Spot checks on company cars, vans and grey fleet vehicles, by Total Motion, show work-related risk is on the increase.  Data suggested that almost one in 15 did not have correct insurance cover, an increase on 2020.

The proportion of grey fleet vehicles with illegal tyres – less than 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the tyre – has more than doubled year-on-year and one-in-15 cars was found to have illegal tyres based on a sample of 3,000-plus vehicles, a 3.1% increase on the previous year. 

Grey fleet cars also had a failure rate 10 times higher than company cars for defective lights, four times higher for defective brakes and twice as high for an invalid MOT.

One-in-14 (6.8%) of the grey fleet vehicles checked by the fleet management company also had an incomplete service history or it did not meet manufacturer standards – up by more than half on the 4.2% reported in 2020.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), working in partnership with the Department for Transport (DfT), said the move was a result of the growing gig economy and an increasing grey fleet.

The HSE says all drivers and riders have an individual responsibility for their driving behaviour under road traffics laws.

However, it stressed that when driving for work, the organisation they work for has legal responsibility for their employees’ health and safety.

Fleets were issued with updated guidance on work-related road risk just last year to clear up confusion over where responsibility for legal compliance lies when employees use personal vehicles as part of their job.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/roadsafety/employer/maintain-vehicles.htm