THE need to keep vehicle downtime to a minimum has prompted newspaper and magazine distributor WHSmith to appoint an accident manager provider.

Fleet bosses at the company have chosen to award the contract to RAC Business Solutions following a tender process. Its fleet numbers 350 commercial vehicles and more than 250 cars.

Assistant fleet manager Sara Stott said: ‘We handle time sensitive products, newspapers and magazines every day to 22,000 retailers, and some of our commercial vehicle bodies are built to our individual specification, usually of a light construction to give us maximum payload.

‘It’s really important for us to keep these vehicles mobile where possible, and downtime to an absolute minimum.’