An environmentally friendly approach to fleet

Reflex Vehicle Hire are conscious of the impact we have on the environment and make every effort to find ways to reduce our carbon footprint and be more environmentally friendly.

To minimise our negative effect on the planet, we take many steps to become more aware of the impact we are having. We aim to reduce, reuse, and recycle in every aspect of the business. New processes are constantly being thought up and innovated for us to help in any way that we can.

Since 2016, Reflex have trialled and procured the latest electric and hybrid technology for its customers and staff. Some of the first of these vehicles on our fleet included the Nissan ENV200 and Peugeot Partner Electric.

We hope that we can encourage and educate our readers for them to make a more informed decision when it comes to being environmentally friendly.

Electric vehicles

Where possible, we offer our customers electric and hybrid vehicles to trial for their fleet to ensure that these vehicles are suitable for their business and the tasks that they carry out.

Many of our customers have trialled vehicles to see if they fit their fleet requirements before they commit to hiring them out and having to send back vehicles that are not suitable and do not fulfil their needs.

These vehicles operate with considerably lower or no emissions, resulting in a reduction of tonnes of CO2.

Have a look at our Vehicle Selection where you can view our full range.

Deflated tyres

Running a vehicle without the tyres inflated to the correct pressure will result in increased fuel consumption. The air pressure in your tyres supports the weight in your vehicle.

When they are not at the correct pressure, you will experience uneven tread wear, poor braking performance, and increased rolling resistance resulting in increased fuel consumption.

This increase in fuel consumption will consequently produce more CO2 emissions, which is bad for the environment.

Always remember to check your tyre pressures of your vehicles and make sure to top the air up when needed. Our Tyre Safe can help you to keep on top of your numbers. Take a look over on our Other Safety Services page.

Route planning

Planning your journeys in advance can help you avoid driving for longer than necessary.

Every fleet will differ from the amount of miles they cover daily, but if routes are planned smartly beforehand it can help to avoid things like crashes, road works, road closures and other incidents that can cause your drivers to get caught up on the way.

Journey planning can be an effective way to get to set destinations in the most efficient way, without having to sit in traffic that will result in more gear changing and braking.

Telematics devices are a helpful way to plan your journeys and track the best routes for your drivers.

Using technology to your advantage

Investing in good technology can pay off in the long run. Whilst you may think it is an annoying added cost to factor in with your fleet, it can end up being beneficial by saving you money in many ways if utilised correctly.

Reflex are known to go above and beyond customer requirements by procuring new, modern vehicles with added safety-features. Such features include autonomous braking system (ABS), reversing cameras/sensors, blind spot warning, lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control.

Elements such as these can be helpful for drivers, for example, adaptive cruise control allows you to maintain a constant speed which in turn can improve fuel economy.

Telematics such as tracking and cameras can enhance safety and reduce risk for drivers. Our industry-leading investment in technology ensures that effective fleet management is not compromised when drivers are in hired vehicles. The telematics platform allows for full visibility of your drivers on the road and gives you access to a suite of detailed reports that provide the insights you need to maintain the efficiencies you have on your owned fleet.

Our Telematics page is a good place to start to gather some information on how it can benefit your fleet.

Encourage economical driving

Your drivers play a big part in ensuring your fleet costs are reduced and they are performing as environmentally friendly as they can.

Training them and advising on best practice can reduce operational costs that your fleet incurs like fuel and repairs.

Encouraging them to maintain steady speeds, shift up through the gearbox efficiently, do not leave the engine idling, keep the use of air-con to a minimum and do not overload the vehicle.

Reflex’s Flexiprofiler platform contains e-learner modules that each driver is required to engage with and answer questions on. These modules are presented to the driver based on the answers they give in the questionnaire about their general driving and road knowledge. This means that they can brush up on any areas that they may fall short on.

Read more about our Flexiprofiler here and how it can help.

Routine servicing and defect reporting

Keeping on top of your vehicle maintenance can have a much bigger impact than some people anticipate. It can provide a variety of advantages that are not only monetary, but also reduce business downtime.

By ensuring your vehicles stay in good condition, you can eliminate any issues that may arise. For example, your tyre tread and pressure will be checked and keeping on top of these is beneficial as stated previously.

Vehicles that are regularly serviced generally have a better fuel economy than those that are not and will run much more efficiently. Small things that could be missed by not regularly looking after your vehicle could lead to much bigger problems in the future which can all impact your fuel consumption.

Grey fleet drivers

Lastly, but one of the most important areas we must not forget is drivers who use their own vehicles for work-related purposes. It is great that you can have total control over making your own fleet greener and cleaner, but there are still an estimated 14 million grey fleet cars on UK roads.

The average grey fleet car is 8 years old, which will mean the vehicle is not equipped with the latest technology. You can help your staff members by educating them on the benefits of reducing their carbon footprint by investing in a greener vehicle. This switch can be made much easier by taking full advantage of the government plug-in grant. To help shift UK drivers over to electric and hybrid vehicles, they are offering sums of money to kickstart the buying process and help them save on brand new clean vehicles.

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