Your driver policy should require each driver to do a daily 'walk-round' check on their vehicle before using it and any reported defects need to be acted upon immediately.

Regularly serviced and maintained vehicles should break down less often, but consider making these checks more often for vehicles that work off road, do a very high mileage or are subject to extreme conditions.

The older the vehicle, the more likely it is to break down, so switching to a newer fleet could mean reducing both maintenance and downtime.

Driver training schemes aim to make people drive smarter and safer - and safer driving will ultimately reduce downtime, as better trained drivers are less likely to have accidents.

Tyre treads should be inspected thoroughly at least once a month to check for wear and damage. Bald tyres not only increase the likelihood of an accident but could also mean time off the road while a spare is sourced.

Under-inflated tyres generate more heat from friction, which in turn causes more wear and tear on the tyres. This also impacts fuel consumption, while over-inflated tyres cause premature wear on the centre of the tyre.