Category: Fleet News

Alcohol impairs your cognitive ability, motor function and reactions times, making driving under the influence of alcohol a fast track to accident, injury and even death. For the sake of your own safety and the safety of those around you, it’s important that drivers understand the legal driving limit, the penalty for drink driving, and the risks associated with driving under the influence.

Similarly, it’s important that your business manages its commercial fleet in the right way; providing the right guidance and advice to employees around drinking and driving while also setting out some clear policies that ensure you’re legally covered and have a process for tackling issues as they arise. And it’s crucial that as a driver, you understand and are equipped with clear guidance from your employers.

What is the legal alcohol limit for driving?

In the England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 35micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, 80milligrammes per 100 millimetres of blood, and 107milligrammes per 100 millilitres of urine – as per the government’s guidelines.

Despite these strict limits, there are many other factors that influence how much alcohol inhibits each individual person. Factors such as sex, body weight, metabolism, food consumption and hydration all influence the real time impact of alcohol on an individual cognitive functions.

Consequently, it’s impractical to roll out blanket recommendations that say ‘X amount of drinks means X amount of danger’, and so a limit is set on the amount of alcohol that can be present in one’s blood, breath or urine at any one time while driving. Fleet drivers need to know and adhere to these limits.

What is the penalty for drink driving?

If you are caught driving or attempting to drive while over the legal limit or otherwise unfit to drive from drinking, you could face 6 months imprisonment, an unlimited fine, and a driving ban of at least 1 year.

The implication of drink driving can leave you unable to carry out personal and workplace duties and may leave you incapable of retaining your job if your work relies on your ability to drive legally. Any of the above charges could lead to a significant increase in insurance costs, and could impact your ability to travel to certain countries.

In the case that you cause death by driving over the limit, you could face up 14 years imprisonment in addition to an unlimited fine and 2-year minimum driving ban.

Managing drug & alcohol consumption in your fleet

For fleet managers, ensuring the safety of your fleet is one of the highest priorities. Having an appropriate drug & alcohol policy in place is the first step in ensuring your fleet is operated correctly and safely. Your staff need to understand what is expected of them in terms of drug and alcohol consumption and the consequences of drug and alcohol use, and this is particularly true in any industry where workers are operating heavy machinery.

‘Heavy machinery’ for drivers could encompass vehicles themselves, and even equipment at the depot that’s used for maintenance and upkeep.

That said, it may also be useful to open up a conversation around substance misuse within your business. Increasingly, employers are moving from using punitive language around alcohol and drug use to talking about signposting, mental health, and treating addiction or substance misuse as a problem over demonising the addict – and so having a framework for talking about these topics may help facilitate a positive and constructive culture within your business.

Fleet management tools

What, though, can you do to improve driver safety from a tool perspective?

Fleet management tools like Tele-Gence offer fleet managers increased awareness and control over the actions and safety of drivers. The smart technology is designed to decrease costs whilst increasing driver safety by tracking important data such as departure and arrival times, and provide tailored driver safety scores that your managers can work with.

When it comes to dangerous driver and driving under the influence, tools like Tele-Gence can help to identify concerning driving patterns and hazardous practises so you can intervene and handle any challenging situations before accidents happen.

If Tele-Gence sounds like something your fleet management could benefit from, you can learn more about the service here, or get in touch with our team to discuss your options.

Many businesses with fleets of vehicles will be feeling the bite of current fuel prices, which have been rising drastically since the start of 2022. Fleet managers will be looking for ways to make every drop of fuel take their vehicles a little further. One possible solution to this problem is hypermiling.

What is hypermiling?

Hypermiling is a term used to describe techniques that drivers can use to increase MPG. It is suggested that, by using these techniques, you could boost your MPG by around 40%. In a time when drivers may dread their journey to a fuelling station, getting an additional 40% MPG from every tank of fuel could seriously keep costs down. It is however a controversial set of techniques, as concentrating too hard on keeping fuel consumption low can make drivers less aware of the road.

What is most likely to waste fuel?

With hypermiling being the term for ultra-fuel-efficient driving, the first thing to understand before putting hypermiling techniques into use it what’s most likely to waste fuel in the first place. Having a good grasp on what habits make fuel consumption higher and what external conditions might negatively impact the efficiency of fuel consumption will help those looking to apply hypermiling techniques apply them correctly and appropriately.

How weather impacts fuel consumption

Cold weather causes higher fuel consumption. Firstly, through aerodynamics; cold air is denser than warm air, meaning your car will have to work that bit harder to travel through it than it would on a warmer day. A study by the US EPA suggests that a drop from 24 degrees Celsius to 7 degrees Celsius increases urban commute fuel consumption by between 12 and 28%.

Additionally, cold weather can adversely affect the performance of your vehicle’s components, from under the bonnet to the tires. An engine in warmer condition doesn’t have to work so hard to get warmed up and cold can affect tire pressure which will impact both the safety and efficiency of your vehicle.

What are some hypermiling techniques?

So additional miles per gallon and an increase in efficiency sounds great, but how exactly can you achieve this?

Ask yourself whether the drive is necessary

For most fleets, driving isn’t optional. However, for smaller, local businesses, it could be worth considering. Could the 5 minute drive be replaced by a 20 minute walk or a 10 minute cycle? Efficiency is obviously key for businesses, but could the money saved from not driving negate this small loss of productivity?

Maintain a sensible speed

A general reduction of 20mph can have huge benefits for your MPG. Of course, this is quite extreme – you’d end up driving too slowly in some places. However, it’s worth remembering. Perhaps driving at 60mph instead of 70mph on a motorway would make a lot of difference and keep the fuel in your vehicle for longer.

When you need to speed up, be gentle with your accelerator – don’t put too much strain on your engine.

Anticipate the road ahead

Stopping and starting frequently means more fuel is consumed. Therefore, hypermilers try to avoid stopping as much as possible. If you see a build-up of traffic ahead, begin slowing. Take your foot off the accelerator and apply a gentle brake if necessary. There’s a chance the traffic will have cleared by the time you reach it, meaning you won’t have to stop at all.

What can be achieved by driving smoothly?

Drivers who follow these techniques might also plan their journeys to avoid roads where stopping is guaranteed. If you can avoid taking a route where you’ll have to stop at multiple junctions, and instead take a route that follows a steady flow of traffic, this is likely to be favourable for your fuel economy.

Driving smoothly and avoiding stopping where possible can decrease that unnecessary fluctuation in acceleration, helping you to increase your fuel efficiency.

Drive behind other vehicles

This technique certainly brings considerations about safety to the forefront of the discussion, which we’ll talk about in a moment. Keen hypermilers will try their best to drive behind other vehicles as often as possible. This is because, when a vehicle moves, it displaces the air it is travelling through. That means any vehicle behind will face less air resistance, meaning they don’t have to push their vehicles as hard.

This technique is referred to as “drafting”, and it’s even used by racing drivers to gain advantage over the cars ahead of them.

This is a very controversial practice. It’s argued that when a driver focuses on drafting, they lose awareness on the rest of the road. If you are going to do this, make sure to maintain a safe distance between yourself and the vehicle ahead. Failure to keep a safe distance could actually see you getting fined.

Keep your vehicle well maintained

A badly maintained vehicle is a less efficient vehicle. Make sure your tyre pressure is adequate and your oil levels are topped up. A regular service is key to ensuring your vehicles are efficient. For HGVs, daily walkaround checks should be carried out to ensure that your vehicle is maintained well, so you can focus on the driving.

For cost effective vehicle servicing with discounts at selected garages, take a look at MyService.Expert .We have pre-negotiated rates at thousands of main dealer and independent garages nationwide. And it’s pay-as-you-go!

Reduce the weight in your vehicle

This is another one that may not be possible for certain drivers if deliveries are being made. However, it’s a well known fact that the less weight in your vehicle, the less fuel is consumed. Are you carrying unnecessary items in the boot of your car for example? Removing them could improve your MPG.

Is hypermiling safe?

It can definitely be argued that some of these techniques aren’t safe. Travelling at slow speeds can in fact be more dangerous on some roads. You’ll also not win the respect of many other drivers on the road who might be stuck behind you as you maintain a moderate speed.

Similarly, the controversy surrounding ‘drafting’ as a technique to save fuel will probably not put you in other driver’s good books and does open you up to increased risk of accident that could hurt you or others.

Remember that following the laws of the road is more important than saving fuel, as failure to do so could cost lives. Only use hypermiling techniques when it is safe to do so – do not put yourself and other road users in danger.

How else can fleets save money?

As mentioned, hypermiling might not be the safest or most popular way to improve your MPG, but there are other ways to save on fuel costs!

One of the best ways for fleets to save money is by getting a fuel card!

With a fuel card, you could see discounts of up to 10p per litre. You’ll also save a great deal of time with HMRC approved invoices – no more holding on to receipts!

Get in touch today to find out more about fuel cards – the smart way to manage your fuel and fleet costs.

And if you want to keep a tab on your fleet’s mileage then our Mileage Count tool is the perfect addition to your fleet management tools. Learn more about how Mileage Count can improve the ease of tracking fleet mileage.

Many businesses use drivers to make deliveries. Whether it’s food or parcels, the UK lockdowns saw the rate of deliveries increase quite dramatically. With more drivers making deliveries, this means more cars need to park on our roads.

Therefore, businesses should know what rules exist that dictate where their drivers may or may not park. After all, drivers can’t guarantee that they’ll find a dedicated car park – especially a free one!

Where you can and can’t park

According to the highway code, there are certain places that parking is not permitted except in extreme cases.

Double yellow lines

Drivers will of course be familiar with double yellow lines. Parking our waiting on these lines is forbidden at any time of day.

Blue badge holders are able to park on a double yellow for a maximum of 3 hours, providing there is no signage that indicates otherwise. Specific circumstances may allow loading or unloading on a double yellow as long as you are seen to be cautious. However, the rules regarding when you can and can’t load on a double yellow are somewhat vague – you may wish to encourage your drivers to avoid doing this just in case.

A parking fine of £70 is typically given to drivers who have parked on a double yellow. However, this is often reduced by 50% if the fine is paid within two weeks. Either way, this is not something businesses will want to deal with!

Clearways

A road with a blue and red sign indicates that stopping is not permitted in any case at any time, including blue badge holders. This road is a clearway, which means exactly what it says – keep the way clear!

These signs are often accompanied with additional information such as “for the next 5 miles”. There won’t be specific road markings like a double yellow line in on a clearway, so drivers must keep an eye out for these signs.

Double red lines

In some areas of the UK, you’ll see red lines instead of yellow. They are being introduced into cities such as London and Leeds to improve the flow of traffic.

Just like the double yellow, these lines indicate that stopping is prohibited at any time.

Pedestrian crossings

Of course, parking on a pedestrian crossing is not permitted as it would obstruct access for people crossing. The zig-zag white lines leading up to the crossing must also be kept clear, as parked cars would risk obstructing a pedestrian’s view of the road.

Single yellow line

There are plenty of places on UK roads that drivers are permitted to park on at specific times of the day. One example of this is a single yellow line.

A single yellow line on a road indicates that you should not park on it. However, this restriction is often lifted outside of certain times. Often, you’re able to park on these lines in the evening or at the weekend. Should you need to park on a single yellow line, look for nearby signs that will indicate when you are permitted to do so.

Much like the double yellow, blue badge holders are able to park on single yellows for up to 3 hours as long as it is safe to do so, and the signage does not say otherwise.

Outside someone’s house

Whilst the residents of the house might not be happy about it, the law states that you are perfectly within your right to park outside someone’s home. Residents do not automatically get the right to park on the road in front of their home.

However, if a driver parks in front of a driveway and blocks someone in, this could be a violation. The local council potentially has the power to move the parked vehicle.

How to park on the road safely

The highway code gives drivers some tips on parking on the road properly:

• Park as close to the curb as possible
• Apply the handbrake, and switch off the engine and any lights
• Don’t park against the flow of traffic
• Ensure valuables are not visible in the vehicle
• Don’t park too close to a vehicle that is displaying a blue badge

If the road on which you are parked has a speed limit of 30mph, parking lights must be left on to avoid other drivers colliding with your parked vehicle.

Additional places drivers cannot park

As well as places on the road marked by lines or signs, there are also a few places outlined by the Highway Code that drivers must not stop in, unless forced to by traffic or an emergency.

• Near a school entrance
• Anywhere that prevents access for emergency services
• A bus, taxi or tram stop
• Near the brow of a hill
• On a lowered curb
• On a bend

However, the wording of these rules in the Highway Code states that drivers “should not” park in these places. This creates a bit of legal ambiguity as to whether parking in these places is a crime, but parking fines can still be issued by local authorities if this guidance is ignored.

How can Fuel Card Services help?

We can’t find parking spaces for your drivers, but we can make sure they’re being safe out on the road! Our telematics service, Tele-Gence, helps fleet managers to track the whereabouts of their drivers, as well as reports on their driving behaviour.

If one of your drivers were to park somewhere they shouldn’t, you’ll be able to see it on the Tele-Gence software.

Tele-Gence can also be paired with your fuel card account. Whether you’re already a fuel card customer or a fleet manager looking to cut the cost of their operations, we’ve got the tools for you.

Get in touch today!