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Ireland's working drivers are heading towards disaster if health and safety regulations are not properly enforced. That's the claim of Sixt Leasing, which says that both companies and state bodies are turning a blind eye to the safety standards of cars and vans used by employees.
"Company directors and State bodies are playing Russian Roulette with the lives of 'grey fleet' drivers. They are gambling on a tacit understanding that the employee has a valid NCT certificate as the sole means of protecting themselves and the lives of their employees and other road users," said Conor Kelly, Commercial Director of SIXT Leasing Ireland.
This so-called 'Grey Fleet' is a backbone of Irish industry, with many employees using their own private car for business use, in return for expense claims or cash allowances. The problem is that, according to Sixt, companies are not living up to their obligations under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 which defines a car as a place of work.
"State bodies and company directors need to take action and wake up to the fact that they are exposed to fines of up to €3 million and imprisonment for up to two years under health and safety legislation for failing to protect the health and safety of employees driving for work," said Mr. Kelly.
"They have a duty of care to their employees to ensure that their car is fit for purpose, whether they are driving the short distance to the Post Office or to meetings the length and breadth of the country. Right now, they are gambling on employees not being involved in an accident and returning alive and uninjured," he added.
"There are 2 million vehicles on Irish roads on any given day. 200,000, or one in ten of those vehicles, is a corporate van or car. The risk of an accident occurring certainly exists and business owners need to realise that managing a 'grey fleet' is a not as black and white as it may appear. Many organisations have no policies or procedures for checking whether 'grey fleet' drivers have a valid driving licence, whether their private motor insurance includes business use, whether the car is taxed and NCT road worthy and whether they have completed routine safety checks before setting out on their journey,"
According to Sixt, it's up to state bodies and company directors to fully inform themselves of their duty of care to employees on the road, and for the Government to ensure that such information is properly provided and the rules enforced.
"We have already introduced a range of practical solutions to help companies from simple vehicle walk around checks which can be completed via an App to introducing policies and procedures and driver handbooks for 'grey fleet' drivers. We have experienced a significant demand for this service," said Mr. Kelly.