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The Health and Safety Executive’s recent launch of its “Driving at Work: Managing Work-Related Road Safety” guide stresses the importance of maintaining vehicles in a “safe and fit condition”. That specifically includes carrying out basic safety checks to safety-related equipment such as tyres, lights, windscreen and windscreen wipers. In addition, the HSE advice says that all planned and preventative maintenance should be carried out by a competent person to ensure safety standards are maintained. From November, all 750 Kwik-Fit centres will undertake the free five-point vehicle health and safety check with the first 100,000 motorists to have their vehicles checked receiving a free winter pack containing an ice scraper, a can of de-icer and a bottle of screenwash. The free health and safety check undertaken at Kwik-Fit centres includes: • Battery check – cell strength and terminal connections • Exhaust check – condition and fitment including hangers and brackets • Tyre check – pressures, tread depth and general condition (including spare) • Tracking check – to see if tyres show tracking-related wear • Glass/wipers check – condition of vehicle glass and wipers Kwik-Fit Fleet sales director Mike Wise says: “In the past two years, the importance of companies managing occupational road risk has grown as a result of new Government legislation and a concerted focus from both the Health and Safety Executive and particularly the police in investigating accidents involving at-work drivers. “The onset of winter invariably means driving conditions worsen with visibility often poor and roads frequently icy. It is, therefore, vital that vehicles are in tip-top condition. A failure by drivers to ensure their vehicle’s safety-related equipment is in a first-class condition could be the difference between life and death. “Kwik-Fit Fleet is a health and safety-focused company and has already launched a range of initiatives to help businesses improve their fleet safety performance. We would encourage all company car and van drivers to have their vehicles checked out by one of our trained technicians.” Corporate health and safety-related initiatives undertaken by Kwik-Fit Fleet include the launch of tyre safety checks and comprehensive vehicle safety checks undertaken both by centre staff and mobile technicians, as well as the launch last year of the 50-page report, “Business Car Risk Management: A Boardroom Briefing”, written by Professor Peter Cooke, of the Centre for Automotive Industries Management, Nottingham Business School, The Nottingham Trent University. This report provided fleet decision-makers with the legal, moral and financial arguments for putting in place a comprehensive fleet risk management strategy. A follow-up report will be published early next year. Drivers wanting to put their vehicle through the free winter health and safety check should simply call into a Kwik-Fit centre. No appointment is required. |
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