Cutting fleet operating costs and reducing health and safety risk exposure for their employers are the two key issues that are dominating fleet decision-makers’ work loads.

From more than 100 fleet decision-makers surveyed, 41% said that reducing cost was their single most important objective with a further 21% listing it as their second key objective.

Meanwhile, 38% said reducing business risk (duty of care) was their most important fleet objective, with a further 25% rating managing occupational road risk as second on their list of fleet priorities.

With the recent rise in fuel prices to record levels, 82% of fleet decision-makers highlighted reducing petrol and diesel costs as a priority within overall cost control.

And 81% of respondents said they wanted to focus on encouraging employees to adopt eco-driving techniques to help achieve a triple objective – reducing cost, driving more safely and cutting environmental damage.

The survey was conducted by ALD Automotive.

Its marketing director, David Yates, said: “Historically, cost control has always been at the top of most priority lists for fleet decision-makers.

“Given the Government, police and Health and Safety Executive focus on encouraging businesses to put in place robust measures to reduce the number of road crashes involving at-work drivers, we were not surprised that fleet operators saw at-work driving safety as a major priority area.”