Why monitoring driver compliance is essential (and how HGV hire can help)

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Andrew Hill • Mar 16, 2016 • Fleet compliance

As a transport manager, you need to make sure that your vehicle fleet performs to its optimum capabilities to achieve maximum profitability. Failures in driver compliance are too big a risk to take, especially as problems can have a severe impact on your lead times, customer service expectations, delivery capacity and fuel costs.

Your job as a transport manager is tough: there are legal break requirements to adhere to, as well as ensuring that your drivers not only drive safely but do so as efficiently as possible.

Why compliance is key

You know that driver compliance is a key requirement for responsible HGV operators, reflected by the Driver CPC now requiring 35 hours of periodic training every five years.  And with good reason: the Glasgow lorry crash and the increase in accidents between lorries and cyclists highlight what can happen when drivers fail to comply with training and regulations.

It’s therefore no wonder that reducing accidents was still deemed a high priority by businesses surveyed in the FTA’s Logistics Report 2015, despite HGV accidents continuing to fall.

The importance of breaks cannot be underestimated and the consequences reflect this: In December 2015, Commercial Fleet reported on the case of an HGV driver who was found guilty of “poor driving record keeping and failing to observe breaks” and was disqualified from driving for over a year.

Such reckless behaviour along with below-par driving standards could clearly threaten the safety of other road users – and it could also damage your reputation and cause havoc on a complex supply chain.

And let’s not even get into whether they are accelerating at the sweet spot for fuel efficiency. Did you know that good driving can also improve fuel efficiency by as much as 33%.?

Are you certain of your driver compliance?

But how can you be sure that your employees are actually taking their breaks and meeting the necessary legal requirements?

Just as importantly, how confident are you that your drivers are adhering to the high standards your company requires to reduce accidents? As van drivers have recently been voted “the worst drivers in the country” in a survey by The Mirror, chances are that not every commercial driver is driving safely. Are your drivers really performing their vehicle checks – and, if so, are you having a hard time getting them to prove they’ve done so?

So, what can you do to protect your business and ensure that your vehicles are being driven safely and in line with the law? Can HGV hire help you in meeting these tough standards?

Safety first, every time – made easy

New developments in vehicle telematics can certainly go a long way towards supporting your business’s standards of driver compliance and maintaining a fleet that is fully functional.

This state-of-the-art technology can provide you with:

  • A wealth of real-time data from your fleet vehicles into your driver’s behaviour on the roads, including reports on: speeding, harsh steering and accelerating, sudden braking, over revving the engine, fuel consumption and efficiency, as well as wasted fuel due to idling.
  • An easy mobile way for employees to report on the necessary vehicle checks 
  • Real-time reporting on whether driver’s are adhering to their statutory breaks 
  • Advanced navigation tools for drivers to negotiate tricky junctions

Telematics takes the onus off your drivers and gives you a potential focus for future in-house driver training. It also provides a way to maintain ‘fair competition’ for other drivers who abide by the rules of the road. Not only does telematics increase driver compliance, you can even use it to increase fleet utilisation.

Advanced telematics technology is readily available when you opt for HGV hire for your business, meaning there is no upfront investment required.

If you want further expert guidance on how to ensure you are effectively managing your fleet risk, why not download, “A simple guide to HGV fleet risk management” below?

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