Put here for information purposes:
INTRODUCTION
The results of the Total Motion Vehicle Monitoring survey are obtained
from the appraisals of company drivers and vehicles driven on company
business conducted on clients' behalf through Total Motion's Vehicle
Monitoring service. Physical checks of the vehicles and the drivers'
documentation are undertaken on-site by industry-qualified engineers.
Since the third quarter of 2005, checks have been conducted on 11,406
vehicles, including 5,445 company owned and 5,961 privately owned/cash
for car vehicles. This is the largest fleet driver survey of its kind.
The survey also contains the results of retests on 1,182 vehicles,
including 545 company and 637 privately owned vehicles.
Results up to end September 2007 are shown on a cumulative basis. For
the first time the results for the last survey period (Q2 & Q3 2007) are
also given separately to show how the situation is changing. This period
includes tests on 5,734 vehicles - 1,984 company vehicles and 3,750
private vehicles.
SUMMARY
Inspections during Q2 & Q3 2007 revealed a serious and worsening
problem with private cars used on company business. Two out of every
three private cars surveyed by Total Motion were found to be
unroadworthy and almost 60% were not properly maintained.
The number of drivers found to be driving on company business without
valid tax, insurance or licences also increased.
The Survey demonstrates that the majority of drivers are still not making
the most basic safety checks, and companies are doing little to enforce
compliance. 98% of drivers surveyed said their companies did not
monitor whether safety checks were being carried out.
A comparison between new inspections and retests carried out this period
demonstrates the effectiveness of conducting regular vehicle and driver
checks.
By contrast, the condition and safety of company-owned vehicles
continues to improve, with just 0.2% of those surveyed this period found
to be unroadworthy.
RESULTS
1. Percentage of Vehicles Found to be Unroadworthy
Vehicles were physically checked and declared to be unroadworthy based
on a number of criteria including defective brakes, illegal tyres, low oil
levels etc.
! Cumulatively, the percentage of private vehicles found to be
unroadworthy has risen to 55%. Of the 3,750 private
vehicles surveyed in Q2 & Q3 2007, 68% were found to be
unroadworthy.
! Cumulatively, the percentage of company vehicles found to
be unroadworthy has fallen to 9%. Of the 1,984 company
vehicles surveyed in Q2 & Q3 2007, 0.2% were found to be
unroadworthy.
! Cumulatively, the percentage of all vehicles driven on
company business found to be unroadworthy has risen to
33%. Of the 5,734 vehicles surveyed in Q2 & Q3 2007,
46% were found to be unroadworthy.
The condition of company vehicles continues to improve, with just 4 of
the company owned vehicles surveyed this period found to have faults
that made them unroadworthy. However, the issue of drivers using
unroadworthy private cars on company business is a very serious
problem. More than half of the private vehicles checked since the Survey
began have been found to be unroadworthy. The situation continues to
worsen with survey results from the last six months showing 2 out of 3
private vehicles to be unroadworthy.
Further investigations show that 71% of the problems are tyre-related.
Government figures show that under-inflated and defective tyres are
responsible for a third of all road crashes resulting in injury.
2. Percentage of Vehicles Not Properly Maintained
Vehicle maintenance was assessed according to manufacturers' service
and maintenance schedules using service log books and physical checks.
! Cumulatively, the percentage of private vehicles found not to be
properly maintained was 56%. Of the 3,750 private vehicles
surveyed in Q2 & Q3 2007, 59% were not correctly maintained.
! Cumulatively, the percentage of company vehicles found not to be
properly maintained was 18%. Of the 1,984 company vehicles
surveyed in Q2 & Q3 2007, 14% were not correctly maintained.
! Cumulatively, the percentage of all vehicles driven on company
business found not to be properly maintained has risen to 43%. Of
the 5,734 vehicles surveyed in Q2 & Q3 2007, 50% were found
not to be properly maintained.
! 19% of all vehicles also had unreported damage, down slightly
from 21% last time.
Again, the Survey indicates that the situation is improving in relation to
company vehicles, but continues to worsen for private vehicles used on
company business.
3. Tax, Insurance and Licences
Physical checks were conducted on the vehicle's tax disc and on the
driver's licence and insurance documentation.
! Cumulatively, the percentage of vehicles without an up-to-date tax
disc has risen slightly to 2.5%. Of the 5,734 vehicles surveyed in
Q2 & Q3 2007, 4% did not have an up-to-date tax disc.
! Cumulatively, the percentage of drivers using their own vehicles on
company business without the correct insurance has risen to 19%.
Of the 3,750 private drivers surveyed in Q2 & Q3 2007, 31% were
not correctly insured.
! Cumulatively, the percentage of drivers without a valid driving
licence has risen to 8.4%. Of the 5,734 drivers surveyed in Q2 &
Q3 2007, 12% had invalid licences.
After a marked improvement in late 2006/early 2007, the last 6 months
show a continuing and worsening situation. Again it is believed that this
may be due to the increasing number of drivers using private vehicles on
company business. These are often not subject to the same checks and
scrutiny as drivers of company-owned vehicles.
4. Driver Attitude Towards Health & Safety
Drivers were asked a number of questions related to their knowledge and
understanding of driving-related health & safety issues and their
company's fleet policy.
! The total percentage of drivers admitting to not completing
daily/weekly checks on their vehicle fell slightly to 91%.
! 29% of all drivers were not aware of a fleet policy (even though
their company had one)
The failure of drivers to conduct basic safety checks is demonstrated by
the fact that 71% of the unroadworthy / maintenance problems on the
privately-owned cars were tyre-related.
However, companies do not seem to be taking any measures to improve
the situation, with 98% of drivers surveyed saying that their companies
never verified whether these checks were being made.
In addition to this survey, Total Motion questioned 261 fleets with
between 30 - 340 vehicles and found that more than 65% had no proper
compliance processes in place for duty of care.
5. Comparison Between New Inspections & Retests
The Q2 & Q3 2007 inspections included retests on 784 vehicles, 361
company and 423 privately-owned vehicles. Comparing these with the
results of the total 5,734 inspections illustrates the effect of conducting
regular vehicle checks.
! 16% of private vehicles rechecked were found to be unroadworthy,
compared to 68% of all private vehicles.
! 1% of company vehicles rechecked were found to be
unroadworthy, compared to 0.2% of all company vehicles.
! 1% of vehicles rechecked were found to be untaxed (all private
vehicles), compared to 4% of all vehicles inspected.
! 19% of drivers rechecked were found not to have proper
insurance, compared to 31% of all drivers inspected.
! 3% of drivers rechecked did not have valid licences, compared to
12% of all drivers inspected.
There is no difference in the results on first or retests between vehicles
on contract hire, personal contracts or employee car ownership schemes
compared with vehicles sourced on outright purchase.
Trends from recent Total Motion Vehicle Monitoring Surveys had
suggested that the situation was improving and the importance of
driving-related health and safety was beginning to get through to drivers
and companies.
However, results from the last six months show a marked deterioration,
due almost entirely to the failure to maintain and check privately-owned
vehicles and their drivers. Over this period, 2 out of 3 private vehicles
checked were found to be unroadworthy, 59% were not properly
maintained and almost a third of their drivers were not correctly insured.
Total Motion believes this is due to a number of factors:
Driver Factors
! The Survey reveals that 91% of drivers do not conduct the most
basic regular safety checks. 71% of the maintenance problems
identified were tyre-related and should have been picked up by
the driver.
! Privately-owned cars are often older and cost more to maintain
than company-owned vehicles. Total Motion believes that the
substantial increase in unroadworthy vehicles seen this period is
partly the result of higher interest rates. When people have less
disposable income, “inessentialâ€