Fleets are being warned of rising, post-pandemic duty of care risks concerning their grey fleet vehicles…
Mounting Grey Fleet Risk
A significant amount of British fleets (43%) have seen their grey fleets grow in size post-pandemic; with more and more employees using their private vehicles for business travel. Worryingly, some 51% of fleet-decision-makers have also admitted that they don’t really understand their duty of care obligations towards grey fleet drivers.
Notably, a third of businesses entirely lack a risk management policy concerning grey fleet vehicles. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Road Traffic Act 1988, and the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 all delineate the responsibilities businesses have when employees use their own vehicles for work-related purposes. They have a similar level of responsibility as they have towards vehicles owned by the company itself.
‘Vital Gaps’
Gavin Davies, general manager, customer account management at Alphabet, commented on the growing grey fleet risk. He said, “if a business requires its employees to use vehicles for work, it’s critical fleet managers, drivers, and the wider organisation, understand and mitigate the risks associated with occupational driving”.
He continued, “far too many employers are still unaware that they retain responsibility for their employees’ safety and conduct when they’re travelling for work purposes. Even if they’re using their own car. This is particularly concerning given the increase in private vehicle use that 43% of fleets managers have observed since the pandemic, as these vehicles are often older, not as regularly maintained, and much easier to overlook than company vehicles”.
Davies has suggested that fleets quickly implement a risk management strategy in order to ensure that their duty of care obligations are being met.
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