LeasePlan calls for more training and care at the wheel during Global Road Safety Week
On the occasion of World Road Safety Week, which is being held from the 17th to the 23rd of this month, LeasePlan Spain has released its latest study on accidents and company cars. In this regard, the leading organisation in Caas (Car as a Service) advocates greater training and care at the wheel. This report determines that two thirds of vehicle accident costs are associated with own damage, while the damage that insurers have to pay for in relation to third party liability is one third.
Two thirds of vehicle claims costs are associated with own damage
On the other hand, the company car, within the 0-4 years age segment, consumes a third more kilometres than a private vehicle. While the average mileage contracted is around 30,000 km/year, non-rental cars do not reach 19,689 km/year (according to ITV data). Thus, the more kilometres consumed, the greater the probability of having an accident, although the proportion is not linear. Vehicles that use twice as many kilometres only have 22% more traffic accidents and 48% more personal injury reports. The risk is not so much related to the kilometres travelled as to the manoeuvres to which the driver is subjected. For example, if you drive 40 kilometres a day to work and park twice a day, you run almost the same risk as if you drive 80 kilometres and park twice a day. Parking manoeuvres are one of the main causes of damage to the vehicle and to third parties.
Another clear piece of evidence is the accident rate as a function of vehicle value: expensive cars equal more expensive repairs. However, expensive cars have fewer accidents. Thus, for example, the study indicates that a vehicle with an average value of 34,000 euros will have a damage cost that is only 7% more. Also, there will be 8% fewer traffic accidents, and 15% less damage to the vehicle during the leasing contract. More expensive cars, in addition to having fewer parts, have fewer accidents involving injuries. If a €16,000 car generates 15% of accidents with injuries, a €24,000 car has a ratio of 12%, reducing the figure for a €34,000 car to 10%.
It should be noted that the higher value vehicle contains more driver assistance systems (ADAS). But it is also important to note the more intensive and risky use of a lower value vehicle, exposed to more dangerous traffic and travel circumstances, which in expert jargon is known as a more battle vehicle. Thus, the activity to which a vehicle is subjected is what identifies risk situations. This is precisely one of the most important tasks for LeasePlan, which offers its customers the SafePlan Zero strategy, whose objective is to provide all kinds of tools to its customers to avoid accidents: from training packages to information on good practices.
On the other hand, we have evidence that the activity carried out by passenger cars has a lower risk than light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and these, in turn, improve with respect to those engaged in distribution and transport activities, the most penalised being that of last-mile delivery. A LCV (light commercial vehicle) is 20% more likely to be involved in an accident than a passenger car. In addition, vehicles dedicated to distribution and transport increase the risk compared to cars by 100%, and last-mile delivery generates almost six times more traffic accidents and five times the risk of personal injury.
In the words of LeasePlan Spain's head of road safety, Fernando Cisneros, "it is clear that we need to help our customers understand the high risk that this activity is generating and achieve a reduction in accident figures". LeasePlan's main strategy is aligned with the objectives of the Stockholm declaration and the 2021-2030 strategy, halving fatalities and serious injuries in ten years to reach zero by 2050.
LeasePlan's mature knowledge of accidents and repairs in its fleet (structured databases have been in place since 2003) allows it to have an accurate diagnosis of the accident rate and the company car.
