Simon Pavey
Website Marketing Manager
The last few months have been marked by an increase in vehicle stops by police across the country. Taxis and goods vehicles are among the most frequently stopped, as authorities aim to crack down on unsafe vehicles operating on UK roads, as well as non-business motorists.
With the consequences of being found in an unsafe and unroadworthy vehicle to be as severe as a driving ban, £2500 fine, and three penalty points, it’s in both drivers’ and companies’ best interests to create a rigid routine of checks. Motia’s Vehicle Safety Checks tool helps ensure compliance and keeps every vehicle road-safe.
In the UK, it is the legal responsibility of both the driver and employer to ensure that vehicles in operation are roadworthy and safe for use, and it’s the driver’s responsibility to ensure their vehicle has been checked before setting out.
While the task of vehicle walkaround checks can be delegated, the driver ultimately has the responsibility should the vehicle be pulled up. It is, therefore, vital that each driver ensures that vehicle checks have been carried out in full. To stay compliant, drivers must carry out daily inspections. Learn more about vehicle checks and defect reporting and why they’re vital for fleet safety.
Should a vehicle be found to be unroadworthy, uninsured, or with an expired MOT, the consequences can be varied and severe. The potential fines and points will mostly fall on the driver; however, for employers, the consequences of lax vehicle checks could be costly in reputation and finance.
You can read more about the law on vehicle checks and roadworthiness here, including what the five most important vehicle checks are to make before driving off.
Mental notes and paper checklists may no longer cut it, and with businesses’ paper trails increasingly becoming digital, now is the right time to mirror this trend with your fleet’s vehicle checks. Using an intelligent piece of software designed to make vehicle checks impossible to get wrong and collating all necessary paperwork in one place for easy management will help you streamline vehicle checks across your fleet, whatever its size.
Motia's Vehicle Safety Checks is a great tool for both drivers and fleet managers to ensure that fleet vehicles are safe to drive, issues are dealt with, and paperwork is tracked, compiled and compliant.
Vehicle Safety Checks can be downloaded as a free and easy-to-use app for your fleet drivers. On this app, drivers can select the make and model of their vehicle and choose either from an industry standard checklist or create a customised checklist. For guidance on what to include, here’s a detailed vehicle maintenance checklist that covers all the essentials. Drivers of larger vehicles should also be aware of specific requirements, like HGV daily walkaround checks, which can be built into the app’s custom checklists.
Putting these checklists in the pocket of your drivers makes it harder to miss important points in the daily walk around, saving both time and hassle. With a notes function and the option to upload photos, issues can be quickly and efficiently flagged with management, and all data is then stored in the cloud for fool-proof documentation.
All information gathered using the Vehicle Safety Checks app is collected in the manager’s portal. Administration quickly takes up time in the working day; however, the Vehicle Safety Checks manager’s portal automatically organises driver vehicle checks from your driver’s apps and can organise the data for you. By centralising checks in the manager’s portal, you not only save admin time but also improve driver and vehicle safety across your entire fleet.
Other useful features include time monitoring for vehicle checks, and you may use Google Maps to see where the vehicle check was carried out. When issues are raised with vehicles, the Vehicle Safety Checks app will give you reminders to ensure nothing ever falls off the radar.
Daily vehicle checks are just one of the vital cogs that keep fleets in smooth operation. In addition to keeping cars, vans, and other vehicles in safe working order, routes need planning, tracking needs to be set up, and vehicle servicing and maintenance needs to be managed.
Motia has a vast portfolio of fleet tools designed to streamline fleet management so you can operate to the highest possible standard at a competitive price. Vehicle Safety Checks costs as little as £1 per vehicle per week and with telematics, servicing management and more all priced with your pocket in mind, fleet safety needn’t break the bank.
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