The world of commercial vehicle management is changing at a pace that is unprecedented. New innovations in technology are not only governing the amount of miles by which van drivers can reduce their route, through incorporating intelligent fleet management systems, the way van drivers perform whilst out on the road can also be analysed.
This is fantastic news for fleet managers looking to save money and get a cheap van insurance deal; if they have evidence of improved driver qualifications to show to their insurer or broker, they’ll not only see reductions in their van insurance quotes but also improvements on their budget’s bottom line.
The theory is simple – the better the van driver, the less accidents; the less accidents, the less time taken up dealing with claims and off-road time; the less claims and off-road time, the cheaper van insurance expenses are and better productivity delivered all around for the entire fleet. As the whole industry wakes up to the fact that it is by investing in drivers as well as technology, new innovations are populating the market to accommodate this new way of thinking.
The 2012 CV Show will see another modernisation in tradition that will hopefully make fleet drivers’ performance leaner and more conscious themselves of their driving activity. Tachotrain has been referred to as a ‘revolutionary’ tool to enable van drivers to undergo periodic tests based upon a report generated from tracking and monitoring their driving patterns. This will keep them updated on critical driving legislation and health and safety regulations by way of engaging in multiple choice tests through a virtual training facility.
Built into the system are directives from several key aspects of law, including driving hours (as you would expect, from Tachodisc, the company behind Tachotrain), road worthiness and transport directives. Aspects of training can often be seen as unproductive and scheduling such assessments can often conflict with an employees commitments. However, this piece of kit even incorporates a way around that.
By feeding in employee-specific information, the report can be ran on a number of headings, from work location to employee job title, from depot to management upline, enabling the scheduling of the online assessments, which can be undertaken as long as the software is installed on a PC and there is a working internet connection.
The reports generated by Tachotrain truly are flexible; the insights they give into driving trends and ongoing staff development can significantly reduce costs on man hours, fuel cost and fleet van insurance, when deployed correctly.
The CV Show runs from April 24-26th inclusive at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre.