THE company for driver risk management

TOUGH NEW PENALTIES

Having now received Royal Assent, The Road Safety Bill is due to become law next year and there are several items which those running vehicle fleets should be aware of:

Although the severity of these new penalties has alarmed some members of the judiciary, government ministers are adamant that the change is needed: “The new offence strikes the right balance between the level of criminal fault on the part of the bad driver and the devastation their actions can cause” said Home Office minister Gerry Sutcliffe. In support, Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman said, “We’re determined to stamp out bad and irresponsible driving, which endangers us all.”

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LARGER VANS REIGNED IN

From January 1, large vans over 3.5 tonnes will be banned from lane three of the motorway and restricted to 56 mph. Although VOSA says it will make an important contribution to road safety, the Freight Transport Association has concerns: “Roads already get clogged up as one truck takes four miles to overtake another”, said Geoff Day, head of engineering policy. “New the same rules are about to be extended to vans.”

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YOU’RE BEING WATCHED

A new breed of mini camera is being trialled by Liverpool City Council with the express intention of catching law breaking drivers. Small enough to be concealed in lamp posts and sporting state of the art number recognition software, the images these cameras produce are beamed to mobile enforcement units and can then be used as evidence in court.

Expect to see these units in most city areas over the coming year or so.

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SEEING THE LIGHT

Safety organisation RoSPA is trying to gain support for its campaign for an improvment in the law governing the UK seasonal time change. The organisation reckons that if we moved an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening, there would around 450 fewer deaths and serious injuries on the roads.

Ministers at both government departments responsible for any change in the law have accepted the road safety arguments justifying the change but believe there would be little public support for it. Having lighter evenings all year round seems like common sense to us so why not lobby your MP or express your support for the campaign through the RoSPA website?

For more information please see:
http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/info/summertime_paper2006v2.pdf

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STOPPING POWER?

Anybody with responsibility for fleets comprising high percentages of employee-owned or older cars should be aware of some testing which Comma Oils carried out recently on 700 cars. 50% had braking systems that were well below standard due to the percentage of water in the vehicles’ brake fluid. 29% had brake fluid that was so contaminated that it might well have failed entirely in an emergency stop situation.

Brake fluid is hygroscopic and therefore absorbs moisture from the atmosphere naturally. The higher the water content the lower the boiling point and the less efficient the fluid becomes. It is therefore vital that brake fluid is tested regularly and replaced at least every three years.

A related problem concerns brake discs. Consignments of low quality Chinese brake discs, suitable for a wide range of mass produced cars, are finding their way into the UK and being sold by unscrupulous traders as suitable alternatives for the well known branded items. As with the contaminated fluid, you only know you have a problem when you need to count on them in an emergency situation………by which time it’s too late.

If you have 'cash for car' drivers in your fleet you need to ensure that drivers undertake to comply with the manufacturer's maintenance requirements.

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MOBILE MADNESS

Although recent reports suggest that most motorists resent others who use hand held phones whilst driving, resorting to gestures and abuse to make their feelings known, the message just isn’t getting through. The latest research shows that over 25% of drivers freely admit they break the law on a regular basis whilst at the wheel.

As we have said before in these pages, it is vital that fleet drivers are required to sign up to a policy which makes it quite clear that they are expected to comply with the law whilst driving on company business.

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STRANGE BUT TRUE

A 27-year-old motorist with no legs has been jailed for a year, following a police chase in Co. Durham which culminated in the driver’s car ending up in a field. Rather than controlling the Astra automatic via professionally installed hand controls, the driver was using two broom handles tied to his wrists to operate the brake and accelerator pedals.

This may be amusing or sad, depending upon your point of view, but it's important to remember that this guy is not an isolated case. There are lots of impaired drivers out there on the road and managing risk involves taking responsibility for their inadequacies.

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SAFETY TECHNOLOGY

Volvo’s Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) is now available across the model range and costs between £450 and £600. BLIS uses an intelligent digital camera system incorporated into both wing mirrors to constantly monitor the area alongside the car. If the system detects a motor cycle, or other potential hazard, it alerts the driver via an orange light housed in the vehicle’s A-pillar.

Bosch now has a new generation of Electronic Stability Programme in production. Known as ‘ESPpremium’ the new system is quicker reacting, quieter and virtually vibration-free. Two vehicle manufacturers will be fitting the system before the end of the year and others will transferring over to the new system over the coming months.

Continental Tyres have come up with a nifty device for those drivers without a spare. The ContiComfortKit plugs into the vehicle’s 12v auxiliary outlet and pumps in a mixture of liquid sealant and air to the punctured tyre. It takes just seven minutes to complete the operation and there is no need to remove the wheel at all. The kit retails for around £59.99.

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RALLY CHAMPIONS

Ford has secured the Manufacturers title in the 2006 World Rally Championship and followed it up with a dominating win on the last round, the Wales Rally GB.

Drive & Survive is proud to have been a Ford supplier for the past 17 years.

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CHARITY CALENDAR

The road safety charity Brake has produced a calendar, all the proceeds of which go to the charity to assist in the work they do on promoting road safety issues and bereavement counselling for families coping with a road-related tragedy. They only cost £3 + p/p and can be ordered by calling 01484 559909 or emailing admin@brake.org.uk

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PLEASE SUPPORT DRIVE & SURVIVE

If you're an existing customer happy with the service we provide you, we would be very grateful if you could spare a few moments to go online and vote for us.

Firstly voting for the annual Business Car magazine Awards closes in a couple of days and we are seeking nominations for:

SERVICE SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR and RISK MANAGEMENT

In both cases just click on the pre-populated Drive & Survive option. There are quite a few other categories that have to be filled in for the vote to count but all have drop down menus, so selection is quick and easy.

An added bonus is that one lucky voter will win a case of champagne, so very best of luck to all who take part.

To place your vote, please go to www.BusinessCar.co.uk/awards

Also you still have the opportunity to nominate Drive & Survive under the terms of the Suppliers Charter run by Fleet News.

Click on www.fleetnewsnet.co.uk and then ‘Suppliers Charter‘ in the left column menu. We believe we fully meet all the criteria set out by Fleet News and would be very grateful for your support.

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Christmas opening hours

Drive & Survive’s office hours over the Christmas period are as follows:

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