Fleets are being urged to educate employees who use personal vehicles for work – grey fleet drivers - on the importance of servicing, maintenance and repair (SMR) tasks.
The call to educate these drivers comes after a survey by Venson Automotive Solutions, which found that over a fifth of drivers neglected to complete vehicle safety checks. Safety checks, like measuring tyre tread, condition and oil levels are essential to road safety and vehicle performance.
The survey looked at how often motorists performed twelve maintenance checks and whether they completed these themselves or relied on others.
The checks that drivers were least likely to conduct themselves were around battery health, corrosion, leaks and loose fittings. Only 51% of respondents were confident enough to check coolant and anti-freeze levels.
The drivers surveyed were more likely to personally handle checks around windscreen wipers (64%), washer fluid levels (70%), clean headlamps (67%) and clear number plates (81%).
Among drivers under 25, 42% reached out to family and friends to complete vehicle checks, compared to 27% of drivers between 25-34 years of age.
Operations director at Venson Automotive Solutions, Lee O’Neill, said: “Driver education, whether by a fleet management provider or in-house, is fundamental to effective grey fleet management. Our survey indicates that while many of the simpler SMR tasks like checking washer levels and number plate visibility are being done regularly by the drivers themselves, tasks like inspecting tyres can easily be neglected.”
He continued: “Employers who combine this education and have defined policies in place to ensure advance bookings for services and MOT by their grey fleet drivers can really make a huge impact on driver risk management and road safety.”
