Grey Fleet Keeping Control Of Your Fleet
Let’s start with a simple definition.
“A grey fleet vehicle is one owned and driven by an employee for business purposes. The employee is reimbursed on a pence per mile basis for using their private vehicle on business journeys. Vehicles used by employees under cash allowance schemes are considered grey fleet too.”
However, we would also add the duty of care element.
“An organisation has a legal duty of care to an employee at work, regardless of vehicle ownership, meaning grey fleet vehicles need to be managed as diligently as company-owned or leased vehicles.”
With an average grey fleet vehicle being 8.2 years old* depreciation is low and being able to reclaim up to 40 pence per mile as per HMRC mileage re-imbursement rates means unnecessary journeys can pay dividends for drivers.
It is estimated that some 200 incidents involving someone at work, cause injury or death on the road occur every week. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimate costs arising from ‘at-work’ road traffic accidents are in the region of £2.7 billion.
Legally employers have a clear duty under health and safety law for on-the-road work activities. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that “it shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees”. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require assessment of the risks to the health and safety of employees, or themselves, while they are at work, and to other people who may be affected by their work activities including driving on the road. The Corporate Manslaughter Act (2007), extends the liability to companies who could be prosecuted for the death of drivers resulting from work-related journeys where negligence is proven.
So how big is this as an issue?
In the public sector 1.5 billion miles per annum are driven in grey fleet vehicles at a cost of £786 million.
In the Private sector mileage is estimated at up to £11 billion contributing to a cost of up to £5 billion.
As we can see in the attached table, grey fleet and cash allowance drivers represent a substantial challenge.
(Reproduced from “Getting to grips with Grey Fleet” – BVRLA in association with Energy Saving Trust July 2016”)
Key issues for companies to consider include:
- Age of vehicle
- Safety checks being performed
- Correct insurance
- Claim inflation
- Inappropriate means of transport
- Payment rates and accounting complexity
- Validating and auditing personal cars
- Higher Co2 emissions and environmental impacts
- Lower NCAP safety ratings
Here at LetsTalkFleet we have the right solutions for you. Our simple free audit will quickly review your needs to recommend a series of improvements which can control costs, whilst ensuring compliance and the safety of your drivers.
Please contact for more information.