What is a Grey Fleet
A Grey Fleet is the title given to personal vehicles which are used for business purposes. This often means employee-owned vehicles which are regularly used for business travel. This includes those used through novated leases, or where the company reimburses the employee for work-related vehicle expenses, or where the employee uses their car and claims work-related costs against their income tax. The important concept is that the fleet is liable for grey vehicle accidents just as they would be with company-provided vehicles.
What is Grey Fleet Management
Because the fleet is responsible and liable for the use of grey vehicles by company employees, it is important that the company implements the highest possible standards of safety. With grey fleets, management has more of a challenge implementing safety programs since the driver of a personal vehicle will be unlikely to accept the installation of a device — telematics or dash camera — in their own vehicle. The challenge: How can an employer deploy safety technology in a vehicle it does not own?\
Grey Fleet Policy
Grey fleet drivers and employers must ensure proper attention to safety standards. Drivers must have the right insurance policy for their vehicle and use. (Most people will claim commuting on their insurance policy but they will not claim business purposes because it may result in a further cost on their policy). Coverage for potential liability must be in place along with a responsible approach to driver safety. The policies require extra attention compared to the fleet that provides vehicles to drivers.
If the fleet cannot monitor driver behavior via video solutions, telematic solutions, or by use of an app, this means the fleet may be forced to rely on less interactive approaches to improve driver safety that mitigate the risk of accidents. These approaches could include more reliance on MVR monitoring, adhering to hiring and onboarding standards, providing ongoing driver training, driver license status monitoring, insurance monitoring, as well as a clear acceptance of a published driving policy.
Grey Fleet Policy Example
Management’s safety focus for grey fleet vehicles should include the following:
- Confirmation of a safe driving record for the employee (DMV records, continuous MVR monitoring, insurance status).
- Confirmation of appropriate insurance for the vehicle—including the extra coverage of vehicle use for business purposes. Note: The fleet should provide financial support for the extra cost of an employee insuring the vehicle for business use.
- Management should provide a minimum level of driver training.
Grey Fleet Compliance
While grey fleets are common and becoming more prevalent because of changing work environments, management must pay attention to the details of proper driver management as if the driver was operating a company owned or leased vehicle. Don’t forget that third-party liability as well as potential exposure to nuclear judgements will transfer to the fleet in the event of an accident.
Grey Duty of Care
Since liability remains with the fleet despite employee ownership of the vehicle, as long as the vehicle is being driven for business purposes, the fleet has a “duty of care”. Duty of care means that the company is responsible for the safety associated with the use of the vehicle. Management maintains a responsibility for the safety of the driver and the drivers they share the road with.
How Does LifeSaver Mobile Support Grey Fleets?
Traditionally, fleet safety technologies have relied on hardware-based solutions that attach to the commercial vehicle. While it’s reasonable to install a hardware device into a vehicle owned and operated by the company, the cost and burden of deployment and maintenance of these devices can be significant. Furthermore, if the employee is operating a personal vehicle reimbursed for work purposes, it’s highly unlikely that the employer can deploy a telematics or dashcam device into that personal vehicle.
Having said that, if the employee in a grey fleet vehicle is using a company issued mobile device, the company should seriously consider deploying an app-based technology to the company’s mobile device to improve driver safety. LifeSaver Mobile is a perfect solution for enforcing driver safety for grey vehicle fleets because it tackles 2 of the biggest risk factors for driver safety by enabling employers to enforce handsfree mobile device usage policies and to provide customizable voice notifications to their drivers when speeding violations are detected.
