DRIVER SAFETY
Sponsored by IAM RoadSmart
GREY FLEET BATTLEGROUND
Tony Greenidge, CEO at IAM RoadSmart considers how the post-pandemic shift in working patterns will affect organisations whose staff use their own cars for business.
A couple of years ago, whenever we mentioned grey fleet to health and safety managers, the response would often be a puzzled silence. Those bold enough to ask “what do you mean ‘grey’ fleet?” would generally be left with more uncomfortable questions about their business’s fleet policies. Nowadays, the duty of care towards grey fleet drivers is more
widely acknowledged, and is pretty much the biggest thing we’re asked for advice on.
The number of grey fleet vehicles - private vehicles used for business - in the UK has been estimated at 13m. This is expected to continue growing, and at a higher rate post-lockdown. The effects of the lockdown have recently led to grey fleet being referred to variously as a ‘ticking time bomb’ and a ‘battleground’. Health and safety managers are likely to be among those who find themselves embattled.
POST-LOCKDOWN WAYS OF WORKING COVID-19 has shown us that the future holds
possibilities for new ways of working. Technologies such as remote-access networks have led many employees to question the need for daily travel to an office. Many businesses have felt no ill effects from replacing face-to-face meetings with video conferencing and have come to depend on the home delivery network to service their employees’ needs for equipment.
In the current climate, firms will see this as an opportunity to make cost savings through a reduction in vehicles and mileage. Environmental lobbyists are keen to highlight the benefits this has for air quality. The vehicle industry is doing its utmost to maintain focus on mobility and on encouraging the switch to electric vehicles, knowing that its survival relies heavily on fleets maintaining renewal cycles. Health and safety managers looking to obtain support for driver risk management programmes may well find that all this noise threatens to drown out their concerns about grey fleet safety and compliance.
THE GROWING CHALLENGE OF COMPLIANCE Company-owned or leased vehicles are generally
newer than the average grey fleet vehicle, are covered by company insurance, and often have routine maintenance and regular safety checks built into the monthly lease cost. Older, privately- owned vehicles may not have been subjected to rigorous maintenance and are less likely to benefit
16 | Tomorrow’s Health & Safety Yearbook 2020/21
www.tomorrowshs.com
from the latest safety standards; they must also have a valid MOT. Recent reports from the vehicle industry suggest that concerns about the safety and availability of public transport have boosted demand for cheap second-hand vehicles in the sub-£2000 price bracket as workers look for an affordable alternative. Inevitably, such vehicles may end up as part of your grey fleet.
The problems don’t end there. Reduced travel also looks set to inform changes to some workers’ contracts of employment, with fewer roles qualifying for a company vehicle. Furthermore, an employee previously designated as office-based might become home-based, meaning that even an occasional drive to the office to attend a meeting would no longer fall under the ‘commuting’ cover included in their standard car insurance policy and would be viewed as business mileage requiring specific additional cover. Rather than lowering the number of employees who fall under your driving-for-work policy, increased home working could actually see these numbers rise.
HELP FOR THE H&S COMMUNITY As a road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart are
continually developing low-cost ways to tackle these challenges, on a not-for-profit basis. Our online driver risk management and training portal, CHOICES, incorporates licence checking with a suite of fleet auditing tools, ideal for keeping track of grey fleet compliance, and fresh e-learning modules accessible by drivers wherever they’re based. Get in touch to find out more about how we can help you.
www.iamroadsmart.com/business
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