unfit fleet vans

Author
Discussion

scott_evo

Original Poster:

251 posts

196 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
I work for a company where they have a fleet of vans on the road and before you take a van out your required to do van checks before taking a van out on the road. However, this doesn't happen. To put it bluntly, the vans aren't roadworthy and the company (which is obscenely large) refuses to fix certain items on the van which although it might not deem the vehicle to not be road legal, it then becomes a health and safety hazard also.

Managers are more interested in getting the deliveries out than ensuring the health and safety of the drivers.

Where would I be able to (preferably anonymously) report all these vehicles to allow the law have a field day with them and hopefully actually have them fixed properly?

Thanks in advance.

Fozziebear

1,840 posts

139 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
I'm guessing vosa, but if they are out on the road I'm thinking the drivers will get hammered, do you want your work colleagues done?

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
Maybe try ringing VOSA? I would have throught they would be able to help or at least point you in the right direction.

I feel your pain though, no doubt someone will come along and say "refuse to drive the vans" or "report it to your manager" when the reality is that anyone who complains to management or refuses to drive is marked out as a troublemaker and eventually fired for some spurious reason.

scott_evo

Original Poster:

251 posts

196 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
Fozziebear said:
I'm guessing vosa, but if they are out on the road I'm thinking the drivers will get hammered, do you want your work colleagues done?
preferably not they're not always on the road, for example, first thing in the morning they're not BUT if they had to fail and hit one of your loved ones, who would you blame? The company or the driver who didn't defect a van when he should've?

NinjaPower said:
Maybe try ringing VOSA? I would have throught they would be able to help or at least point you in the right direction.

I feel your pain though, no doubt someone will come along and say "refuse to drive the vans" or "report it to your manager" when the reality is that anyone who complains to management or refuses to drive is marked out as a troublemaker and eventually fired for some spurious reason.
VOSA I think will be getting a shout. Yeah well after a spat with a manager, I'll be refusing to drive the vans and defecting the vans. As for the managers, they can deal with the fall out.

Edited by scott_evo on Wednesday 22 February 22:06

lucido grigio

44,044 posts

162 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
If they were HGVs DVSA would throw a very large book at the company.

scott_evo

Original Poster:

251 posts

196 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
lucido grigio said:
If they were HGVs DVSA would throw a very large book at the company.
Sadly they're LGV's, It's like a Grocery home delivery van. e.g. Tesco/Asda

Fozziebear

1,840 posts

139 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
The drivers should be defecting the vehicles, if they can't stand up to the manager for safety it's a sorry state of affairs. I understand they need to earn a living, but if they did kill someone they would be screwed as companies have procedures that they would have signed, the manager would just hold it up and point blame at driver.

scott_evo

Original Poster:

251 posts

196 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
Fozziebear said:
The drivers should be defecting the vehicles, if they can't stand up to the manager for safety it's a sorry state of affairs. I understand they need to earn a living, but if they did kill someone they would be screwed as companies have procedures that they would have signed, the manager would just hold it up and point blame at driver.
unfortunately, its more of a 'don't care, it runs' rather than a 'I'm not defecting it because I don't like the manager'. I've already previously defected vans for them to end up back on the road with the same faults still occurring.

Fozziebear

1,840 posts

139 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
scott_evo said:
unfortunately, its more of a 'don't care, it runs' rather than a 'I'm not defecting it because I don't like the manager'. I've already previously defected vans for them to end up back on the road with the same faults still occurring.
Get vosa in then mate,

GSalt

298 posts

88 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
The HSE will take a report and treat it as confidential:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/concerns.htm


55palfers

5,892 posts

163 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
Does your company have an inspection checklist and a defect report form when vans go u\s?

If not, ask why?

scott_evo

Original Poster:

251 posts

196 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
55palfers said:
Does your company have an inspection checklist and a defect report form when vans go u\s?

If not, ask why?
Both mate, just some drivers have the 'the next guy can deal with it, I finish in 10 minutes' mentality

wolfie1978

452 posts

163 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
Is it a big fleet of red vans by any chance? if it is speak to a union rep

TwigtheWonderkid

43,248 posts

149 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
Do you not have a fleet manager? What's his/her view.

Vaud

50,288 posts

154 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
If you believe there is a culture where you are pressured to compromise health and safety, then one option is to be a "whistleblower" for which you will be fully protected in law.

Many companies have a process by which this can be done anonymously (there are 3rd party companies that employees can call)

A larger company will have a governance structure that will include a Health & Safety committee, normally chaired by a member of the executive but also with a presence of a non-executive (who is there to ensure that the right controls are in place - and in part to hold the executive to account)

If you want to PM me I can provide some "off forum" advice.


havoc

29,924 posts

234 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
Good advice by Vaud.

Also worth speaking to Union if there is one / if you belong.


As for the colleagues who don't care...call VOSA, shop 'em - if they're happy to take a potentially-dangerous van out then do they deserve your sympathy?

BrettMRC

4,037 posts

159 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
If the company is large enough then you need to bypass the line management and go direct to a senior stakeholder.

If there is no whistleblowing line in the firm, contact a senior HR rep in confidence, or the most senior person you can contact in the company.

Make sure you have clearly and concisely written out the problems, the risks and reasons why staff do not report/defect the vehicles - then send this to the chosen contact and request a meeting to discuss.

If you are not willing to do the above, then there is little point persuing the external routes as they will want to know why you didn't try.

Be prepared to make your stand, and always take a reasonable approach with the senior leadership - if the middle management are oiks then this is the safest, most productive route IMO.

Vaud

50,288 posts

154 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
havoc said:
Good advice by Vaud.
It's not often I know something that can genuinely help on this forum - I'm not a lawyer, but this domain I can help on. smile

Marcellus

7,111 posts

218 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
If your line manager is forcing you to take an "unsafe" vehicle then you should formally report the faults to him and ask him to confirm in writing that he accepts, on behalf of the company, all legal liability that may be associated with driving that specific vehicle on the road with these defects.

We went through a spate of this "just get one with it" attitude with some of our "Line managers", the issues never got to the "Fleet or depot Manager" but when the drivers started to take this approach the "Line managers" started to feel anxious that they were taking on the liability so actually pulled their fingers out and started to properly control and maintain the fleets.

austinsmirk

5,597 posts

122 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
look at the tragic case in Bath where the tipper company were hiding defects and what happened.

so yes, act.