Telematics is like a steering wheel

What does that mean?

Well, a steering wheel’s true purpose in guiding a vehicle round a corner or keeping it on the straight and narrow is not revealed until it is being used properly.  In other words connected to the front wheels so the driver can control the vehicle.

Similarly, a telematics system cannot help you to make decisions to change course or even stick to the one you are on unless it is used properly.  In other words, its true purpose is only revealed when somebody actually uses it.

They both look impressive from an engineering point of view but they are both useless unless they are used for the purpose for which they were both manufactured.

You may think this is a somewhat glib comparison but beneath the analogy there is in fact a serious and meaningful point for fleets.

Huge investment has gone into creating the telematics industry and even more money has been paid by fleets who have bought this technology.  The reasons fleets have bought into telematics range from a desire to protect assets to controlling drivers to reducing fuel costs to becoming legally compliant.

However, it has become clear to RVM that many fleets do not use the data that is available from the various reports, portals and alerts that this technology offers and this represents a symptom of a broader issue that is holding fleets back from making real strides forward in reducing risk.

Fleets are increasingly buying licence checking, claims management, driver assessments and telematics systems BUT the results available from all these providers are not being brought into one electronic driver safety file, analysed, acted upon and re-measured.

This is not really surprising because it is not an easy task.  To receive different data in different formats from different sources at different times requires a constant watchful eye, specialist software and risk expertise.

How does a fleet decide what is a serious risk, how does it consistently apply risk assessment, what remedial action does it take to reduce risk and finally, how does it measure whether such action was successful?

So the easy bit for a fleet is making sure these things are done.  The tricky bit is pulling it all together in a way that really adds value by reducing claim frequency, insurance premiums and increasing legal compliance and brand protection.

The answer to all these questions can be answered and is the specialist expertise of RVM Fleet Services.  We’d love to show you how we make fleet risk reduction easy for our clients so please  contact us now on 01132248888 or e-mail risk@rvmfleetservices.co.uk and we can arrange a short demonstration.

 

At RVM Fleet Services our integrated approach allows us to help fleets to implement effective safety policies, analyse trends and identify high risk drivers. Our Driver Training program is targeted, timely and appropriate.  The result is lower accident rates, improved driver safety, and reduced costs.

 

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Running a Fleet. How risky is it, really?

In the light of recent contradictory court decisions involving corporate manslaughter by fleets, maybe the question is now: What, in the hierarchy of a fleet's needs, is the more important: health & safety compliance or reduced claims experience? Or are they just as important as each other?

The work involved in achieving the latter usually means automatic success in the former but not necessarily the other way round. In other words, it is quite possible to comply with health and safety law but still have a poor claims record. 

Indeed, it is easy to measure claims experience but not so easy to know if your fleet safety measures are enough to avoid prosecution for a lack of duty of care. So what does a fleet do?  

It certainly seems easier to comply legally than reduce claim frequency and that may be why most fleet insurance premiums are on the rise.  Some fleets choose to look at a few licences, issue a fleet safety policy and hey presto - compliance is ostensibly achieved. 

This may or may not be true; however, if what you want is to reduce claims, a fleet needs to know what and who have caused the claims historically and likewise who may cause them in the future and why. To do this accurately a fleet needs to embrace as many tools as possible to identify which drivers pose the greatest risk and then take appropriate steps.  

The chosen tools usually include checking licences and assessing drivers online but to maximise the chance of success, a fleet should also include claims data and a telematics feed, which are both factual and constant. The issue then is who gets the data and how do you bring it together to draw the correct conclusions? 

So you've gathered the data, so to whom do the risks point? Why? How serious is it? What might be the appropriate cure? When should it be administered? By whom? With what result? 

All these questions can be answered on behalf of a fleet and they demonstrate why most fleets need help in this area from a specialist fleet supplier that can link closely with fleet drivers to make sure money spent on assessing and training drivers’ results in a reduction in claims experience and an increase in duty of care. 

  

At RVM Fleet Services our integrated approach allows us to help fleets to implement effective safety policies, analyse trends and identify high risk drivers. Our Driver Training program is targeted, timely and appropriate.  The result is lower accident rates, improved driver safety, and reduced costs.

Contact us now on 01132248888 or e-mail risk@rvmfleetservices.co.uk to find out more.