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Cutting fleet costs is the number one priority facing fleet decision-makers but too many company bosses are refusing to pro-actively manage the on-the-road risks posed by their employees.
That’s the claim of Geoffrey Bray, chairman of Fleet Support Group, the independent fleet management company with more than 50,000 vehicles on its books.
He said: “There is a raft of case study evidence that shows that implementing an effective audit trail of drivers and vehicles and the journeys taken enables costs to be cut. Yet, there remains a lack of appetite among many directors and company leaders to truly risk-manage drivers. That is management stupidity and ultimately they will be exposed.
“Companies that are not proactively managing their employees are not only leaving themselves open to legal action in the event of a crash, but are undoubtedly costing themselves money they can almost certainly ill-afford in the prevailing economic climate. Too often we hear the excuse that risk-managing drivers is an intrusion into privacy, but all companies have a legal responsibility to manage all risks, including at-work driving employees.”
It is against that background that FSG has launched a web-based interactive forum to enable customers to exchange money-saving ideas at www.fsguk.com. It is one of the initiatives to come out of the company’s ‘Fleet Cost Reduction Steering Group’, which was recently introduced to highlight cost savings with the onset of economic slowdown.
Meanwhile, further underlining the importance of occupational road risk management is the January 16, 2009 implementation of the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008. It amends the sentencing provisions contained in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
The Act is aimed at punishing individuals just as the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, which was implemented in April this year, targets rogue organisations.
However, unlike the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, a breach of health and safety rules will not have to result in a death.
The Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 extends the £20,000 maximum Magistrates’ Court fine to a wider range of health and safety offences for which fleet managers and fleet decision-makers, including directors, could be prosecuted for, to up to two years in prison, if convicted in a Crown Court, a fine or both.
Health and safety legislation could be used to prosecute an employee whose management failings resulted in a car crash that was caused by, for example:
Driver licence checking, on-line risk assessments, driver training, ‘Permits to Drive’ and telematics are all part of the arsenal of safe-driving interventions being used by many businesses to improve the safety of their employees who drive company cars or their own vehicles on work-related journeys. FSG wraps the range of solutions up in its web-based RiskMaster product.
Mr Bray said: “We frequently hear of fleet managers who have recommended the implementation of safe at-work driving initiatives only to be overruled by their bosses and company directors. This new law should put an end to that attitude.
“There remains, in many companies, an underlying apathy towards road safety. A well-managed business manages safety well, and this Act gives further impetus to ensure organisations that remain ignorant as to their responsibilities take action.
“RiskMaster covers the three elements of driver, vehicle and journey management. It completely defies logic as to why companies continue to fail to comply with the law and at the same time refuse to analyse the cost savings that will materialise by efficient and effective risk management.”
Dun & Bradstreet, the world’s leading provider of business information and an FSG client for almost two decades has reported huge financial savings following the introduction of RiskMaster.
Martin O’Sullivan, Dun & Bradstreet’s leader fleet and procurement, said: “We have seen significant financial benefits from the introduction of RiskMaster. Accident frequency and associated accident management costs have been significantly reduced. These factors have enabled us to negotiate a more favourable insurance premium this year with our risk rating subsequently reducing by 15%.
“Not only are the financial savings important, but RiskMaster ensures we are compliant with all at-work driving health and safety related legislation.”
Fleet Support Group (FSG) is the largest independent vehicle management company in the UK and looks after approximately 50,000 vehicles.
The well-established organisation based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, has gained an enviable reputation within the industry by continually concentrating on delivering a consistent, quality service embracing full vehicle acquisition and disposal, vehicle outsourcing, fleet management, risk management and work-related road safety, maintenance management, accident management, breakdown recovery, short-term car rental and truck management.
Within the FSG team, there is significant industry experience and qualifications across the range of services provided. This in turn is supported by an in-house IT operation which is continuously upgrading the internal systems and applications to ensure that, by innovation and product development, FSG leads the field in the provision of vehicle management.
For further information contact: FSG chairman Geoffrey Bray on 0844 8000 700