Nationwide Autocentres Provides Peace of Mind for ‘Grey’ Fleet

April’s Duty of Care law is looming ever closer and time is short for companies to ensure vehicles used for business purposes provide no grounds for the new regulations to be breached. It is expected that businesses will take a keener interest in the verifiable and regular servicing of cars used for work related journeys come April, and to accommodate this anticipated higher demand, independent vehicle servicing and MOT testing chain Nationwide Autocentres has launched a 19 point ‘Duty of Care’ inspection service.

Alarmingly, reports Nationwide, a study released in January found that 60 per cent of privately owned vehicles used for company business were not safe to be on the road. In addition, 52 per cent of companies do not operate a policy of confirming the insurance details of these vehicles, which have in recent times become known as the “grey” fleet. Such an oversight will become a potentially costly one for companies; those failing to implement a Duty of Care process to ensure grey fleet vehicles are fit for purpose could be liable for prosecution should one be involved in a fatal road traffic accident.

Nationwide Autocentres’ new ‘Duty of Care’ 19 point inspection is a fully documented process, the company reports, and includes the inspection of brakes, steering, shock absorbers and wheel cylinders. Commenting on the new service, Jason Gill, fleet development manager at Nationwide Autocentres said: “The Department of Transport estimates that up to a third of road traffic accidents involve somebody who is working at the time. That equates to about 20 fatalities and 250 serious injuries every week. The impending new legislation means that companies which operate grey fleet vehicles need to become more diligent and our Duty of Care inspection package can help with this.

“We have a network in excess of 200 centres across the UK,” Gill added. “Which means we can work with companies on a local or national basis and can help them to develop a bespoke programme that best suits their needs. Because we own the centres, it also means we can standardise the process and ensure consistency and quality throughout. Taking a proactive approach to risk management in this way could help companies reduce their accident rate and ultimately their insurance premiums.

“We make it easy and cost effective for companies to have checks made and documented in a way that is extremely convenient for drivers,” he concluded.