Kwik-Fit adds mobile units to cope with tyre check boom
The ever-increasing focus by companies on at-work driver safety is driving up demand for Kwik- Fit tyre safety checks with the company set to add a further 30 units to its mobile fleet this year to cope with the boom...
Keeping tyres in tip-top condition: Kwik-Fit Mobile technician John Byrne checks another company car
Last year, Kwik-Fit Fleet carried out more than 220,000 vehicle inspections - up from 188,000 in 2006 - and this year the company expects its mobile technicians to undertake more than 250,000 tyre safety checks in company car parks or at a driver’s location of choice.
Implementation
With the April implementation of the long-awaited Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act set to put further pressure on businesses to comply with health and safety at work legislation, Britain’s largest independent fast-fit company says organisations that fail to ensure that tyres are checked regularly are leaving themselves open to potential prosecution in the event of a crash.
Initial tyre checks result in about 25% of vehicles inspected requiring attention, usually tyres being replaced because they are illegal. Extrapolated across the UK’s three million-strong company car and approximately one million van parc it means that up to 800,000 vehicles could be running on at least one unsafe tyre.
Typically tyres maybe under or over inflated; tread maybe below, or close to the 1.6mm legal minimum across the central three-quarters of the breadth of the tyre and around the entire circumference; tyre wear maybe irregular which may indicate a wheel alignment or vehicle loading problem; or the wall of a tyre may be damaged.
The current fine for driving on illegal tyres is £2,500 per tyre and three points per tyre on a driving licence.
A recent survey by fleet consultants Total Motion of almost 6,000 company cars and privately-owned vehicles used on business, which was highlighted by the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA), found that 70% of vehicles had tyre-related problems.
NTDA director Richard Edy said at the time: “This is yet another damning indictment on the lack of interest in tyres, which are such a safety critical component of all vehicles.”
Mike Wise, head of Kwik-Fit Fleet, said: “Tyres are the only part of a vehicle that are in contact with the road so it is essential that they are in tip-top condition. Ensuring tyres meet the legal requirements is a vital part of any corporate risk strategy.
Crash
“In the event of a crash involving a vehicle being driven on business, tyre condition will be one of the issues looked at by investigating police officers. A failure to ensure checks are being carried out and to have a record of those checks could leave companies wide open to court action.”
And, it seems, more businesses are taking that message on board as Kwik-Fit Fleet will this year add 30 new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans to its 200-strong mobile fleet. Technicians that drive the mobile vans undertake tyre repair and replacement work and safety checks on company-owned vehicles and carry out tyre-related work at dealers and accident bodyshops. Kwik-Fit Fleet tyre safety checks are carried out once a month on all 147 company cars operated by Crewe-based mobile phone company, the 20:20 Mobile Group.
Andrea Shipman, the company’s assistant manager (fleet and benefits), said: “We ensure that all vehicles are checked and any remedial work is then carried out and that gives the company a complete auditable report.
“Not only is that vital from a duty of care perspective, but there is no lost time with staff having to go to centres to have the checks carried out. Additionally, employees who are not aufait with how to check tyres for pressure and wear and tear have nothing to worry about; and we ensure that qualified and fully trained technicians carry out the checks and any repair and replacement work.”
The company employees more than 1,050 people and tyre safety checks are part of the benefits package that is available to all staff as part of 20:20 Mobile’s suite of affinity programmes.
“Safety of our drivers is paramount. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act further underlines the importance of tyre safety checks,” she said.
Angela Hart, fleet manager at Cheadle-based Trinity-Chiesi Pharmaceuticals, ensures tyre safety checks are undertaken on approximately 40 head office-based company cars every two months.
In addition, Kwik-Fit Fleet mobile technicians undertake checks on up to 250 vehicles driven by staff and other people working on behalf of the company when they all attend twice a year UK conferences.
She said: “The checks offered are of enormous assistance to Trinity-Chiesi, in terms of offering a service to our drivers, for the convenience of checking and replacing any tyres as required, which given their high mileages and busy schedules is invaluable.
“Additionally, from my perspective as fleet manager, the audit trail these checks create is of huge significance in terms of demonstrating our compliance with our duty of care responsibilities towards our drivers.”