How should managers deal with the health and safety issues of using employee-owned vehicles?

Ian Featherstone The grey fleet population should be determined and appropriate health and licence checks made.

There should be insurance and self-certifying condition checks on all vehicles drivers intend to use, with appropriate vehicles only allowed and claims should be accepted only for these vehicles. Several organisations have implemented a permit to drive for both drivers and their vehicles.

Phil Clifford Proper risk assessments and appropriate policies and procedural documents should be introduced. Make drivers aware that, on business, their car is a workplace and will be treated in the same way as an office workspace.

Glenn Ewen Grey fleet cars should be subjected to the same restrictions as company cars: business cover insurance, valid MOTs, regular servicing and driving licence checks.

Some might argue that the same criteria regarding CO2 emissions, fit for purpose, age and condition should be applied on private cars as they are representing an organisation on the street.

Should a third-party company be brought in to manage a company’s grey fleet?

Ian Featherstone Until the scale, cost (financially and environmentally) and risk of the grey fleet is established it is difficult to assess how much resource will be needed to manage it.

Phil Clifford Depends on the scale of the issue. If grey fleet is minimised then third party involvement could end up as just an additional expense.

This does depend on the level of internal resource your organisation can rely on to manage.

Glenn Ewen This is a distinct possibility. Each grey fleet car is owned and managed by a different driver, so potentially every vehicle will require more extensive checks.

At Clear Channel, we have standard processes that provide blanket insurance and management to ensure that servicing, repairs and inspections are carried out on a regular basis.

I believe grey fleet cars would benefit from the same arrangements to reduce administration within the company.

What alternatives are there to having a grey fleet?

Ian Featherstone For organisations with a substantial grey fleet, it is unlikely or even undesirable that a 100% alternative is practical or cost effective.

However significant reductions in mileage can be achieved through the implementation and management of a travel hierarchy which starts with alternatives to travel and restricts high-mileage trips to hire cars or public transport.

At locations where a number of grey fleet users are based pool cars, perhaps run by a car club operator, may be cost effective.