Nigel Grainger brings together a related set of skills that all fleets require, to greater or lesser
degrees, but which may not have the staffing or the skills to fulfil those needs.
Bringing his wealth of experience in all areas of fleet management he offers a bespoke service through his company Fleet Risk Consultants, providing you with a cost effective fleet that complies fully with your 'duty of care' requirements.Weather to drive?
The recent wet weather has prompted me to share a few thoughts on the information you should be giving your employees and steps you should be taking to maintain a safe work environment whilst travelling.
In addition to the rain you should also consider wind, snow, fog and sun. Each different type of weather will require a different approach, but if you give your drivers the relevant information they can make the right decision when faced with the differing conditions they may face during their day.
Before we get into any details it is worth noting that headlights are not there for you to see your way along the road, they are there to allow the other road users to see you! Even on sunny days the headlights will cut through the heat haze and make you more visible to anyone coming the other who may be considering an overtake.
An obvious area to focus on is flood water. I will be really rather candid in this area.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU ATTEMPT TO DRIVE THROUGH FLOODWATER!
Traversing water of any depth is a skill that 4 x 4 drivers have to learn and it takes skill and the understanding that you have to walk through the water first! I have a 4 x 4 and even I do not drive through water unless I can see the other side and I know exactly how deep it is first.
The urban 4 x 4 is mostly incapable of traversing water deeper than 500mm, so unless you have been trained in serious off road driving techniques and you have equipped your vehicle with a snorkel, then it is not worth the embarrassment of getting stuck.
The other regular issue in the UK is high winds. If you as an employer do not give your drivers the opportunity to park up their lorry if the weather conditions are unsafe for them continue their journey. You may find yourselves on the wrong end of a charge of careless or dangerous driving.
Lorries do not just fall over, they do get blown over but usually the high winds have been forecast a couple of days in advance. I would expect the Police to be prosecuting any driver and owner of any high sided vehicle that gets blown over in weather that has been forecast, because you should have known that a vehicle on its side was reasonably likely to occur.
Nigel Grainger
Senior Consultant