Vehicle downtime has always been an operational headache for fleets, but new research suggests it remains a problem that is proving increasingly difficult to solve.
According to a recent study, 21% of fleets have seen vehicle-off-road (VOR) rates increase over the past 12 months. That is an improvement on the 24% recorded a year earlier, but it still means more than one in five operators are dealing with worsening vehicle availability.
The underlying causes are familiar too, with workshop capacity, shortages of trained technicians and poor parts availability all contributing to unusually high downtime.
Is Downtime More Than An Operational Problem?
A vehicle being off the road can mean disrupted schedules, replacement vehicle costs, missed appointments and extra pressure on the rest of the fleet.
But there is a wider safety issue here too. Because the reality is that the first-MOT failure rate among vans is higher than most other vehicles, with 2021-registered vans failing at more than double the rate of equivalent cars.
Crucially, many defects, particularly tyre-related issues, had previously appeared as advisories before becoming serious enough to cause a failure.
We have also looked at the impact of deteriorating roads and potholes, where breakdowns and vehicle damage bring their own logistical and cost implications.
Put those issues together and the message is fairly clear: a lot of downtime does not begin on the day a vehicle breaks down. It can start weeks or months earlier with wear, damage or minor defects that have not been spotted or acted upon quickly enough.
Autumn Adds Another Layer Of Risk
That becomes particularly important as we head further into autumn.
Wet roads, standing water, falling leaves and reduced daylight all make driving conditions more demanding. Potholes can become harder to see when filled with water, while worn tyres, weak wipers, poor lights and marginal brakes become much more significant as visibility and grip deteriorate.
A breakdown is not simply inconvenient wherever it happens either. As we have previously discussed in relation to smart motorways, a vehicle losing power or stopping in live traffic can quickly become a serious road safety situation.
That makes autumn an important point for fleets to review vehicle condition and maintenance processes before the more severe winter weather arrives.
Moving From Reactive To Proactive
Interestingly, 52% of fleets are now using short or medium-term rental to counter downtime, up from 41% last year.
Rental provides useful flexibility, but it deals with the consequence rather than necessarily preventing the problem.
For fleets, the bigger opportunity is reducing avoidable downtime in the first place.
That means acting on advisories promptly, ensuring driver walkaround checks are completed properly, monitoring recurring defects and checking whether servicing schedules reflect the mileage and workload vehicles are actually experiencing.
It also means paying particular attention to tyres, brakes, lights, wipers and fluids as conditions worsen.
Vehicle downtime may be showing signs of easing across the industry, but one in five fleets reporting an increase shows there is still a long way to go.
At Driving Monitor, our tools, such as Risk Monitor and Fleet Monitor, help operators maintain a clearer view of vehicle condition and driver risk, helping identify emerging issues earlier and take action before a small problem becomes an expensive vehicle-off-road issue.
