AM I Prepared For a Break-down?

IAM Drive & Survive highlights best practice in a break-down situation

FACT: Statistics prove that one in three road deaths on UK roads are related to someone driving for work.

FACT: As many as 250 people are injured every year in the UK after a vehicle break-down. 

FACT: The average annual mileage of company owned cars was nearly two and half times that of privately owned cars – 19.7 thousand miles.

QUESTION: Are you managing your duty of care?

QUESTION: Do your employees know what to do in the event of a vehicle break-down?

As a duty of care to employees, all businesses should risk assess their drivers, to identify the dangers they may face in an event of a breakdown, or more serious incident whilst driving for work. This should be considered as part of an overall driver risk management strategy, as well as essential road safety training, whether online or on-road coaching.

What If...

What if one of your drivers’ vehicles breaks down? What strategy do you have in place to manage this situation, or a more serious incident? Are your staff confident on the road to deal with such an event? Do you have break-down assistance in place for them? These are pertinent questions, which all Fleet Managers should address.

You’d be surprised, when asked, how many people don’t know the basics of dealing with a break-down.

Experts at IAM Drive & Survive believe that break-downs could be avoided if drivers took better care of their vehicles, particularly the tyres, oil, coolant and fuel levels. In 2008, the average annual mileage of company owned cars (19.7 thousand miles) was nearly two and half times that of privately owned cars (8.2 thousand miles). This statistic illustrates the need for drivers to make regular checks on their vehicles saving loss of time, money and resource associated with vehicle break-downs.

Get Smart

Insure Your Motor suggests that as much as 12% of all fatal accidents on British motorways happen on the hard shoulder. Don’t let one of your drivers be part of this alarming statistic. Here are some of the top preventable causes of break-downs:

Recharge your Battery

We all need a jumpstart now and then and your vehicle battery is no exception

Don’t get caught out; IAM Drive & Survive advise that you should always carry a set of jump leads in your car and the contact details of a trusted breakdown service company.

How often do you take a ‘short’ journey? Short journeys are frequently the cause of flat batteries. To prevent your car battery running flat, consider taking the car on a longer journey every week. If this isn’t possible, try charging your battery overnight every fortnight, which should help prevent the battery losing voltage.

Loose and corroded terminal or clamp connections cause problems too. You should periodically check that connections are secure. After each service ensure that there is a good layer of grease on the terminal and clamp connections - this should help prevent corrosion.

Tired Tyres?

A recent IAM survey found that only 18 per cent of men and 4 per cent of women check tyre pressure weekly despite the fact that the penalty for driving with one illegal tyre is a fine of up to £2,500 and three points on your licence.

Under-inflated tyres are a prime cause of failure; the wall of the tyre gets hotter quicker, which could lead to a blow out. To prevent this IAM Drive & Survive suggest you conduct a regular check, using a tyre inflation pump and monitor to achieve the correct pressure. If a tyre is constantly losing pressure over time it may be due to a slow puncture, in which case the tyre will require replacing.

While the legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm, consider replacing the tyres soon after the tread depth reaches 3mm, and always replace them once the tread is down to 2mm.

Fuel for Life

Research by the Highways Agency has shown that 19% of breakdowns are caused by running out of fuel.

How often do you drive until the fuel light shows?

You may think you have enough fuel in the tank to get to your destination, but have you considered the possibility of getting stuck in traffic? The knock on effects of this type of breakdown is costly to both the individual and employer. IAM Drive & Survive advise that you ensure you have a sufficient amount of fuel at all times. Never take chances.

How many different individuals drive any one vehicle? Putting a colour coded sticker on the fuel cap will remind you what type of fuel you need. This will prevent confusion and the use of the wrong type of fuel.

Unfortunately even with regular checks vehicles still have a habit of breaking down. Here are some of IAM Drive & Survive’s top tips to ensure the best possible safety in any break-down situation.

IAM Drive & Survive advise the following “Breakdown Basics*”:

If your vehicle breaks down, think first of all other road users and

• Get your vehicle off the road if possible
• Warn other traffic by using your hazard warning lights if your vehicle is causing an obstruction
• Leave the vehicle by the left-hand door and ensure your passengers do the same. You MUST leave any animals in the vehicle or, in an emergency, keep them under proper control on the verge
• Do not stand (or let anybody else stand) between your vehicle and oncoming traffic. Ensure that passengers keep away from the carriageway and hard shoulder, and that children are kept under control
• Put a warning triangle on the road at least 45 metres (147 ft) behind your broken-down vehicle, on the same side of the road, or use other permitted warning devices if you have them. Always take great care when placing or retrieving them. Never attempt to place a warning triangle on a motorway
• Try to stop near an emergency telephone on your side of the carriageway (situated at 1 mile intervals on the motorway). If you need to walk to one, follow the arrows on the small posts at the back of the hard shoulder – they point to the nearest one. The telephone is free of charge and connects directly to the Highways Agency or the police, which allows easy identification of location by the emergency services. If you use a mobile phone, you need to know where you are to call for help. Most of the motorways now have blue signs at half-kilometre intervals which identify which motorway you are on and have some other numbers on them. Those numbers locate them exactly, and are there for the purpose, so use them.
• Give full details to the Highways Agency or the police and let them know if you are a vulnerable motorist such as older, travelling alone or disabled. Women alone at night may feel uneasy about getting out of the car, but statistically they are at far greater risk of being hit by another vehicle while waiting in the car than being approached by a stranger
• Return and wait near your vehicle (well away from the carriageway and hard shoulder)
• If you feel at risk from another person, return to your vehicle by a left-hand door, and lock all doors. Leave your vehicle again as soon as you feel this danger has passed
• If possible, keep your sidelights on if it is dark or visibility is poor. Do not stand where you will prevent other road users seeing your lights
• Help other road users to see you by wearing fluorescent or light coloured clothing in daylight and reflective clothing at night or in poor visibility
• NEVER attempt repairs yourself on the hard shoulder, not even a flat tyre, you should always seek assistance from Highways Agency or your break-down service
• When rejoining the motorway use the hard shoulder as an acceleration lane to match your speed to the flow of the traffic. Avoid any debris (delaminated tyre tread or exhausts) in your path

*Advice drawn from IAM experts and the Highway Code

Breakdown Scenario

Question: You’re travelling along in the third lane when you experience engine failure. There’s no response from the accelerator, what do you do?

Answer:

First and foremost, don’t panic! Your main aim is to reach the hard shoulder quickly and safely. You need to maintain your speed in order to move over to the hard shoulder. Firstly depress the clutch (don’t turn off the ignition). This may well prevent further damage to the engine, and will stop the car from slowing you down as quickly, buying you some more time. You need to gauge the situation. Either put on your hazard lights to notify other drivers there is a problem, preventing them undertaking on the left hand-side, and blocking your exit, or signal left if there is enough of a gap for you to move over. You need to consider signalling left, in order to move to the second and first lane, and eventually the hard shoulder. Make sure you use your mirrors before any manoeuvre to ensure you can find a safe gap to move in to. Once on the hard shoulder, use your brakes, bearing in mind that you’ll probably need to apply more pressure to operate them as they won’t feel as effective without power assistance.

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