The importance of vehicle checks 2024

Road safety is an increasingly important topic with the number of people on our roads and at risk rising yearly. One way to facilitate safer roads is to perform regular vehicle inspections to ensure your vehicle is fit to drive and compliant with Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) regulations.

 

 

What do vehicle checks consist of?

 

Vehicles perform best when they are well-maintained. Common causes of vehicle breakdowns stem from negligence to do so, such as damaged tyres and dead batteries, but can be easily avoided by consistently checking key components such as mirrors, lights, fluid levels, tyres, and batteries.

 

 

Why your drivers should be performing vehicle checks consistently.

 

Daily walkaround checks, both inside and outside of the vehicle, are a legal and moral obligation for your drivers to confirm their vehicle is roadworthy and any load is secure before they set off. Any issues should be recorded and reported.

 

DVSA officers can stop your drivers at any moment and failure to meet the required standards at a DVSA roadside check could lead to penalty points on the driver’s licence, hefty fines for the business, and, in extreme cases, prosecution.

 

 

How vehicle downtime damages your business. ¹

 

Vehicle downtime represents the periods when your vehicles are not operational due to extensive maintenance, repairs, or accidents. On average there are 4 days downtime per vehicle on a fleet within a year.

 

These periods harm your business’s productivity, financial health, and can negatively impact customer satisfaction. Our survey shows that it costs a business on average £800 per vehicle that experiences downtime which can quickly add up, especially for those with larger fleet sizes.

 

 

Types of Preventive Maintenance

 

When done right, preventive maintenance can be the unsung hero to keep your vehicles on the road. This proactive approach consists of regular inspection, servicing, and small repairs to stop your small issues from becoming catastrophic events.

 

• ‍Time-based maintenance 

This involves sticking to a schedule based on the typical intervals for major maintenance, regardless of vehicle usage, which helps prevent unexpected breakdowns.

 

• ‍Use-based maintenance

This approach considers vehicle usage to save money by avoiding unnecessary checkups on vehicles that see less wear and tear. The more the vehicle is driven, the more frequent the maintenance checkups should be.

 

• ‍Condition-based maintenance

This wait-and-see approach relies on your vehicle shows signs of wear and tear before repair. Although it saves you money on maintenance you are at higher risk of experiencing unexpected vehicle breakdowns. 

 

• ‍Predictive maintenance 

The use of advanced technology to predict when maintenance is required ahead of time. Sensors on the machinery collect data, which computers analyse to determine the optimal time for a checkup.

 

 

Importance of road safety

 

Promoting road safety is crucial, as over eighty people² are seriously injured on UK roads daily—a figure that authorities aim to reduce to zero. Fleet managers are obligated to ensure their vehicles and drivers comply with the latest DVSA regulations.

 

Our FREE guide makes Fleet compliance simple, saving you the time, effort, and headache.

 

 

The Vehicle Inspection App that keeps you mobile

 

The Northgate Vehicle Inspection App keeps your fleet mobile with a paperless system that allows you to track and complete vehicle inspections at the touch of a button, and more.

 

Start your 45-day FREE trial of the Vehicle Inspection App here.

 

• Ensure your drivers are checking what you want, when you want
• 100% paperless process, saving you time and hassle
• View the overall condition of your fleet in one place
• Quickly access any inspection at the touch of a button

 

Our recent case study showcases the full benefits of our app in real-life situations.

 

 

All your hire needs in one solution

 

As the UK's leading provider of light commercial vehicles, our hire options help you scale your fleet size when needed with nationwide support from our 68 branches and workshops. We meet every business need from short-term flexibility to long term predictability.

 

Do you want to eliminate administrative tasks of running a fleet, so you have more time to run your business?

 

In addition to hiring a Northgate vehicle, our fleet management solution analyses key data such as fuel consumption and mileage reports to proactively schedule your vehicle servicing six weeks in advance, along with several other administrative benefits.

 

1 Cost of Maintenance Awareness Guide

2 https://www.brake.org.uk/get-involved/take-action/mybrake/knowledge-centre/uk-road-safety