day course have already reported great results. One organisation has already witnessed a drop in accidents by 47% and a 37% drop in insurance premiums. The course involves a classroom-based session covering hazard perception, the effects of drugs and alcohol on drivers as well as explaining how vehicle safety systems such as anti-lock braking systems actually work. The second part of the course  is a dynamic driver training session where drivers learn how to drive in extreme situations and learn how to keep control of their vehicle. If you are interested in finding out more you can contact Ultimate Car Control direct.

20p test is easy

The October tyre safety month (organised by TyreSafe) has received the backing of the Highways Agency for the first time. TyreSafe is the UK’s leading tyre safety organisation and the October campaign aims to educate drivers about the importance of checking tyre tread depth.

The tyre tread depth test is really easy and all you need is a 20p coin which you insert into the main grooves of the tyre and if the rim of the coin is covered by the tread, then this indicates the tyre has sufficient tread depth and is safe and legal. If you have any concerns or questions on the test there is a campaign movie on the TyreSafe website.

Current UK law requires car tyres to have a minimum of 1.6mm of tread depth across the central three-quarters of the tyre, around its entire circumference. If you have an unsafe tyre you risk a fine of up to £2,500 and three penalty points for each illegal tyre, so if in doubt get them checked at your local tyre retailer or do the test yourself.

Stuart Jackson, chairman of Tyresafe, said,”We are delighted to receive the support of the Highways Agency at this critical time of the year. As we approach the wettest months of the year, it is important that drivers have adequate tread depth to stay safe and legal. The Agency’s involvement will provide some additional authority to the campaign messages and through their network of partners, will help us educate even more drivers than ever before”.

If you run a company car fleet of vehicles you also have a duty of care responsibility to ensure your company fleet is safe and roadworthy. Free campaign materials are available again off the TyreSafe website or you can call the campaign hotline on 0845 301 6852 for further information.

GEM leaflet

As George Michael, the international pop star, has just been jailed for driving under the influence of a cocktail of illegal and prescription drugs, GEM Motoring Assist has published a copy of a leaflet warning and advising against this practise. According to a recent poll, 1 in 10 drivers has admitted their ability to drive was impaired after taking medication, whilst 3 per cent admitted to actually having an accident or a near miss, when driving under the influence of prescription drugs or over-the-counter medicines.

The leaflet which is supported by Resident GP of ITV’s This Morning, Dr Chris Steele MBE, answers any questions about driving under the influence of prescription drugs and also offers guidance on being aware how certan medication can affect your driving.

The leaflet is available at www.motoringassist.com/motoronmeds

Employers have a duty of care responsibility to ensure that their company car drivers drive responsibly, so the leaflet should be of use to UK fleet managers to help educate their fleet drivers.

Illegal tyre dumping

The Tyre Recovery Association has warned garages that they face fines or custodial sentences if they fail to cycle their used tyres correctly. Recently nine individual were prosecuted and fined £75,000 for dumping rubbish including used tyres.

Peter Taylor OBE, secretary general of the Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) said, “Garages have a legal duty of care to ensure that any used tyres they remove from vehicles, are disposed of in a legal and environmentally sound manner. These recent prosecutions show that any collectors operating illegally will be tracked down and prosecuted. In addition, any retail premises that are complicit in the operation may also find themselves open to prosecution”.

Used tyres put to use

The disposal of used tyres in landfill sites has been banned since 2006 and currently more than 45 million used tyres are correctly recycled and disposed of under the industry’s Responsible Recycler Scheme (RRS). Garages who are unsure if their tyre collector meets the correct standards and regulations can find out the details of their closest RRS registered collector by visiting the Tyre Recovery Association website. When recycled correctly, used tyres can be used for a number of applications including children’s playgrounds and sports pitches for example.

Fleet managers will be interested to know that Brake, the UK road safety charity, has launched a new website to provide fleets with a “one stop shop” for fleet safety advice, information and resources. The website covers subjects like eco driving, duty of care issues, driver tiredness, forthcoming fleet events, latest fleet news, best practise case studies and a full range of e-learning tools and other resources.

The site is being sponsored by Balfour Beatty Plant & Fleet Services and is available to all subscribers of Brake’s Fleet Safety Forum, which is a non-profit facility aimed at helping companies manage their occupational road risk. Subscription to the forum costs £115+VAT per annum and you can subscribe online at their website. 

Roz Cumming, Fleet Safety Forum Manager at Brake said,”The new site gives fleets a valuable range of information and resources, all in one place, to help them improve safety and save lives. We urge fleets to join our community of safety conscious organisations and sign up today at www.fleetsafetyforum.org, to get full access to this important web portal”.

The BVRLA (British Vehicle rental and Leasing Association) is the trade body for companies engaged in leasing and rental of cars and commercial vehicles. The are advising businesses that they should check that “employee owned cars” used for business, are roadworthy and are properly insured.

John Lewis, chief executive of the BVRLA speaking at the OGC Annual Grey Fleet Conference told delegates that they needed to adopt a “zero tolerance” policy on employees who were unable to prove their vehicle was properly maintained and insured or give details of their driving licence. Companies still have a duty of care requirement for a “grey fleet”.

ACFO - for fleet operators

ACFO, the UK’s premier organisation for fleet decision-makers has announced a new recruitment drive for small and medium sized businesses. ACFO membership currently includes many organisations running just a handful of vehicles although most members are in the 100+ fleet category, with some having fleets up to 25,000.

In many small businesses it is usually the company director who is invariably responsible for fleet operations. ACFO wants to bring the expertise from its current membership to help SMEs understand some of the complexities involved in running even a small fleet of cars or vans. Sharing best practise could help a small business save time and money as many of the current ACFO members are experienced fleet professionals, whose sole role is running a fleet as efficiently as possible.

Duty of care is only one area where staying on top of the current legislation is vital for any small business as ultimately the directors of any company are legally responsible. Stewart Whyte from ACFO said,” Fleet funding and acquisition strategies, in-life vehicle management, tax and managing at-work driving, are all highly complex topics that without the right expertise could prove troublesome and expensive to to the unwary. ACFO helps by spreading best practise examples”.

The ACFO website has recently been re-launched and is packed full of useful information. The organisation operates via nine regional groups, covering the whole of the UK, thereby offering nationwide coverage.

The Fuelcard Company, one of the UK’s leading fuel card providers, has undertaken research into present-day driving distractions. Disturbingly they found, that even though drivers are four more times likely to crash while using a mobile, only 12% had stopped making calls whilst the car is in motion and almost 40% don’t own a hands free kit.

Jakes de Kock, The Fuelcard Company Marketing Director, said ” These findings highlight that whilst we are all aware of the risks of using a mobile phone when driving, many people are ignoring them which is incredibly dangerous- both to the driver and the company. If there is an accident and the correct procedures haven’t been followed, Courts will hold fleet managers and company owners accountable and this could result in legal action against them”.

The research also found that other potential distractions include changing a CD/radio station, altering a SatNav, minding children, lighting a cigarette and even having a conversation. The Fuelcard Company is urging fleet managers to review the legislation and establish a strict mobile-while-driving policy to ensure all company car drivers (and all other staff as well) follow the guidlines, to reduce the risks of accidents and prosecution.

With the Corporate Manslaughter Act now incorporating The Health and Safety Offences Act 2008, fleet or company car drivers, and even the Directors of the Company, are at risk of long jail terms. You can be prosecuted for dangerous driving by allowing texting or even answering a call in your vehicle, under your duty of care responsibilities.

The BVRLA (British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association) has launched its revised Guide to Driving at Work. This new online reference manual can be used by anyone who is involved in driving for business and offers advice on health and safety within the workplace. It will help you if you are looking to put together a corporate driving at work policy and will demonstrate that you have taken all reasonable steps to protect your employees and other road users.

This is important as if you run a fleet of vehicles you have a duty of care responsibility. BVRLA chief executive, John Lewis said ” Every person driving at work presents a risk, and health and safety law applies just as much to on-the-road activities as it does to the conventional workplace. The information in this guide is equally applicable to drivers covering many miles each day, or just a few each month”.

This new guide has been endorsed by HRH Prince Michael of Kent who is a patron of Roadsafe and has been reviewed by legal experts at Eversheds. The new guide includes advice on the following:

- Revised and updated sections on the vehicle, the driver and the journey which take into account recent legislative and technological developments.

- Practical case studies that will demonstrate the business benefits of implementing some of the recommendations that the BVRLA make in their guide.

- Information on telematics, monitoring devices and other technical solutions which may assist in safer driving and reducing accident costs.

-Advice on towing, vehicle loading and equipment which has been added to help light commercial van operators (LCV’s).

- A section on grey fleet, which covers employees using their own vehicles and highlights the potential extra cost to business.

The BVRLA is the trade body for companies engaged in the leasing and rental of cars and commercial vehicles. Its members operate a combined fleet of 2.6 million cars, vans and trucks and all the contract hire leasing partners on this site are full members. The guide is available from the BVRLA website under the Advice and Guidance section.