Best practices that help avoid fleet non-compliance

If your business has a presence out on the UK’s roads, making sure your drivers and vehicles are compliant with the law is absolutely essential. Government regulations exist to ensure the highest possible standards of safety, not just for your drivers but other road users too. Failing to meet these standards can compromise their wellbeing, as well as resulting in hefty fines, an organisational investigation and even criminal prosecution in some cases. And, as legislation is constantly under review, staying on top of requirements is a continual measure.

Incorporating processes that prioritise compliance across your fleet operations can be key to keeping on top of the task. We’ve taken a look at some of the ways you can tackle this within your business, and how an Electronic Proof of Delivery (EPOD) system can provide the infrastructure you need.

Make safety an inherent feature of fleet management

Many businesses tend to address compliance regulations only when audits or safety checks are looming, but this approach can leave you open to slipping standards the rest of the time. Establishing a fleet safety strategy as part of your wider company culture is a far more robust method of ensuring compliance, and keeps safety at the forefront of your team’s consciousness.

It’s easy to assume that your drivers work to an ethos of safe and responsible road use, but stating its importance in writing helps to affirm an organisational standpoint and obtain your drivers’ assurance that they will follow this. If you don’t have one already, draw up an official company fleet safety policy document that supports your company-wide health and safety guidance, distribute it amongst your teams and make sure they understand exactly what is expected of them at all times. An EPOD system can allow you to manage policy circulation and endorsement, and to set up workflows that keep your document in line with legislative updates.

Incentivise your drivers to adopt compliant practices  

While staying safe on the road should be a natural priority for your drivers, it doesn’t hurt to encourage them to keep it in mind. Time pressures and unexpected delays can up the temptations to cut corners when it comes to road safety but offering them a personal incentive to drive within the law and your own company guidelines helps to keep this to a minimum.

Rewarding optimum standards of safety over time, such as a clean, accident-free record, can ensure your team reflect your business’s dedication to responsible road use and fleet compliance. Monitor individual driver speed and vehicle location, time spent behind the wheel and rest breaks, as well as performance against other safety parameters quickly and easily through EPOD software.   

Train your drivers regularly to ensure standardised working practices

Your drivers may be professionals with many years’ experience on the road, but it’s not enough to assume they will uphold your fleet compliance strategy without help in doing so. Levels of training vary from business to business, so it makes sense to train new drivers as soon as they start, and to retrain your fleet team on a regular basis, such as once a year.

Train your drivers to take up a safe and fuel-efficient driving style, which can save you considerable expense in fuel and vehicle maintenance costs. Make sure they know how and when to inspect their vehicles for wear and tear, what to look for and how to action appropriate maintenance work. An agile EPOD system should enable your drivers to submit vehicle inspection reports from anywhere via a mobile app, complete with examination checklists, supporting photography and GPS location stamps.

Manage all aspects of fleet compliance from a central solution

Fleet compliance can become much less of a challenge with the right EPOD solution in place within your business. With the ability to set up automatic vehicle tax, MOT and service date reminders, and monitor driver hours, safety performance and licence status, a Touchstar EPOD system can provide a solid framework for fleet compliance that works seamlessly alongside other aspects of fleet management.