A third (29%) of large van fleets are putting their operations and drivers at risk by only checking vehicle defects monthly.
While the DVSA recommends a daily walkaround check, the survey of over 200 fleets by Crystal Ball suggests that some operators don’t have the resource to deal with more frequent inspections.
However, the tracking and dashcam specialist says that not only is this a false economy and a risk to fleet safety and compliance, but it’s also something that can be solved easily too.
“Technology can help large fleets to check vehicles regularly and efficiently,” said Crystal Ball managing director Raj Singh. “Often it seems large fleets are concerned they are going to be snowed under with paperwork, and that in some cases it’s better to find there’s a problem once a month, than to miss a problem because they can’t handle the daily amount of information being sent to them.
“But this issue can be solved. You should check vehicles daily, and with technology such as ours you can do this quickly and easily and also only need to react to real issues, as they are presented.”
By using smartphone apps to conduct vehicle checks – and also prevent unplanned downtime – fleets can actually save time and money; especially during a period when most fleets are having to ensure every asset is available as much as possible.
“It’s vital to make regular checks, and even more so now when keeping vehicles on the road is more important than ever, because of rental shortages, workshop capacity issues and a lack of new vehicle supply. If problems can be flagged as early as possible, and drivers made aware of their responsibility to look after their vehicles through a rigorous culture of daily checks and instant reporting, then unplanned downtime can be reduced, and careless drivers who cost the firm money discovered,” Singh continued.
“With integrated systems such as our SmartCam 4G, they can ensure their vehicles are being checked and remain compliant, while not drowning in paperwork, or fearing that something important is missed as a result.”
