CORPORATE DRIVER TRAINING PROGRAMS
Fleet Safety Tips

Managing your fleet can be a difficult balance, initial purchase, maintenance, repairs, insurance, etc. As a guide, we can provide you with some important tips to help make the right choices to keep your fleet safe.

Obviously, initially we would recommend that everyone driving a fleet vehicle is properly trained so book them all onto our Drive to Arrive defensive driving course before handing over the keys. Secondly you should consider the type of vehicles being purchased for fleet use and include as many safety features as possible when selecting your fleet vehicles. This includes ABS Brakes which are now becoming standard on most makes and models but should be standard for all fleet purchases. Traction & Stability Control programs (different manufacturers use different terminology for these systems but they all do the same thing) should also be optioned where possible (these features cannot be ‘retro’ fitted so must be selected at purchase).

Proper maintenance of fleet vehicles is also important, from regular checking of basic items such as fluid levels and more importantly tyre pressures and tread depth through to major servicing and repairs. Another issue for fleets that has become more relevant nowadays is the use of satellite navigation systems, usually suctioned onto the windscreen.

Two problems exist with these sat-nav systems, one is that the positioning of the sat-nav on the windscreen is often detrimental to the view of the road and surrounding area and the second issue is that thieves see either the system still plugged to the windscreen or the suction cup mark on the windscreen and will target the vehicle for a smash and grab (they know that even when a sat-nav is not in its cradle on the windscreen most people leave them ‘hidden’ in the console).

These problems can be avoided in one of two ways, select sat-nav as a fitted option at time of vehicle purchase or have your fleet drivers place the sat-nav in a position out of sight of thieves which will also usually move the unit away from obscuring vision out of the windscreen.