Author: Abaranji Sivakumar

Britain’s motorists have been challenged to take a number plate test after the DVLA launched a new eyesight awareness campaign.

The test is designed to be a quick and easy way to check that motorists meet the minimum eyesight requirements for driving.

By law, all drivers must meet be able to read a number plate from 20 metres away. An easier way to measure it though is counting five car lengths or eight parking bays.

Dr Wyn Parry, DVLA’s senior doctor, said the eyesight check is easy to perform any time of day at the roadside and takes just a couple of seconds.

“Having good eyesight is essential for safe driving, so it’s really important for drivers to have regular eye tests,” he commented.

“Eyesight can naturally deteriorate over time so anyone concerned about their eyesight should visit their optician – don’t wait for your next check-up.”

The awareness campaign will run nationally throughout the summer, but anyone with concerns about their eyesight should visit their optician or optometrist for an eye test, the DVLA advises.

Road safety charity Brake welcomed news of the campaign, but called for more to be done to tackle the issue of defective driver vision.

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns for Brake, said: “Any campaign to remind drivers to check their eyesight is welcome. However, awareness raising falls far short of tackling the true problem of poor driver vision, where a change in legislation is clearly required.”

He added that eye specialists consider the 20-metre test to be inadequate in assessing driver vision and believes it is time for mandatory eye testing to be introduced.

Telematics has been helping companies keep track of their vehicles for some time now, but the insightful tracking technology is no longer reserved for fleets, as one sole trader has proved.

Andrew Purnell, an independent courier from Didcot, approached Tele-Gence for a tracking system and was wowed by the customer service he received from the off.

“Kimberley Faulkner and Steph Grayshon gave me all the information required and I got a reasonable price for the tracking system, which I must say is interesting and useful,” he beamed.

Once telematics was up and running on Mr Purnell’s van, he stated that the pair were “very helpful”, assisting in addressing other problems with his vehicle.

“I haven’t known any customer service at this level of service for a long time,” revealed an ‘extremely impressed’ Andrew, adding: “I wish everyone was as helpful as them”.

Even though Mr Purnell works for himself, he was keen to reap all the benefits that come with pairing a fuel card with telematics, such as accurate mpg reporting and improving fuel economy by up to 20 per cent.

Another aspect Andrew loves about his Tele-Gence experience was how he was cared for after signing up.

“Kim calls to see how I’m getting on and this is why I would stay with Tele-Gence for many years to come,” he explained.

“This kind of service and professionalism is very rare to find. The service a company gives and the right person involved is worth more than anything else sometimes.”

Fleet safety isn’t a game, but gamification could be key to engaging company drivers and making telematics a success.

That’s the view of Anthony O’Halloran, client partner EMEA at Verizon Connect.

Speaking to Fleet News, he explained that rewarding drivers for exceptional behaviour behind the wheel is a more effective approach than punishing shoddy driving.

“It’s about ensuring there is something in it for them. If we take the stick approach and just beat them with it, it’s never going to work,” Mr O’Halloran said.

Verizon Connect recently introduced a coach application that allows drivers to see their own behaviour style in a score card format. This way, they can compare their performance with that of their colleagues.

The very best drivers are named ‘driver of the month’ and can receive an extra day’s holiday or a cash incentive.

Mr O’Halloran continued: “The point is to make it a fun environment for them where there is some competitiveness but at the same time, they’re learning.

“It’s about empowering the driver to take responsibility for their own actions, so we give them the tools to do that.”

A fleet can introduce gamification by changing up the parameters every two to three months.

For example, if a company notices a speeding trend, they can focus on tackling that with an incentive or reward programme to reduce speeding. To keep things interesting, fleet decision makers could switch it up by focusing on fuel usage.

This advice makes a lot of sense because video games are the most popular form of entertainment in the world.

Gaming grew by 10.7 per cent in the past year, generating an estimated £86.92 billion in revenue worldwide, compared to TV’s £78.68 billion, according to Reuters.

Telematics has some very obvious benefits for fleet operators, but it can also provide a treasure trove of information for claims adjusters.

Recent comments from Nino Tarantino, chief executive officer of Octo Telematics in the US, suggested that car insurance claims adjusters could potentially use telematics to determine how many passengers were in a vehicle that was involved in a collision and whether those passengers were wearing seatbelts.

Typically, vehicle tracking is used to record data such as speed, location and driving behaviour, but increasingly, it has been used by insurers to determine premiums. That’s because telematics can detect behaviour, such as speeding, sudden acceleration and hard braking, indicative of risk.

Speaking to canadianunderwriter.ca, Mr Tarantino said that telematics allows an insurer to find out “in real time that there was a car accident and they know where it happened, when it happened and how the car was damaged”.

In the event of an accident, an adjuster can find out which part of the car was damaged, how severe it is and assess the probability that any of the car occupants sustained whiplash; claims that have a history of being abused due to difficulties in proving otherwise.

Insurance companies could also benefit from reduced administration costs by being able to close the claim faster.

Mr Tarantino adds that telematics have the potential to help insurers build additional services such as monitoring automotive systems.

“One day we may be able to tell the customer, ‘in one month, your battery is going to die. You need to replace it,’” Tarantino predicted.

Telematics will be key to an ultra-low emission future and helping fleet decision-makers shape a “sustainable future”, according to a high-level exec at a major vehicle leasing company.

Speaking at a recent fleet-related seminar, Lex Autolease’s corporate director Craig McNaughton warned that fleet costs will only increase over the coming years and that telematics data is invaluable in limiting expenditure.

“Fleet managers who are not on that journey need to start thinking about it because we are on an unstoppable road,” he told delegates at the event hosted by the Association of Car Fleet Operators (ACFO).

Mr McNaughton added that fleet bosses will have to find new ways to save money, with data key.

“Working smarter and having the ability to analyse and improve operational areas of the fleet will be the route to cost efficiencies and keeping the company car fit for the future. It is time to change,” he said.

Grey fleet obstacle

However, experts predict that fleets may increasingly rely on ‘grey fleet’ (employees driving their own cars on business trips) – something that would stand in the way of companies capturing telematics data.

Mr McNaughton expressed concern that employers wouldn’t have solutions in place to support grey fleet management and warned that compliance, particularly in respect of health and safety legislation, was a critical issue.

Increased grey fleet usage would also see costs increase compared to employees driving the most efficient company cars with the introduction of Clean Air Zones. This is because own-car drivers would expect to make expenses claims for  toxicity charges paid when they entered urban Clean Air Zones in “dirty” cars.

Fleets need to be connected

During the same event, Thomas Schmidt, managing director of TomTom Telematics, stressed that telematics technology can support numerous areas of an organisation, including fleet efficiency and vehicle utilisation, driver support, fuel management, legislative compliance and improving customer satisfaction.

The TomTom man warned fleet decision-makers that if they did not “make their fleet connected”, it would only be a couple of years before they would be “disrupted” by technology.

“Managers need to think about how they will adapt,” he added. “Most vehicles are not connected yet, but good progress is being made and fleet managers who make the right decisions about using technology will find it helps them.”

Cassie White, sales and marketing coordinator for Tele-gence, commented: “These highly respected fleet professionals know what they’re talking about and all fleet decision-makers would be wise to heed the advice of Mr Schmidt and Mr McNaughton.”

Your business can benefit from affordable telematics with no hidden start-up fees or long-term commitments. Find out how at www.tele-gence.com.

Photo: Jonson_84/iStock