Creating better driving habits saves money – fact!

Getting staff to improve their driving techniques is guaranteed to deliver major savings on your vehicle running costs. Several studies have concluded that you can make significant savings on

• reduced fuel consumption
• lower insurance premiums
• general wear and tear of vehicles

SAFED has suggested that typical savings could be over 10%, but you may feel that spending money in this area is considered a luxury. However, investing now could see the cost recouped in less than six months.

BRAKE, the road safety charity, is also campaigning for companies to do more to improve driver’s awareness of safety issues — helping to reduce accident rates, and improve the overall safety of your drivers. This also addresses your corporate health and safety obligations.

These are some of the steps you could take now:

1. Introduce a compulsory driver assessment programme
2. Communicate the purpose and benefits of the programme
3. Monitor spend levels against each driver
4. Offer additional training to drivers
5. Maintain the corporate road safety message

UK Fleet Manager can help you with this and much more to make your business perform better. Contact me if you would to make a BIG difference to your company today.

Mark James
Mark.james@ukfleetmanager.co.uk

Recession Busting tips for fleet operators

After payroll, vehicles are the most expensive cost to your business, and the ability for you to pro-actively reduce these costs has never been of more critical importance.

Many companies have successfully introduced initiatives to focus on vehicle cost reduction, with related reduction in carbon emissions, and have made considerable savings. At UK Fleet Manager, we constantly monitor this type of activity across the corporate fleet sector and make ‘best practice’ recommendations to all our clients.

These are our Top 5 Recession Busting tips:

1. Get a grip on fuel use – analyse cost and consumption by driver and set targets.
2. Control your servicing – you’d be amazed how many garages overcharge, so challenge them!
3. Look at tyre replacements – are they wearing out too soon, or damaged? Why?
4. Reduce vehicle ‘downtime’ – find out why your vehicles are spending time off the road.
5. Get your drivers to work smarter – are they using technology to its full potential? Train them for example, in journey planning.

UK Fleet Manager helps with practical guidance on these, and much more to make your business perform better. All it takes is a call to ask us how we do it. Contact me if you would like us to make a BIG difference to your company today. 

Mark James
Mark.james@ukfleetmanager.co.uk

Do you know the true cost of vehicle accidents to your business?

When one of your company vehicles is involved in a road traffic accident you will be faced with some immediate costs such as insurance excess and replacement vehicle hire, but have you considered the hidden costs?

These costs are more difficult to quantify but taken together, the total cost of an accident can run to thousands of £££s. Have you considered 

• The cost in time taken to process the insurance claim and deal with third parties
• Time taken to reclaim for uninsured losses
• The cost of a driver being off work through injury
• The vehicle’s ‘downtime’ and any loss of business reputation
• Potential reduced resale value on a ‘repaired’ vehicle
• The impact on your insurance premiums at the next renewal

According to industry figures, 97% of all incidents are caused by driver error, meaning that they WERE avoidable.

UK Fleet Manager can help you draw up an effective Risk Management Policy and driver development programme to help you reduce and even eliminate these costs. Contact me if you would like to know more about how we do it.

Mark James
Mark.james@ukfleetmanager.co.uk

Drivers take serious risks by not checking their tyres regularly

How often do you inspect your company car tyres? Many of you never inspect the condition of your tyres and rely solely upon the garage to check. If you rely on fitting tyre pressure sensing equipment, be aware that they cannot report on tyre defects, or irregular wear.

A recent poll of company car drivers found that the majority of drivers did not even know how to check them properly. This could have serious consequences if a tyre is damaged or under-inflated. Michelin Fleet carried out a random check of over 3000 company vehicles and discovered that almost 50% of the vehicles either had one (or more!) illegal or under-inflated tyres.

So, do you check your tyres each week? This is recommended as a formal responsibility for drivers as part of their company vehicle policy. They should check the following every week:

• Check tyre pressures are correct for the tyre size and loads being carried
• Check the tread depth by feeling the wearing bar on the tyre
• Check for uneven tread wear on the outer edges and centre of the tyre
• Check for damage to the side walls
• Don’t forget to include the spare wheel

UK Fleet Manager can help you draw up an effective Company Vehicle Policy and communicate it to everyone involved. Contact me if you would like to know more about how we do it.

Mark James
Mark.james@ukfleetmanager.co.uk