The number of fleet vehicles being driven with illegal faults - such as defective lights and tyres - has more than doubled in a year, according to estimates from RAC.
The number of fleet vehicles being driven with illegal faults - such as defective lights and tyres - has more than doubled in a year, according to estimates from RAC*.
And aside from breaking the law regarding vehicle roadworthiness, negligence about faults increases the risk of companies coming into contact with corporate manslaughter legislation.
Based on RAC’s Duty of Care Inspection checks of fleet vehicles in Q1 2011, 36% failed for tyre maintenance and 20% for faulty lights – a more than two-fold and four-fold increase on respective failure rates in 2010**.
And although not an illegal fault, more than 37% of vehicles checked failed their inspection for under the bonnet fluid levels, an increase of 26% on last year. This may further deteriorate without maintenance, resulting in expensive repair bills following complete failure of a main vehicle component.
Notable failure rates for other inspection criteria were:
- Vehicle service history: 48%
- External damage: 10%
- Abnormal noises: 2.5%
Ron Richards, senior partnership manager at RAC, says: “It always amazes me that of the thousands of fleet vehicles out on the road daily under the responsibility of particular individuals, those people are not checking their own vehicle on a regular basis and are rendering them illegal on the road.
“It’s true that vehicles today are more reliable than they’ve ever been, but this has had the unfortunate side-effect of people being less attentive to the maintenance duties that come with running a car or van.”
Richards adds: “It could also be said that there’s a lack of communication in companies between managers responsible for fleet vehicles and their drivers, so the internal checks and balances are insufficient.
“The current economic climate may mean that companies are reluctant to pay for their vehicles to be checked professionally and regularly, but this leaves them exposed to potential corporate manslaughter charges if the lack of maintenance on a car or van leads to a death on the road.”
RAC provides vehicle fleet owners with Duty of Care Inspections via its Inspection Services team which ensures that all vehicles used for business are maintained in a safe and roadworthy condition. The inspections also support driver safety, help to reduce company liability and fines and protect business reputation.
For further information on RAC Duty of Care Inspections please telephone 0870 010 9506 or e-mail visales@rac.co.uk.
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RAC press office contact:
Vicki Burn on 01603 684224/ 07800 692909 or Clare Schofield at Staniforth on 0161 919 8010.
Notes to editors:
* Based on Duty of Care Inspections carried out on 687 fleet vehicles in Q1 2011 and compared with failure rates in March 2010.
** Failure rates in 2010: tyres – 15%; lights – 5%
About RAC
With around seven million customers, RAC is one of the UK's most progressive motoring organisations, providing services for both private and business motorists. Whether it's roadside assistance, insurance, vehicle inspections and checks, legal services or up-to-the-minute traffic and travel information - RAC is able to meet motorists' needs.
RAC is committed to providing the very highest levels of service to its customers and ranked first for customer satisfaction by J D Power and Associates' UK Roadside Assistance Study 2006 to 2009. RAC was also the top-named breakdown organisation in the July 2009, January 2010 and July 2010 half-yearly UK Customer Satisfaction Index from the Institute of Customer Service.
RAC was awarded a Which? Best Buy for Breakdown Cover in August 2010, and RAC Insurance has also been awarded the Best Overall Vehicle Insurance Provider 2010/11 by themoneypages.com.
RAC is part of Aviva, the world's sixth largest* insurance group, with more than 53 million customers across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.
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* based on gross worldwide premiums at 31 December 2009