Welcome to

Welcome to the ‘health’ issue of Fleet World – another edition brought to you in digital form for your (hopefully) enhanced viewing and reading pleasure. We’ve looked at ‘health’ as a broad term here because, in the fleet sector, it can be interpreted in many different ways. There is, arguably the most important factor, the health of the individual – both mental and physical. A driver who isn’t operating at 100% is going to be a worry not only to themselves, but also potentially to the people around them. A lot has been said about maintaining good health – again, mental AND physical – and paying close attention to both elements should be a must. There are no real excuses because we only get one life and we should make the most of it – and make it as long and as enjoyable as possible!

But elsewhere when you associate ‘health’ with fleets, there are also the vehicles themselves. In the ideal world, cars and vans would, obviously, be in the best possible health. Again, that’s a win-win for the driver and the company because it will prevent possible downtime or mechanical or electrical issues down the line. An absence of nasty surprises (I’ll leave out potholes because they are literally unavoidable sometimes) is never going to be a bad thing.

But, as with our physical and mental health, the overall state of a vehicle is probably overlooked the majority of the time. In the truck world, drivers are expected to carry out a walkaround check to make sure components such as wheels, tyres, doors and lights are all in good working order with no physical defects. Could – or should – passenger car fleets adopt or enforce such a measure? And how easy would it be to monitor? Be honest: it’s chucking it down with rain at 5am in the morning and you’ve got to drive 200 miles – you’re not spending five minutes to check a car, are you? But maybe drivers SHOULD be taking more responsibility for their vehicle as well as themselves.

So why not give it a go? I know it’s not a new year, but – as it’s September – let’s call it a New Registration’s Resolution: be kinder to yourself, look after yourself and give a little love back to that vehicular companion that might be feeling a little bit neglected now and then.

Enjoy the issue.

John Challen Editor