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Small knocks and scrapes are costing fleets thousands in unnecessary repairs
When a driver has a small knock or scrape caused by reversing into a post, catching the side of their vehicle as they pull out of a tight entrance, or leaving it right next to the trolley park at the supermarket (resulting in the inevitable stray trolley rolling into the car's previously perfect door panel) it's too often shrugged off as 'one of those things'.
However, to get that car repaired can be extremely costly.
Estimates show that if you include repair costs, driver downtime, the administration of dealing with body repairers and insurance companies, and hire cars the smallest dent can run up a bill of several thousands of pounds.
And when you think of the additional turnover it takes to create the profit to pay for it, some companies suddenly realise that with a profit to turnover ratio of (lets say) 10% they need an additional £50,000 revenue to compensate for, what is usually, a very avoidable expense.
So how do you overcome the problem when so many fleets are riddled with these types of incidents?
At Sandicliffe Motor Contracts, we first look very carefully at the causes of small knocks and scrapes.
Is it down to poor driving, complacency or perhaps the driver making poor decisions?
John Phenix, Sandicliffe Motor Contracts' Operations Manager explains.
"You can usually tell from the accident records what the causes are. For example, damage caused in car parks is usually down to poor decisions around where to park, or because drivers are reversing out of spaces. This can be quickly rectified by advising on safe parking and insisting that drivers always reverse into spaces so that they can drive out forwards with far better vision and control.
"For repeat offenders who never have any other form of accident, its usually down to complacency. And there are various degrees of intervention that you can take. From introducing financial penalties to making them aware of the negative impact they are having on the company.
"And then you have drivers that seem to be always clipping objects or scraping the side of their vehicles. This can largely be down to poor technique with driver training being the best option."
For some initial free advice about reducing your accident costs, call our National Sales Manager, Phil Elms on 01159 466 466 or email phil.elms@motorcontracts.co.uk
<< show all articles
Small knocks and scrapes are costing fleets thousands in unnecessary repairs
When a driver has a small knock or scrape caused by reversing into a post, catching the side of their vehicle as they pull out of a tight entrance, or leaving it right next to the trolley park at the supermarket (resulting in the inevitable stray trolley rolling into the car's previously perfect door panel) it's too often shrugged off as 'one of those things'.
However, to get that car repaired can be extremely costly.
Estimates show that if you include repair costs, driver downtime, the administration of dealing with body repairers and insurance companies, and hire cars the smallest dent can run up a bill of several thousands of pounds.
And when you think of the additional turnover it takes to create the profit to pay for it, some companies suddenly realise that with a profit to turnover ratio of (lets say) 10% they need an additional £50,000 revenue to compensate for, what is usually, a very avoidable expense.
So how do you overcome the problem when so many fleets are riddled with these types of incidents?
At Sandicliffe Motor Contracts, we first look very carefully at the causes of small knocks and scrapes.
Is it down to poor driving, complacency or perhaps the driver making poor decisions?
John Phenix, Sandicliffe Motor Contracts' Operations Manager explains.
"You can usually tell from the accident records what the causes are. For example, damage caused in car parks is usually down to poor decisions around where to park, or because drivers are reversing out of spaces. This can be quickly rectified by advising on safe parking and insisting that drivers always reverse into spaces so that they can drive out forwards with far better vision and control.
"For repeat offenders who never have any other form of accident, its usually down to complacency. And there are various degrees of intervention that you can take. From introducing financial penalties to making them aware of the negative impact they are having on the company.
"And then you have drivers that seem to be always clipping objects or scraping the side of their vehicles. This can largely be down to poor technique with driver training being the best option."
For some initial free advice about reducing your accident costs, call our National Sales Manager, Phil Elms on 01159 466 466 or email phil.elms@motorcontracts.co.uk