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.Risk Mangement – Keeping the wheels moving
Risk Management has got me thinking about the most neglected part of most vehicles and that is the tyres. You would have thought that the part of the vehicle that is in contact with the ground would be the most important thing on most peoples minds, but you would be wrong.
According to a contact of mine at Kwik-Fit around 25% of vehicles replaced by them are below the legal minimum, coupled with the anecdotal evidence that a large number of tyres are not correctly inflated then there are drivers on our roads who are likely to have a serious problem very soon.
But what should you do if you have a puncture or a blow-out?
Firstly you should re-gain control of your vehicle, do not brake harshly as this will make the situation worse, let your foot off the accelerator and allow the speed to bleed off. Try to reach the side of the road if at all possible.
Once you are at the side of the road your should leave the vehicle and make your way to a position of safety to the rear of your vehicle, either up the grass bank or behind a crash barrier if possible. You should take your mobile telephone with you to this position of safety.
When you are in this position of safety you should call a breakdown company to change the wheel for you. The changing of wheels is not all that difficult, but the side of any road is a very dangerous place and without the correct equipment you could find yourself in serious danger. The breakdown services have the right gear and the correct training to get you on your way as soon as they can.
The best way to avoid any problems is to look after the rubber on your vehicle properly, there is a really good site to advise you in this area and that is the Tyresafe site. Tyresafe is a not for profit advisory body and I am happy to steer you in their direction.
If you run a fleet or have employees using their own vehicles in connection with your business you should pay attention to the tyres on the vehicles or you could find yourself falling foul of the Corporate Manslaughter Legislation.
Nigel Grainger
Senior Consultant