'Duty of care pushes pool vans out of fleets'
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Rental company claims operators are reluctant to use older vehicles as fleet back-ups because their maintenance record might be incomplete
Pool vans are starting to disappear from fleets as increased duty of
care pressures make their operation untenable, according to TLS Vehicle
Rental.
Many fleets have traditionally kept one or more older vans in reserve for times when their main vehicles are unavailable or to give the operator additional flexibility.
Increasing attention on duty of care issues mean that these older vehicles, which often have patchy maintenance records, are now being seen as unsuitable for fleet use.
TLS's marketing director, Sean Welham, explained: 'Many LCV operators have habitually kept a few older vans on their fleet for occasional use but, as greater attention is paid to risk management policies thanks to recent government pressure, they are no longer suitable.
'It is difficult to put a van quickly back into operation knowing that it has not been driven for weeks or even months. Basic duty of care safety issues like the tyre pressures need looking at but it may also be that the vehicle has missed a service while it was out of operation.
'A few years ago, the fleet operator would probably have risked putting a pool van into service for a week or two but the latest duty of care guidelines and proposed corporate liability legislation means that organisations would now see this as a definite risk.'
Welham explained that TLS had become aware of this trend simply through anecdotal feedback from a number of customers who had 'defleeted' pool vans and were hiring instead.
He said: 'A hire van removes the risks associated with an older pool vehicle. We are able to provide information on the maintenance and servicing history, demonstrating that the van has been properly maintained and so minimising many of the risks associated with duty of care legislations.'
Many fleets have traditionally kept one or more older vans in reserve for times when their main vehicles are unavailable or to give the operator additional flexibility.
Increasing attention on duty of care issues mean that these older vehicles, which often have patchy maintenance records, are now being seen as unsuitable for fleet use.
TLS's marketing director, Sean Welham, explained: 'Many LCV operators have habitually kept a few older vans on their fleet for occasional use but, as greater attention is paid to risk management policies thanks to recent government pressure, they are no longer suitable.
'It is difficult to put a van quickly back into operation knowing that it has not been driven for weeks or even months. Basic duty of care safety issues like the tyre pressures need looking at but it may also be that the vehicle has missed a service while it was out of operation.
'A few years ago, the fleet operator would probably have risked putting a pool van into service for a week or two but the latest duty of care guidelines and proposed corporate liability legislation means that organisations would now see this as a definite risk.'
Welham explained that TLS had become aware of this trend simply through anecdotal feedback from a number of customers who had 'defleeted' pool vans and were hiring instead.
He said: 'A hire van removes the risks associated with an older pool vehicle. We are able to provide information on the maintenance and servicing history, demonstrating that the van has been properly maintained and so minimising many of the risks associated with duty of care legislations.'
