Author: Abaranji Sivakumar

A national restaurant supplier has reduced vehicle idling and carbon emissions of its delivery fleet as a result of introducing telematics.

JJ Food Service says it has slashed vehicle idling by 70 per cent, which in turn has had a knock-on decrease of two per cent for total carbon emissions (647.1g/km to 634.8g/km).

Telematics has only been in place on the food wholesalers fleet since January 2018, but within just six months, the amount of time vehicles that were left idling dropped by 55 per cent (or 1,449 hours) a month.

Fuel consumption has benefited too with miles per gallon increasing by 15 per cent to more than 9.6 as drivers began completing deliveries more efficiently.

Sedat Kaan Hendekli, head of operations at JJ Foodservice, said: “The use of telematics has helped us to dramatically improve the efficiency of our drivers resulting in significant fuel savings. Keeping our costs down means we can continue to pass on great savings to our customers.

“Less fuel consumption means a reduction in our environmental impact. Tracking driver behaviour has also shown to improve road safety and reduce the cost of vehicle maintenance – the project has been a great success,” he added.

The supplier has furthered its green ethos by installing solar panels, introducing compostable and biodegradable packaging options, and a totally paperless environment.

Jenny Smith, product manager for Tele-Gence, commented: “This is just one of many happy endings we’re seeing from our telematics customers.”

Vehicle tracking plays a crucial part in fleet management. Tele-Gence offers improved safety for your drivers, security for your vehicles and reduces costs across your fleet. A remarkably flexible, fully customisable system that can be totally tailored to your fleet requirements. It’s easy to use and supported by a dedicated UK-based team to help you manage your fleet effectively.

Further evidence that telematics can improve road safety and result in better driving has emerged.

RAC Black Box Car Insurance revealed that six in ten of its customers believe that having a device fitted in their car has made them into better drivers.

Out of the 1,359 policyholders surveyed by the RAC, 62 per cent believed the telematics box and its Driver Score feature have helped them to become safer drivers.

Furthermore, 69 per cent claimed they had better awareness of what makes a safer driver, while 58 per cent said they now rarely exceed the speed limit. Additionally, 44 per cent reckoned their braking had become smoother.

Just over a quarter (26 per cent) were unsure if having a black box installed had made any difference, while only 12 per cent were convinced it had not.

“We have always argued that black box, telematics devices help make drivers safer on the road,” said RAC Insurance managing director Mark Godfrey.

“It is very encouraging to hear first-hand from motorists we surveyed that they feel the boxes and the ability to monitor their own driving behaviour has made them into safer drivers.”

He added that the policy has been proving popular with younger drivers and a high proportion of older motorists, many of whom have been driving for over 30 years.

Considerably more than half (57 per cent) said price was the deciding factor in opting for a black box, rising to 69 per cent among 29 to 44-year-olds.

Jez Strong, general manager for Tele-Gence, commented: “Telematics unlocks a wealth of benefits and it’s great to see that so many motorists appreciate that.”

Parking and reversing make up almost one in ten serious van accidents, according to new figures released by the Department for Transport (DfT).

In 2016, some 1,350 parking and reversing van accidents involving light commercial vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tonnes resulted in a death or injury, the DfT says.

Additionally, far more parking and reversing incidents occur which do not have a direct human impact but will inevitably affect fleet and business operations.

On top of personal injury, these accidents can often put vans out of action for some time, with the unavoidable downtime for repairs costing fleets an average of £550 a day per van. And that’s before the repair bill to the vehicle itself, which averages at £1,678.

Parking cameras and sensors can reduce the chances or severity of accidents and telematics can offer insights into where drivers went wrong.

‘Problematic parking’

A spokeswoman for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles – which offers driver assistance systems across its range of Caddy, Transporter and Crafter vans – said: “The figures show how problematic parking and reversing can be for commercial vehicle drivers, especially for those who spend a lot of time negotiating tight spaces.

“Our parking safety technology is offered across the range to allow fleet managers and owners to select the van with the best features to suit their individual operating requirements.”

Jez Strong, general manager for Tele-Gence, commented: “Parking sensors and cameras can certainly help van drivers pull off trickier manoeuvres, but part of this problem can be solved with proper driver training too.”

The ability to locate vehicles is the number one reason UK fleets adopt telematics, new research reveals.

This was the reason cited by 95 per cent of the 3,718 fleet decision makers polled in the 2018 edition of Arval’s long-established Corporate Vehicle Observatory Barometer.

Other key factors in introducing telematics were the ability to improve driver safety and behaviour (87 per cent), reduce fleet costs (75 per cent) and optimise journeys (70 per cent).

The UK is leading the way for telematics in Europe, with 33 per cent of UK fleets saying they use telematics, compared to 19 per cent across 12 other European countries surveyed.

No surprises

Shaun Sadlier, head of Arval’s corporate vehicle observatory in the UK, said he wasn’t surprised to learn that one in three UK fleets now using telematics.

“Telematics remains a hot topic among fleets and, as its cost has fallen in recent years, we have seen quite a dramatic increase in usage,” he commented.

“However, what is more interesting is that the top five reasons for using telematics were mentioned by the majority of fleets, showing that there is probably no single reason that businesses start to use the technology.

“Instead, the driving force behind telematics adoption appears to be a basket of benefits related to safety, cost and efficiency and it is all these things together than makes telematics such a strong proposition.”

The study revealed a bias for larger fleets to use telematics. Telematics was installed on 56 per cent of fleets comprising more than 50 vehicles, dipping to 17 per cent for fleets of less than ten vehicles.

Jez Strong, general manager for Tele-Gence, commented: “It’s great to see that the UK is the leading country for telematics in Europe. But the tech isn’t reserved exclusively for large fleets so hopefully that message will soon reach smaller organisations.”

Free driving lessons are being offered to young people in West Dunbartonshire in a bid to improve their chances of securing a job.

West Dunbartonshire Council’s ‘Support to Drive’ scheme provides funding for lessons and a practical driving test for 17 to 24-year-olds living in the region.

The initiative focuses on helping young apprentices and people who have required support from the care system. The last time the scheme was offered, 52 young people were paired up with local qualified instructors, resulting in 20 passes.

Each participant receives up to 20 lessons, funded by the council’s Working4U programme, and assessments are carried out afterwards to see if they would benefit from more tuition.

‘Vital skill’

Councillor Diane Docherty, convener of housing and communities, said she was delighted to be bringing the scheme back.

“Anything we can do to assist our young population along the path to employment is worthwhile, especially those young people who will benefit most from help,” she commented.

“For some, learning this vital skill can simply build much-needed confidence to get out there into the world of work. For others, it opens more doors to different types of jobs and workplaces.”

Cllr Caroline McAllister, vice-convener of housing and communities, believes the scheme could be “a real life line for some”.

“We have high levels of youth unemployment in West Dunbartonshire but we are doing all we can to try and address this and help break that cycle,” she added.

CV boost

All applications will be shortlisted and assessed and successful candidates will be invited to complete a mock theory test and the top scoring 50 will be offered a place on the scheme.

Previous candidate Laura Graham, 23, passed her test first time after taking part in the scheme and now works as a tattoo artist in Dumbarton.

“I had wanted to learn to drive for ages but I could never afford to pay for lessons,” she said.

“I didn’t have a job when I applied for the course and I do now so learning to drive has really helped. It allowed me to widen my job search because I could travel further for work and it improved my CV when employers saw I could drive.”

Ellie Baker, brand manager at Dieselink, added: “‘Support to Drive’ is a very admirable scheme and we commend West Dunbartonshire Council for their efforts.”