It’s the same old story. Businesses are constantly looking for new ways to save money by utilising the web and new technology, to the extent that it affects almost everything, including how we drive. Nowadays running a fleet is a complex business, taking into account the legislation to abide by and the administration involved, so many companies look at grey fleet as an easy cost saver.

But what is grey fleet?

A grey fleet is a fleet of cars used by the company but not owned by the company. Administration costs are cut, because running and maintenance is looked after by the car’s owner rather than having a separate department at the company to look after this. The owners are usually the employees themselves who are given either a lump sum or a monthly allowance to either contribute towards running costs, or to purchase a vehicle for themselves out right, on the understanding they are available to drive on behalf of the business.

So why have a grey fleet?

Fleets have become more expensive to run, and this is due to a change in the law. Government had been looking to cut road deaths by 40% come the year 2010. The change was quite simple in that in law, the car became a place of work, but this means that a raft of health and safety legislation now applies that didn’t before. It meant that the safety and well being of employees away whilst driving on business was still the responsibility of the business and to protect itself from liability this necessitated a lot more administration work.

It was only ever a matter of time before this happened though. In days gone by, driving between appointments wasn’t productive in any form, but modern communications technology has changed all that. Accessing documents over the internet, making changes and saving them so people back at the office can see them is nothing out of the ordinary, and although this still can’t be done while actually driving, phone calls and conference calls can.

Having to take into account employment law in respect of people out on the road means a company has an obligation to put procedures and policy in place to be compliant with that law. Then it all has to administered and enforced which requires more man hours. Clearly, all this increases the complexity and therefore the money needed to keep a fleet on the road.

For instance, on average, 80% of accidents are down to 20% of drivers, so in all likelihood, there are going to be a few drivers on each fleet identified as needing further training before being permitted to drive on company business.

Then there’s keeping on top of copies of all the paperwork, i.e. licences, MoT certificates, proof of business use insurance, and records of frequent safety checks to show the company is complying with the law.

And it’s worked: In 2009, there were more than 30m vehicles using Britain’s roads but only 2538 fatalities, down from nearly 6,000 in the early 90′s. Admittedly, some of this is down to the changes made in vehicle safety by the manufacturers, but where company fleets are concerned, vehicles are generally less than 3 years old and tend to be well maintained on lease contracts, plus safety checks are more stringent and carried out more often than a private vehicle would necessitate. Considering that in general, UK drivers are actually having more accidents than ever before, but far fewer fatal ones, it can be seen that the effect of legislation on fleets has had a major impact in helping reduce fatalities on UK roads.

Certainly, all of this just adds more to running and administering a fleet so companies look to make savings, by effectively outsourcing their fleets to their drivers. However, although some of the costs for vehicles, servicing etc. may have been partly off-loaded, the responsibility the company has towards its employees cannot be avoided. Also, in comparison with company fleet cars, the average age of a grey fleet vehicle is 5 years old, and many are serviced and maintained by local garages, rather than a dedicated dealership for that particular vehicle manufacturer. And as for safety, besides the annual MoT check, who knows how often fluids or tyres are checked by the owner? Although an employee may be using their own vehicle for business use, that responsibility cannot be outsourced. The company they work for still has a duty of care towards them, so even a grey fleet will need some form of management still.

Furthermore, whenever an accident happens that causes a fatality, the Police will always initiate an investigation, which is more than simply checking a driver’s licence details, their MoT, and whether they had proper business car insurance or not, but much more background to the accident, such as the initial state of the vehicle, and the driver’s previous history and experience. This would almost certainly lead to an audit of your driving policies and fleet activity, as that’s where a lot of this information will be available, so even with a grey fleet, the need is still there to show you are legally compliant with current health and safety requirements. And it’s not just fatal accidents that can trigger an audit; there are all sorts of other situations and accidents where it might be necessary to provide your risk management and training records.

It’s not all about costs though, as there are several sources of help. Many Human Resources consultancies can draw up plans for driving and fleet management policies, as can business advisory services. Fleet insurance companies themselves sometimes provide advice, especially as it is in their interests that a fleet is well run to reduce the chance of claims, some even going as far as offering free driver training, or larger discounts if there’s evidence of good management.

So, is it worth running a grey fleet? Ultimately it’s down to your own business circumstances, but it certainly pays to be aware of the wider issues and implications, otherwise it could cost you a lot more than you were counting on. As we have seen, running a grey fleet may seem more cost effective upon first glance, but there is much more to it. A business cannot simply off load it’s responsibility when it outsources it’s fleet, and provided it is monitored correctly, running a company owned fleet still has many advantages where much greater transparency, and therefore compliance, lies directly within the control of the business.

Other articles you might like;

• ign xbox 360
• Twitted by thetipscorp
• Twitted by thetipscorp
• Twitted by thetipscorp
• Twitted by thetipscorp
• Twitted by thetipscorp
• Twitted by thetipscorp
• Twitted by thetipscorp
• Twitted by thetipscorp