Who decides when and why a fleet driver becomes ‘high risk’?”

Many fleet managers have a gut feeling about who their worst drivers are but in truth, the reasoning behind that feeling can often be subjective and anecdotal, sometimes it is arrived at through personal experience but rarely is it based on incontrovertible empirical risk management evidence? 

The reason is because it is actually quite difficult to ensure that the correct drivers are selected for the correct reasons and that the correct remedial action is applied because in all organisations there are forces in play that can often prevent accuracy and fair play. 

So, the questions to ask in order to get this right should include: 

• Who’s doing the measuring of driver risk or is it system driven?
• What set of measures are being used?
• Are the measures of risk consistently applied?
• Who judges the severity of the discovered risk?
• How often is the measuring of risk carried out?
• How accurate are the results?
• What external influences are applied to the results?
• Who decides (and how quickly) what to do about the results?
• Who measures the success of any remedial action taken?

In addition to these questions, a fleet must rely on the broadest set of measures before investing in driver training because multi-source inputs to decision-making will demonstrate patterns, confirm or deny any subjective thoughts and remove any objections from the driver.

Please contact us now if you’d like to know more about how best to identify and reduce high risk driving.

At RVM 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

Other than legal compliance, what else should outsourced fleet risk management do for you?”

This question goes to the heart of what fleet risk management is really about. 

In addition to satisfying your duty of care, many fleets buy fleet risk management to reduce insurance costs, others feel strongly about protecting the company brand and still others simply wish to increase safety for drivers and the public at large. 

So let us look at how these extra motivations behind fleet risk programs actually benefits end-user fleets:

• Supply chain simplicity - any well-constructed outsourced fleet risk management program should smooth out the supply chain by offering only one solution that assesses and resolves all possible areas of driving-risk  for a fleet.   

• Ease of operation – a single supply arrangement means the fleet only has one contact, one set of reports, one cost, one review meeting and one contract to deal with and that saves time and money  

• Time-savings internally - this consolidated risk solution saves time and money for fleets by avoiding manual processing and maintaining spreadsheets.  For example, manual check licences and manual consolidation of different risk metrics.  

• Internal expertise - Fleets can also avoid the need for specialist software and suppliers as well as the need to employ internal risk expertise.  In-house risk management may be self-defeating if the wrong conclusions are drawn from the data.

• A view of the future – An insurance premium is determined by historic information so to control the future, Fleets need to be able to predict which drivers are the most likely to have accidents and why.  Armed with that data, action can then be taken to offset much of that risk.
   
  If you are interested in an outsourced solution that provides all of the above benefits, call us now on 01132248800 or e-mail us at info@rvmassist.co.uk
   
  At RVM 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

“Driver Licence Checks – just a compliance issue or actually much more than that?”

Clearly, it is important to make sure that your main fleet and grey fleet drivers are legally allowed to drive.  That much is obvious and demonstrated by the fact that most fleets now have a formal checking procedure in place.   

However, a licence check result can do much more than perform a simple compliance test.  Indeed, the results can be more meaningful when set alongside the results of other types of driver metrics such as a claims history, online driver assessments or indeed the most recent telematics data feed. 

Consider for a moment that a licence check can represent confirmation or denial of discovered driving habits, it can reinforce decisions about types of remedial action as well as prompt training needs such as speed awareness, mobile phone policy or familiarity with UK road signs. 

Ultimately, a licence check result may also uncover high risk endorsements that link with driver attitude and which may prompt the creation of a specific in-vehicle training course that contains material designed to address that particular type of risk. 

If a fleet uses licence check results in isolation then important improvement opportunities may be missed.  That means any remedial action taken (in good faith) may contain the wrong messages given to the wrong drivers, which will have no impact on reducing insurance costs or claim frequency.

Therefore if you would like more information on how to enhance your Licence Checking data, call us now on 01132248800 or e-mail us at info@rvmassist.co.uk

At RVM 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


 

The accident season is here with three months of high risk

According to statistics we’ve gathered (over nearly 20 years of managing fleet accidents), your fleet drivers have a 20% increased chance of having an accident in the next 3 months compared to the rest of the year.

This begs the following three important questions:

1. Which drivers are most likely to have a problem?
2. Why do we know (for a fact) that those are the drivers most at risk?
3. What can we do to minimise the likelihood of an incident occurring?

Our research also indicates that:

• less than 20% of fleets use claims statistics when planning a driver training program
• less than 50% of fleets that have Telematics actually use the data to help reduce accidents
• less than 10% of fleets know whether drivers who had training went on the be involved in an accident

The truth is that implementing fleet risk tools is easy

but using risk data to reduce accident frequency is not.

If, like most fleets, you want to see results in terms of reduced accident costs (both insured and uninsured) and better safety for drivers, then the management of your fleet risk program needs time, systems and experience.

Talking the safety talk is easy if you know your onions whereas walking the safety walk is rather more difficult and many fleets are only just realising there are actually 2 stages to success in this area.

If you’d like the full story……and a happy ending then call RVM Assist on 0113 224 8800 or go to our website for more information, www.rvmassist.co.uk




At RVM 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

 

How to avoid a disjointed Fleet Risk program?

You may also ask; Why is a joined up risk program so important? 

In the same breath you may even ask; What business risks am I running if my risk program is in fact, disjointed?

So, the simple answer is to say that a joined-up risk program gives you the best chance to protect your drivers, your brand and the public.  Additionally, your business will operate more effectively and fleet-associated costs (such a fuel and fleet insurance premiums) will be reduced. 

However, if you have risk data stored in separate clusters, in different departments, in different formats, then poor decision-making can follow, which will undoubtedly scupper any chance of capitalising on these important benefits. 

Whilst poor decision-making can be caused by a lack of risk management expertise, bad timing and inaccuracies, many bad decisions (about who constitutes the risk, why and what to do about it) very often stem from a lack of joined-up thinking between different departments such as HR, Transport and Health and Safety.

For example, in practical terms, it would be unwise to invest in driver training based purely on licence check results.  Training may be a Health & Safety issue whereas HR tends to look after licence checking.

Similarly, if you don’t use Telematics you may wish to do Online Driver Assessments before choosing individual drivers for remedial action. These two functions may also be governed by two separate departments.

In a similar vein, why don’t more fleets look at claim causation factors more closely before spending hundreds of pounds on training drivers and how many fleets actually ask drivers about why they think the incident occurred before spending money on training?  Same issue again.

Generally speaking and from our research, it seems that the Fleet department still points the way when it comes to how much and what kind of risk initiatives a fleet should invest in. 

However, both HR and Health & Safety have a major input and influence as driver performance is being monitored.  In truth, whichever department takes the lead role has the job of avoiding this costly and disjointed approach.

Of course, as a combined claims and risk reduction specialist, RVM Assist can supply and manage all risk-related functions whilst being accountable to all departments so avoiding the chance of waste time, effort or funds that could occur through a disjointed approach to fleet risk management.

Why not take a closer look at what we’re up to?

Call Diana or Angela on 0113 224 8800 or email enquiries@rvmassist.co.uk

At RVM 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

The love of reducing fleet risk - is in the eye of the beholder

As in life generally, the level of attraction you feel towards a good looking fleet risk profile may depend on your mood, whether you’re a newcomer to the art of risk reduction and how much pain you think will be involved in keeping that profile looking at its best!   

Of course, we’ve all dabbled with risk, maybe had some success and yet, somehow, it’s never really worked out as perfectly as we were originally promised!  In fact, what looks so very fabulous from the outside so often disappoints once the business partnership matures. (……we’re still talking about fleet risk by the way!) 

So success is measured by whether the fleet perceives it is getting what it wants, but if that doesn’t happen, is it the supplier or the fleet who is responsible?  Is the shortfall in expectations due to a failure in inter-departmental co-operation caused by the broad nature of the activities that a fleet risk program should encompass? 

Is it because there’s so much accumulated driver risk data that neither internal departments nor external suppliers can offer the vigilance required to keep on top of the discovered unacceptable driving risks and take timely and appropriate action? 

Is it because the expectations of the fleet are mismatched with the service expectations of the risk supplier so in reality the fleet thought the supplier would do certain things, which the supplier didn’t think was within their remit? 

Or is it simply because, the chosen supplier (or suppliers) is not structured in such a way as to properly deliver all aspects of the program due to inadequate knowledge, systems or a desire to support the needs of the fleet in a proactive manner? 

In truth, managing fleet risk is still an evolving aspect of fleet management and for some suppliers (such as insurance brokers and fleet leasing companies) it is just a by-product of their core business. For other suppliers who specialise in one element of risk, the demands upon them of supplying a ‘full’ spectrum risk program is just too big. 

Fleets are definitely doing more than ‘flirting’ with risk reduction.  Many are looking for suitable long-term partners but, as also in life, it can be two-steps-forward-one-step-back process.  Relationships with risk suppliers can be characterised by broken promises, disagreements and meetings with alternative providers, which can of course result in a parting of the waves.  

By contrast to all this, RVM Assist was designed from the outset with the kinds of credentials that any self-respecting fleet would find irresistible!  We think that to be attractive you need to stand out from the crowd by displaying the kind of raw materials that could last a lifetime such as integrity, originality, experience and of course, mutual respect.   

So, as a specialist fleet risk supplier, the prospect of walking hand-in-hand with our customers whilst developing goals and aspirations, represents the start of a dream relationship that in our view holds the best chance of being long-term and mutually fulfilling! 

Why not contact us now or give us a call on 01132248800 for a date!


At RVM 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

“In-vehicle Telematics” – New solutions prompting new questions?

It seems there’s been a renewed and increasing interest in Telematics as technology develops and the need for greater road safety becomes mandatory for fleets.

Of course, like any technology, its invention prompts new questions for Fleets as they wrestle with the best way to use the information that is now available.

These new questions might be:

• Which department should take responsibility for this technology – Transport, Health & Safety, HR, Finance or Operations?
   
• What information, that we can now see, should we use and what does it actually tell us about our drivers?
   
• How often should we review the information being collated and how do we make sure that the data is reviewed at the intervals we agreed.
   
• At what point should we become unhappy about the level of risks being displayed and how often should we be unhappy before we take some action?
   
• What action should we take, who should take it, when should it be taken and how do we measure if the action we took actually worked?

This could be the recipe for the ‘perfect storm’ as fleets invest in expensive technology to ‘solve’ a safety issue and actually end up being potentially liable because they didn’t read or act upon the high risk data that was available to them via the Telematics system in which they’d invested.

If I had £1 for each of the fleets I’ve visited who admit to not really using the data being provided by the expensive Telematics system that had been fitted to the fleet, I’d be a wealthy man!

In truth, fleets don’t always know the answers to these new questions, which is why all Telematics systems should be provided with a management service that can answer them – but they’re not.  So, the fleet is left alone to decide what to do.

The Broker doesn’t know the answers and nor does the Insurer and that’s because the answers depend on three key factors that are pertinent only to the fleet:

• In terms of driving safety, how risk-averse does the fleet wish to be?
• Where does the fleet sit already on the risk management scale?
• What appetite (and budget) is there to tackle the adverse data that is discovered?

The difficulty arises where the fleet doesn’t even know the answer to these three questions and yet someone has already invested considerable sums into acquiring the Telematics system in the first place.

At RVM Assist we monitor any Telematics system and we answer all these questions on a daily basis on behalf of our clients.  Why not check with us (confidentially) to see if our answer sheet is the same as yours?


Call 0113 224 8800 and speak to Angela today.

At RVM 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.

HOW CAN A FLEET RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM SAVE MONEY FOR THE FLEET?

As we present to fleets, this question comes up regularly because, quite rightly, any new investment needs to be cost-justified and in the area of Fleet Risk, many decision-makers still view this kind of program as a ‘nice-to-have’ as opposed to an essential aspect of running a fleet.

 

In overview terms, RVM sees four main areas of potential savings and several smaller areas that are available (to greater or lesser degrees) as a result of choosing our “Full Circle” solution:

 

Fleet Insurance Costs – Typical Insurance Savings: 10% to 25% of Premium

 

First; we see an opportunity to reduce fleet insurance costs from many angles of view. Clearly premiums are partly determined by both claim numbers and costs incurred so by reducing frequency of claims and managing accidents more closely, both these areas can be reduced.

 

The fleet insurance broker can also play a key role in helping negotiate down the premium by explaining the aims, scope and depth of the risk program to the Insurer, who would be keen to encourage any proactive risk reduction initiative the fleet decides upon.

 

As confidence in the fleet’s ability to control risk increases over time, the fleet may choose to buy less insurance by taking cover based on Third Party Only or a bigger policy excess, which will also result in a smaller premium.

 

Accident Management Costs – Typical Claims Savings: 15% to 30% of Costs

 

Second; a repair bill that lands on a fleet manager’s desk isn’t the only cost arising from an accident. There are lots of hidden ones too, such as employee time lost and administration. In theory, including accident management within your fleet risk management program should be able to minimise some, or all, of the hidden costs associated with an accident.  By offering vehicle downtime control, pre-negotiated supplier terms, engineering assessments to agree the most cost effective method of repair, third party intervention and effective uninsured loss recovery, lots of savings can be made.

 

Savings By Outsourcing: 50% to 100% of current in-house spend

 

Third; much time and money is spent by fleets in trying to carry out certain risk functions in-house and alongside other duties.  These functions could be much more efficiently carried out by a specialist supplier delivering a tailored solution to the fleet.

 

Examples of potentially outsourced functions might include the delivery of the risk products to the drivers, the consolidation of accumulated risk data, the analysis of what represents high risks, the decision-making around what remedial action to take, the measuring of how effective the program has been.

 

Many fleets tend to have more than one supplier when it comes to managing risk.  This automatically builds in extra costs as the fleets pays more than one profit cost, holds several supplier review meetings, pays more than one invoice and negotiates several contracts.

 

By placing all aspects of the risk program through one supplier, the data is automatically consolidated, there’s only one price, one meeting, one bill, one set of management reports, one account manager and one contract. This represents a potentially large saving compared to dealing with several suppliers.

 

Savings from finding undiscovered high risks: 10% to 30% of accident costs

 

Four; currently there may be several high risk aspects to running a fleet that are going undiscovered and that therefore represent a higher risk that extra cost will be incurred compared to what would be the case if they were discovered and rectified.

 

Clearly the opportunity cost of eradicating high risk situations is difficult to measure and is driven partly by how the fleet risk is currently being assessed.  However, for a fleet that doesn’t assess fleet risk, this could be significant source of savings.

 

 

At RVM 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.

 

Call us at RVM Assist Ltd on 0113 224 8800 or visit our website at www.rvmassist.co.uk if you want to save money through our “Full Circle” program.

 

Protect Your Drivers with a New Year Resolution

As we embark on a new calendar year, what better time to look again at whether your fleet risks are being managed in the best way.  This is a prime trading period for business so the roads are full, they’re also still dark and very slippery.

Do all your drivers possess the skills and awareness required to stay safe at this time? If you’re not sure about the answer then it is probably true to say that your driving safety program needs some attention.

Taking this a stage further; do you know which of your drivers might be the most likely to have a problem on the roads?  If you’re sure you know the answer to that question, then do you know why those drivers present that higher risk? 

How much is guesswork and how much is real?  Do accessible risk-based facts back up your thoughts on who your worst drivers might be?  Also do those facts show what might be the best way to rectify poor driving habits?  What would the course content be for each driver training course?

The point being made here is that many fleets use risk management tools but not as many use them in the right way.  For example, through research, it appears less than 20% of SME fleets use claims statistics when planning a driver training program.

Additionally, our research indicates that less than 50% of those fleets that have invested in Telematics actually use the data to help reduce accidents by linking historical driving behaviours with future planning of driver training courses.

So, now is the time to act.

If you’re struggling to fully manage the data and decision-making in this area then outsource to a fully managed service provider.  Make sure the provider can absorb multiple sources of risk data, automatically check which elements are outside acceptable parameters and alert you accordingly. 

Finally, your provider should be capable of designing suitable training solutions and implementing them on your behalf.

Driving safety should command at least an equal ranking when compared to the commitment to health and safety in the rest of your business.  If that is not the case then you need to act now because driving for work is probably the most dangerous thing your staff do for you.

For these reasons, driver safety should be one of your top new year’s resolutions.

• Don’t assume that just because nothing serious has happened in several years of running the fleet that your luck will continue
• Why not arrange to see where your current efforts to reduce risk rank on a spectrum of other fleets.  Benchmarking is usually a ‘no obligation’ process

Call RVM Assist on 0113 224 8888 or go to our website for more information, www.rvmassist.co.uk 

At RVM Assist Ltd 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.

Reduce Fleet Risk to Make Savings

The fleet department understands what it is and why it’s needed.  The Directors aren’t sure if it’ll work, why it’s necessary or what it’ll save for the business”

If I had a pound for every time I hear this!

The truth is that a fleet risk proposal does come across as all ‘jam tomorrow’, or ‘certain cost: uncertain benefit’.

There are, however, a few truths that need airing:

1.       Duty of Care fleet compliance is a legal responsibility

2.       Increased driving safety will result in fewer road traffic accidents

3.       Claim frequency is the key factor controlling Fleet insurance premiums

4.       Driver training does actually work

The reasons why Directors postpone or reject the decision to invest in fleet risk management vary but normally fall into the following categories:

1.       It’s not in this year’s budget

2.       It should be done internally

3.       There are no guarantees of success

4.       A quick fix would be best

5.       We’ve had no problem so far

In reality, most fleets are trying to do something, which they hope covers the compliance angle but it can’t hope to tackle the claim frequency/insurance cost angle because:

1.       It has to be sporadic because it’s mixed in with other fleet initiatives

2.       It is uncoordinated because it’s usually covered by more than one department

3.       It is haphazard because there’s no consistency of approach to high risks

4.       It is ineffective in reducing fleet risk due to the problems of 1, 2 and 3

At RVM we have tried to tackle the concerns of Directors by amalgamating the risk program into one cohesive structure and by articulating what success looks like.  We are accountable for all our actions through our online Portal and regular review meetings and we construct a combination of services to profile and train a driver that is particular to each client’s circumstances.

It’s quick and easy to get a quote so why not call us to arrange a meeting.  RVM is on 

0113 224 8800 or  contact us here or e-mail us on risk@rvmassist.co.uk

At RVM Assist Ltd 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.