The value of risk management

Managing work-related road safety risk is a legal requirement for all businesses. For employees driving for work, this should include checking drivers' licenses, organising driver training, carrying out vehicle maintenance and updating vehicle policies. However, our survey of 500 UK fleet decision makers found that only two in five businesses always act on potential issues of fleet performance. And despite the vast majority (85%) of companies having more staff than usual working from home over the past 12 months, one in five haven't reviewed their fleet policies to take new ways of working into consideration.

LeasePlan UK Commercial Director, Chris Black, observes that:

"Vehicle fleets have provided a vital safety line throughout the pandemic by helping keep our essential workers mobile. During this time, many businesses have had to make significant changes to their fleet function, so existing company fleet policies may be out of date. This presents a safety risk to a company's employees, as well as the general public, so it's important that those operating fleets do their due diligence.

"Our approach to risk management is about using innovative thinking to identify, manage and minimise the risks of today - and those of the future. We have pioneered the use of technology to record driver behaviour, identify potential risks and improve driver training and performance, all to ensure that employees and their vehicles can be kept on the road safely."

Reducing fleet risk comes third in a list of aims that businesses have for their fleets in 2021, behind reducing cost and becoming more sustainable. Yet managing fleet risk has the potential to support the first two aims if it is done properly.

Chris Black adds:

"While many businesses will manage an issue after it happens, we believe it's imperative that those managing fleets address potential risks proactively. We understand the multiple facets involved in this, so we have created a suite of fleet risk management tools to help guide fleet managers. We hope our end-to-end approach to risk management will help those managing fleets navigate the complexity and ensure they have the right health and safety policies in place."

Our comprehensive Fleet Risk Services Offering helps our customers reduce risk, with tools, guides, training and dedicated support from an experienced account management team. We will also be launching a Fleet Risk Assessment Tool soon, which will calculate potential risk and offer solutions to ensure businesses are fully compliant.