Speeding and mobile phone issues head list of company car and van driving offences

Speeding and mobile phone offences head a new list of the 10 most common driving offences committed by company car and van drivers released by fleet management software market leader CFC Solutions.

The research is based on the users of the company’s Licence Link licence checking software which was launched in 2009 and is now in use by fleets totalling several thousand drivers. The results are:

Code and offence Percentage of total offences recorded:

1. SP30 Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road 59.19

2. CU80 Using a mobile phone while driving a motor vehicle 10.74

3. SP50 Exceeding speed limit on a motorway 8.48

4. TS10 Failing to comply with traffic light signals 6.71

5. DR10 Driving or attempting to drive with alcohol level above limit 5.43

6. SP10 Exceeding goods vehicle speed limits 2.36

7. IN10 Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks 1.77

8. MS90 Failure to give information as to identity of driver etc 1.16

9. SP20 Speed limit for type of vehicle (excluding goods or passenger vehicles) 0.77

10. CD10 Driving without due care and attention 0.41

Neville Briggs, managing director at CFC Solutions, said: "In some respects these findings are unsurprising – every fleet manager knows that speeding is by far the biggest offence committed by drivers of company vehicles. However, that should not distract from acknowledging the fact that driving too quickly can be a dangerous act.

"Also, the prevalence of mobile phone offences is worrying and shows that the safety message about responsible phone use while driving that the fleet industry has been promoting for some time has yet to reach everyone.

"One fact that I find extremely worrying is that drink-driving makes an appearance in the top five offences. This is potentially the most serious driving offence of all and will often lead to an employee being unable to do their job and subsequently dismissed."

Briggs added that the top 10 list could be used by fleet managers to help shape their future risk management strategies.

He explained: "If fleet managers have a good idea of the type of offences that are likely to be committed on their fleet, then they can put measures in place to help prevent them being committed in future. Clearly, these statistics show that many fleets have some work to do when it comes to educating drivers about the very real dangers of speeding and mobile phone use."

Licence Link, which is the fastest selling in the three decade history of CFC Solutions, has just been updated with a new look and feel designed to increase its ease of use and general appeal.

Briggs added: "This is a product that has immense timely relevance in the market and continues to be rapidly adopted by all kinds of fleets in all kinds of sectors of industry as an efficient way to help them fulfil their risk management responsibilities.

"The key strengths of Licence Link – its effectiveness, its simplicity, its ease of adoption and its delivery through free software – all mean that it has become the licence checking tool of choice for hundreds of fleets and the latest enhancements that we have made only add to its appeal to fleet users."