Pro Installer October 2014 - Issue 19 | Page 38

38 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