Vehicle Tracking Systems Help Keep You On Top Of Fleet Maintenance

The importance of properly maintaining your fleet was once again highlighted last month when Cambridgeshire father and son haulage partnership Paul Anthony Smith and Ian John Smith had their O-licence revoked by Eastern Traffic Commissioner (TC) Richard Turfitt for serious maintenance failings.

A Vehicle & Operator Services Agency (VOSA) examiner visited the firm after one of its trailers was found driving on the road with a significant defect in its brake systems. The subsequent examination by the officer uncovered a raft of issues that lead to the pair being disqualified for 3 years.

The breaches by the firm included:

• Overdue routine vehicle safety inspections
• Deficient forward planning of safety inspections
• 50% of vehicles had failed their MoT and the partnership had operated a vehicle without a valid MoT;

Staying Compliant

Clearly in this case the breaches were caused by a general lack of care regarding the maintenance of a fleet, but this example serves to reminds us of how important maintaining our fleet is.

There's now a raft of legislation that directly effects companies running fleets - all of which you must comply with if you wish to avoid prosecution. And since the introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, it's easier for the authorities to prosecute companies where gross negligence leads to the death of an employee.

For fleet managers this legislation reinforces the importance of having robust "duty of care" procedures in place and to ensure vehicles are maintained to the necessary standards.

And it's equally important that you have the right tools to ensure you remain compliant. With an inbuilt Maintenance module our vehicle tracking systems are your perfect ally - giving you the ability to monitor the maintenance requirements of your entire fleet. With customisable logs, alerts and reports, you can be sure that you know about any work that's due in advance, helping you stay the right side of the law whilst minimising vehicle downtime.

By utilising the tools at your disposal you can keep on top of your maintenance schedule and avoid a similar fate as Ian & Paul Smith.