SMEs to benefit from company car mentoring

SMALL businesses and SMEs can now get advice on their company cars from larger fleet experts in a new form of business mentoring.

That’s the idea behind a new initiative organised by the RoadSafe Driving for Better Business champion British Gas.

It is introducing a road safety mentoring scheme designed to help other enterprises implement occupational road risk management processes – and thereby improve the safety of company car drivers thanks to reduced vehicle collisions.

British Gas is in the right place to provide such advice.

The company operates a huge fleet: there are more than 10,000 vans; almost 1,900 company cars; 24 HGVs; and 2,000 employees who drive their own cars on business trips.

Its safety initiatives have seen incident rates tumble by more than 30% in five years. British Gas says the result of such a road risk management policy has resulted in improved welfare for staff, along with financial savings, increased efficiency and reduced staff absences.

Jon York, fleet operations manager at British Gas, said: “Many organisations, particularly smaller businesses, often don’t have the capacity to implement specific road safety initiatives. Through this innovative mentoring scheme British Gas and other ‘business champions’ can work with organisations in their respective areas to help them put measures in place.

Mr York added: “Improving safety on the roads benefits all employers, and by working together and providing best practice advice we can all help each other.”