Take some responsibility, please!

By: Anonymous Fleet Manager

How annoying it is when staff use the excuse “It’s not my fault” and make out like the fleet group had something to do with their careless actions?

Fleet supplies the vehicle and, more often than not, operations provide the drivers and operators.

The reality is that – although Fleet usually own the asset – the fleet group has limited input on the day-to-day usage/management of the asset and often only see the asset when maintenance is required.

So why is it when an infringement for overloading or an unsecured load is enforced the driver says, “I had nothing to do with it. It’s not my fault”?

The fleet department provide safety-rated vehicles, tie down points, ratchet straps, safety policy and processes, inductions, knowledge, advice, etc. We do our best to provide fit-for-purpose vehicles. That’s why staff such as drivers and operators need to be accountable if they haven’t for example secured or covered a load.

There’s no doubt that the Fleet and Executive team have accountability too, especially now with heavy vehicles and National Heavy Vehicle Legislation compliance. But really, everyone in the organisation should be thinking about safety as it relates to WHS and Chain of Responsibility obligations.

How about some common sense too? We all have a role to play in ensuring the safe and effective operation of the fleet. Take some responsibility, please!

To stop our Anonymous Fleet Manager (AFM) blowing a gasket, we created Internal Combustion, a monthly column for fleet-related rants that lets him blow off some steam. Got a fleet gripe you'd like to get his opinion on? Email the editor who will pass it on to AFM... when he's in a good enough mood, that is.