Your Guide to Worry-Free Grey Fleet Management

As a business owner or manager, you must ensure your drivers are compliant with the correct driving regulations, we know this can often be stressful. Trying to keep up with the changing laws, paperwork and the potential consequences of getting it wrong, it is understandable to feel overwhelmed. But, it doesn’t need to keep you up all night! Within this article, we will break down the key aspects of driver compliance, provide tools that will help you manage it effectively, and our top tips for regaining that peace of mind.

To start with let us understand and reiterate why driver compliance matters.

Above all, compliance is all about the safety and protection of your employees, other drivers and the general public. Adhering to these regulations reduces the risk of accidents and the fatal consequences they can have.
Not complying with the set regulations can lead to costly fines and potential damage to your company’s licence to operate.

Not only could your company come into some pretty hefty fines but non-compliant drivers can also severely harm your business reputation. Your customers will want to be able to see that you are trustworthy and responsible.

What are the four key areas for driver compliance?

When looking into driver compliance there are four main areas we need to look into, driver licences, hours of service, vehicle maintenance and insurance.

All employers must make sure drivers hold valid licences for the vehicles they are operating. We recommend conducting regular checks on this.

It is important to track your driver’s hours to prevent any fatigue-related accidents as well as making sure you are complying with rest-period rules.

We recommend keeping a detailed record of your vehicle inspections, servicing and repairs so not only can you internally keep track of vehicle maintenance, you can also demonstrate your commitment to safety. Each vehicle used should have a dedicated folder where all of this information is held.

A key component of vehicle compliance is insurance, not having the correct insurance on all of your company vehicles can severely damage your company. Maintaining adequate insurance coverage for each vehicle verifies that drivers are covered when operating vehicles for company use as well as covers your company if any drivers were to get into an accident.

What tools and software help keep you on top of driver compliance?

Licence checking software
All employers need to make sure that their employees who are required to drive on behalf of the company are licenced and entitled to drive. Just a visual licence check once a year isn’t enough. Things can change so quickly that details should be verified with DVLA at a recommendation of at least twice a year.

DriverCheck provides a web portal for businesses to view employee licence check results online, in real-time, making it super easy to keep up to date on any licence changes. We ensure our system keeps you informed on the latest updates on driving licence compliance issues, enabling you to have complete control of managing your drivers.

Fleet management systems
This software type allows all information on your company fleet to be stored in one place. This information would often be stored on paper files or on multiple spreadsheets on a computer, the use of a single platform to see telematics data, fuel card transactions, maintenance history and reminders all in one place.

Set out clear policies
To make sure your drivers understand and follow compliance regulations, it is important to set clear, written policies that outline what is expected of them and the consequences if these regulations aren’t complied with. These policies should cover the checking of the driver’s licence, the hours of service, vehicle maintenance, driving behaviours, and other relevant areas. We recommend distributing these policies, conducting training sessions to review them and requiring employees to sign and acknowledge them.

Our 3 top tips for a peace of mind in driver compliance

Take a proactive approach
Waiting for problems to arise before fixing them is the worst thing a business could do. By implementing compliance systems and regular audits you massively reduce the risk of problems from occurring.

Invest in training
Educate both your drivers and managers on their responsibilities regarding compliance.

Make use of modern technology
Be sure to take advantage of the tools available to help automate and streamline your compliance processes.

How DriverCheck can help you…

Here at DriverCheck we make it easier to conduct thorough and compliant licence checks. We ensure our system keeps you informed on all your driving licence compliance issues. This enables you complete control of managing your drivers.

We offer our services for the following licence types:

UK driving licence
Foreign driving licence
Northern Irish driving licence
CPC and Tachograph information

We do this by providing you with a fully GDPR-compliant service which gives you:

24/7 access to our technically advanced online portal. Giving you real-time visibility of all driver-driving licences.
Alerts about driving offences by your drivers – even if they don’t tell you
Notifications of matches and mismatches in your driver’s name and address
System alerts (dynamic and static)
Management Dashboard and KPIs
Management reporting
Online driver enrolment
UK paperless system
UK electric checking
UK instant check results
Robust driver follow-up
Management of KPI’s

Want to learn more about our licence-checking service?

Give us a call at 0141 428 3448 or drop an email over to admin@drivercheck.co.uk.

Driver compliance is a crucial part of responsible business management. Understanding the key requirements, implementing the right tools and maintaining a proactive approach can protect your business, your employees and the general public, all while keeping your worries at bay.