As the country deals with the challenges presented by COVID-19, fleet drivers need to adapt many ways in which they operate to protect themselves from the virus. Fleet managers should be continuously updating their policies of what drivers need to do to prevent contracting coronavirus or unknowingly sharing the virus.
While a rigid policy of sanitising hands every time one enters or leaves a building is important, the managing director of MasterDrive , Eugene Herbert, explains why this alone is not effective enough. “If you were to sanitise your hands in the vehicle after an interaction with someone, by the time you do this, you could potentially have brought the virus into the car already.”
Consequently, one should follow these steps to ensure your vehicle remains sanitised:
- Wash and sanitise your hands at every opportunity but if you do not have access to hand-washing facilities, just sanitise them.
- If you receive stock or other items, spray or wipe it down with disinfectant as well as any areas other people may have touched.
- At the end of your shift, disinfect the vehicle so that either yourself or a co-worker can start the next shift with a fully sanitised car.
- The image indicates the areas that need to be cleaned with an alcohol-based disinfectant. This includes the door, door handles, dashboard, steering wheel, rear-view mirror, gearstick, handbrake, radio, infotainment system, arm rests, seatbelt and seat.
- Do not forget areas such as indicator levers, seats levers and even fuel cards.
- Remember to sanitise the exterior of the vehicle: door handles, door frames and the boot.
- If someone travels with you, do not forget to sanitise upon their exit.
Sanitising after a refuel:
- Wear a mask as soon as you arrive.
- Make use of the tap function on your card.
- Keep hand sanitiser or wipes in your vehicle in case you need to touch the card machine.
- If you need a bathroom break, ensure you take sanitiser with you.
- Sanitise around your petrol cap both inside and out.
- Wipe down anywhere a petrol attendant may touch.
Follow these tips regularly throughout the day. “If everyone does as much as they can to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we can reduce the impact it can have on businesses and many lives,” says Hebert.
Alcohol-based disinfectants will not damage the vehicle as long as you use it sparingly and do not soak the surfaces or use it on infotainment systems.
Sanitisers cannot set your vehicle alight. Spontaneous combustion can only happen in specific conditions.
Gel or liquid hand sanitisers need an external ignition source to catch alight. The heat of a vehicle alone is not enough to cause a fire.