Operators need to ensure that drivers are carrying out vehicle walk-around checks properly and are not simply treating it as a “tick-box” exercise.
Compliance software firm FleetCheck said it has seen an increase in evidence pointing towards drivers not taking their checks seriously, and suggested that operators make it part of their risk management policy to watch a driver check their vehicle every year or six months.
FleetCheck MD Peter Golding said: “These checks should be carried out on a daily basis, ideally, and so it is perhaps inevitable that some degree of fatigue sets in.
“Drivers may just tick the boxes rather than carry out a genuine inspection and do so for very human reasons – perhaps they are late to a meeting or the weather is poor.
“However, it is the responsibility of employers to ensure that these checks are being done, especially if there is evidence that drivers’ attention is drifting over time.”
Golding said that a typical indication that a driver is not conducting their checks properly would be if a truck’s tyre tread depth is reported to be below the legal limit at a service, despite the driver’s report stating otherwise.
