Marion Hanson
Marketing Executive
Fleet vehicles should be subject to daily safety checks, routine maintenance, and well-stocked with emergency car tools all year round to ensure an appropriate duty of care for fleet drivers.
If a company owns a vehicle, it is considered a place of work, so health and safety rules apply just as they would within an office, warehouse, or other workplace. While this applies all year round, winter brings its own set of dangers on the road, and so extra precautions must be taken to ensure the safety of fleet drivers.
In this article, we detail the winter car checks that must be taken and provide safety tips for driving in winter.
Find out what should be on your routine vehicle maintenance checklist here.
Winter weather, such as rain, sleet, snow and ice, can make driving in winter extremely hazardous. Statistics from DfT and ONS analysed by MotorEasy show that on average, 21% of all crashes in the UK from December to March are linked to treacherous winter conditions. Below is a list of the winter checks and practices that can be taken to help ensure your fleet doesn’t become a part of the statistics.
Consider fitting winter tyres to all of your vehicles. Winter tyres with advanced tread patterns should be able to handle snow and ice better, providing your fleet vehicles with a better grip of the road and better braking and handling. We recommend that you check the tyre tread more frequently in winter and that tyre treads be at least 3mm to manage slippery conditions.
It’s important to inspect your fleet’s engines regularly during winter, especially if your fleet drivers are about to embark on long-haul journeys. When anti-freeze levels are kept on top of it can help to protect your engine and prevent your cooling system from freezing.
For the efficient operation of your fleet, you need to check the health of your battery and even consider replacing vehicle batteries that are older than three years, as they may struggle to hold charge in cold weather.
Switching your fleet vehicles to a winter screen wash can help to improve your fleet drivers' visibility. A winter screen wash can remove grime and ice more effectively than a regular screen wash without any freeze protection.
As a fleet operator, you are responsible for protecting your employees from avoidable harm or loss while they drive your fleet vehicles.
To help your drivers stay safe during winter, we’ve compiled a list of important safety tips. These tips will remind them of the hazards associated with winter driving and provide solutions for handling icy roads.
Find more information on the importance of fleet duty of care here.
Driving at a constant speed can help to improve grip by allowing tyres to remain firmly in contact with the road. A steady pace prevents sudden changes in weight distribution, which helps improve control.
You must always remember to keep a safe stopping distance from other vehicles on the road, especially if the road is icy or wet, as you may end up going further if you have to brake suddenly. Find out everything you need to know about stopping distances in our article ‘Car stopping distances’.
Ice on the road can severely impact your car's stopping distance as your car has a reduced grip on the road. Avoid breaking or accelerating harshly to prevent triggering a skid or a wheel spin.
Keep your drivers updated on any harsh and extreme weather conditions, and do not allow journeys if you think there is any risk to their health or safety.
Using second gear and gently accelerating to pull off reduces the risk of wheel spin and skidding, allowing for a smoother and more efficient start to the journey.
If faced with a journey in heavy snow, headlights should be used. Dense snowfall can seriously obscure a driver's vision, and driving in such conditions should often be avoided. However, when driving in snow is necessary, taking every measure to improve vision is vital to avoid accidents.
Our zero-fuss Vehicle Safety app helps you to keep a track of daily safety checks on your vehicles and ensures that you have an audit trail to protect your business from compliance issues.
Switching to a digital way of working helps to speed up your vehicle check time, simplifies the inspection process, improves accuracy and gives you full visibility over completed checks.
Find out more information on the requirements of daily fleet vehicle checks in our article ‘Vehicle checks and defect reporting’.
Telematics allows you to view your drivers and vehicles in real-time to pinpoint locations and make sure that fleet vehicles are arriving and travelling safely to their destinations.
It allows for more efficient journey route planning and can help you to map out the safest way for your drivers to arrive at their locations.
If you aren’t already equipped with a telematics system for your fleet vehicles, now is the time to improve fleet safety.
Find out more information on Motia Telematics here.
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