FLEET MANAGEMENT | DRIVER MANAGEMENT
T
THE IMPORTANCE OF
his winter, perhaps more than ever before, keeping the wheels of business turning will be a major priority for fleet managers, as companies battle to meet the needs of the ever more demanding home delivery market. For some, that will mean taking on additional drivers, if they can find them, while bringing in more vehicles to cope with the sheer number of deliveries. At times like these, when the focus is very much on day-to-day problem solving, it can be all too easy to put some fleet management best practise to one side. This is particularly true when it comes to drivers. Yet it is often the case, particularly in times of crisis, when sticking to planned methods of operation and ensuring that all members of staff are involved, can really pay dividends.
Licence rules Fleet management starts before the driver gets into the van, with licence checking and entitlement to drive anal-
DRIVERS ysis. There are plenty of providers of licence checking services, while all drivers should be able to produce a DVLA check code, to allow managers to see their current driving status online. This is particularly important at present if you tow trailers, as the rules were due to change on November 15, but this change has been delayed. If your drivers passed their car driving tests before January 1, 1997, they still have Grandfather Rights that allow a vehicle and trailer combination of up to 8,250kg to be driven. However, for now at least, drivers that passed their test after January 1, 1997, remain limited to a van up to 3.5-tonnes, with a trailer mass of just 750kg, or a total combination weight of 4,250kg. If you are operating vehicles above
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Adhering to driver’s hours legislation remains a legal requirement, even in smaller vans
3.5-tonnes in weight, that are not powered by alternative fuels, then drivers also will need to have a tachograph card if the van or truck is used for hire and reward. This is the same for larger vans and pick-ups that are towing for hire and reward, where gross train mass exceeds 3.5 tonnes. If you are not using tachographs, adhering to driver’s hours legislation remains a legal requirement, even in smaller vans. Drivers should not drive more than 10 hours in a 24-hour period, or complete more than 11 hours of daily duty (working but not necessarily driving). They cannot spend more than 56 hours at the wheel within a week and they should not exceed 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks. Continued overleaf DECEMBER/JANUARY 2021/2 • VANUSER 21
