A new, free online video safety course aimed at van operators was launched this week by fleet software specialist FleetCheck at the Commercial Vehicle Show 2021 in the NEC until 2 September.
Called the 28-Day Fleet Confidence Challenge, it takes the form of four weekly episodes and is aimed at people whose fleet responsibility is only part of their role, who may not understand the full extent of their risk management responsibilities.
The course has been developed with the support of Simon Turner, campaign manager for the National Highways Driving for Better Business programme, and is open to 25 delegates every month. It will run for at least six months.
Peter Golding, managing director at FleetCheck, explained: “Many van operators don’t understand the extent of the important legal responsibilities they carry when it comes to ensuring that their van operations are carried out safely and competently.
“However, we do know that the police and DVSA are increasingly stopping van drivers to check compliance, with fines of many hundreds of pounds for each offence. In addition to these penalties, business operations can be severely disrupted, operational costs can run out of control and your firm’s reputation could be at risk.
“More importantly, if one of your vans was involved in a serious incident then, on top of the potential for injury or worse, the investigating authorities could look much more closely at your fleet management systems to ensure you were operating correctly – with potential consequences including a custodial sentence.
“The 28-day Fleet Confidence Challenge has been designed to help those responsible for small and medium sized van fleets. In four weekly sessions of around 45 minutes each.”