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OCTOBER 2014 PRO INSTALLER
PRO MOTORING
www.proinstaller.co.uk
To be seen or
not to be seen?
Fuel Caution: Red
Herrings Ahead
Van users should beware of red herrings that
could cost them hundreds of pounds, according
to The Fuelcard People. Steve Clarke, Marketing
Manager at The Fuel Card Group, has warned that
some firms comparing fuel cards still believe in
universal validity, a supposed ‘benefit’ that actually makes no sense.
He said: “Some people still think that they need a fuel
card that can be used anywhere, as if major brand filling
stations are hard to find.”
Steve challenged: “Next time you start your engine, think
of any of the major brands. Then count their forecourts as
you pass them during the day. At the end of the day, ask
yourself if you would have had difficulty in refuelling if you
could only use that brand.”
The ‘universal validity’ concept, the belief that a fuel card
can be used at all petrol stations, was exposed as a myth
some years ago, but persists because it is the only supposed
‘benefit’ offered by certain pump price fuel cards.
“You cannot blame those suppliers,” said Steve Clarke.
“When The Fuelcard People can deliver savings of up to 4p
per litre, while they are charging full price. Sense should
tell any van user that, whatever the brand on their fuel card,
they should never need to go off-route to refuel.”
For more information visit www.thefuelcardpeople.
co.uk or email [email protected].
That is the question at
the centre of my latest
piece on safety and, to
me, it’s an incredibly
straightforward one to
answer. So much so
that I’d put it squarely
in the realms of ‘silly
question’, but you won’t
get a silly answer from
me – it’s a definite, yes,
BE SEEN!
It’s really not worth taking
any risks with visibility.
People are easily maimed or
even killed simply because
a driver or someone using
heavy machinery hasn’t
spotted them. Things happen so quickly on site and
mistakes are easily made, so
I’m glad to see over recent
years that, along with other
aspects of health and safety,
visibility has become a big
consideration.
You now go on site and
nine out of ten times, perhaps more often than that,
you see everyone decked
out in hi-vis gear. And that’s
unquestionably a good
thing – it’s become part of
the culture and lives are
being saved. Yet I spend a
lot of time driving between
sites and it still shocks me
how many times I see lads
on the road in their vans
without a stitch of high
visibility clothing on them.
It’s as if they believe that
the roads are perfectly safe
places!
They are not. It was
estimated by a government
task group not long ago that
one third of all road traffic
accidents involve someone
who is working at the time.
If you do the maths it’s
perfectly possible that over
20 fatalities and 250 serious
injuries a week happen to
working road users. Clearly,
those kinds of figures are
unacceptable in this day
and age.
Having a warning triangle
in even domestic vehicles has been compulsory
for decades but I like the
French approach. In 2008
they made it mandatory that
all vehicles, from family runarounds to HGVs, contain at
least one item of high visibility clothing at all times.
You never know when you
might need to change a
tyre or fix a bulb and these
things don’t tend to happen
in bright sunshine. Sod’s
Law says they happen in
driving rain or at night and
you invariably deal with
them by the roadside. Regardless of current legislation, a firm like Blåkläder,
with such a wide range of
quality hi-vis kit, makes it
very easy for us all to take
responsibility for roadside
visibility.
With winter on its way
and ever earlier starts now
commonplace, thousands
of tradespeople are on the
roads in darkness twice a
day. Many of us sometimes
find ourselves working by
the roadside on occasion
and we often spend time
loading, unloading and generally appearing out of nowhere next to our vehicles.
The weather can mean light
conditions during the day
are poor and drivers have
a hundred and one other
distractions to contend with
so there are several factors
adding up to what I see as a
complete no-brai