A good relationship with a reputable garage has many benefits. In order to keep your valuable business with them, many garages offer additional, free services to their fleet customers. If you wish to instil a more responsible attitude into your drivers, your local garage may offer tips on simple car maintenance such as choosing the right oil, ensuring your fleet car has a better all-round performance, but also saving your company money. Should your drivers require a top up or are unsure how to fill up the engine oil properly, then your drivers are welcome to bring the vehicle into the garage and their experienced personnel will take care of it.
Many drivers neglect to regularly check the right tire pressure even though their vehicle handbook will come with the recommended tyre pressure for their vehicle. How many of your employees know that instructions may also be on a placard mounted on their vehicle, such as behind the petrol filler cap or on the driver’s door pillar. A helpful garage will have handy tips for your fleet drivers ensuring tire pressures are kept to the optimal, such as checking tire pressure every two weeks if possible and more often if they cover high mileage during the week or before they make long journeys.
Do your drivers remember to increase tire pressure if the vehicle is heavily loaded, for example when transporting a large party of friends to a special event? Low tire pressures reduces the tire’s performance as well as increasing fuel consumption and wear, costing your company extra money in the long run. Having the correct inflation pressure in your drivers’ tires is not only important for safety reasons and therefore required by law, but it can also save you r company money.
How Much does Low Tire Pressure cost me Every Year?
Under inflated tires may lead to increased fuel consumption and a vehicle running on tires at 80% of recommended pressure will use a staggering 3% more fuel – given the current high fuel prices, this is something your company can well do without. Running a tire at 80% of the recommended pressure will reduce the tire service life by 20%, costing your company large amounts of money in replacement costs.
Taking a worst case scenario, your under-inflated tires could lead to tyre failure under adverse road conditions and you risk a MAXIMUM FINE OF UP TO £2,500 (with discretionary disqualification and a compulsory driving license endorsement of 3 penalty points). The Health & Safety Executive may also decide your company is responsible for manslaughter, if your low tire pressure causes a fatality.
Striking the Right Balance
When choosing a service repair garage for your fleet of luxury automobiles, cost cannot not be the only deciding factor; striking the correct balance between cost and your company’s legal requirements will be paramount for a firm wishing to remain in business and competitive.
