While truck, bus and even van fleets have happily embraced telematics in markets all over the world, car fleets have been far more reluctant to invest.

Issues of personal privacy have to be addressed given that so many company car drivers enjoy private usage of their vehicles; and while truck drivers in many countries have been used to having their activities monitored by tachographs for many years, that is not the case with sales teams. The last thing any business wants to do is have its entire sales force decamp to the opposition because it decided to fit their cars with tracking devices.

There are signs that car fleet attitudes are changing however, as managers realise the benefits investing in a telematics package can bring, says ALD International deputy chief executive officer, Tim Albertsen. “Over 40% of our clients are now saying that they want a telematics solution,” he reports.

“We are receiving more enquiries from car fleets than ever before,” says Lucy Thomas, account manager at GreenRoad. “We believe that attitudes have changed.”

Having the ability to monitor drivers while they are out on the road means that they are less likely to speed.

Better safety, security and lower CO2 emissions

Include a dashboard‐mounted system that flags up a warning if they are, say, accelerating too harshly – the sort of package that GreenRoad and MiX Telematics market – and allows driver behaviour data to be downloaded for subsequent discussion with the fleet manager and there should be fewer accidents, fewer speeding tickets, lower fuel costs and a smaller CO2 footprint.

The insights into driver behaviour that on‐board monitoring can provide can help when it comes to targeting driver training programmes that are tailored to the needs of the individual. The benefits that telematics brings should also mean that the fleet’s insurance premium will fall.

“Remember that if a car has a tracking device fitted to it then it can be traced and hopefully recovered if it is stolen,” says Albertsen.

“Car theft remains a particular issue in Italy and the recovery of vehicles goes up dramatically if tracking is fitted,” says Jaime Requeijo Gutierrez, senior vicepresident, business development, at LeasePlan. “Fraudulent insurance claims are a problem in Italy too and a telematics system makes it easier for fleets to defend themselves.” That too is good news for insurance bills.

“Depending on the country some insurers may be prepared to offer upfront premium discounts of from 20% to 40%,” points out Richard Lane, European distribution and partnership manager at C‐Track.

“Telematics can be used to promote and support safe driving to both the employee’s and the employer’s benefit,” adds Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions managing director, Jon Lawes. “A telematics system can be a valuable support tool to a driver if he or she is involved in an incident and can even go on to provide evidence to prove who was at fault.”

“You can use it as a tool that enables you to manage a mobile workforce and increase its productivity,” comments Arval technology director, Paul Gourlet.

“You can also use it to enforce company fleet car policy and make sure everybody plays the game as well as evaluating it from time to time to ensure the rules still make sense and are up‐to‐date.”

Arval has its own telematics offer in the shape of Arval Active Link, which it launched earlier this year.

Consultation brings rewards

The sensitivities of company car drivers mean however that such packages cannot simply be imposed on them without any warning or consultation.

“Do that and they will try to cheat the system and tamper with it,” says Gourlet. You have to ensure you have the commitment of their line managers too, he adds. “If people think that it is simply a toy for the fleet manager then it won’t work.”

Trying to force a package on drivers is especially unwise in countries where trade unions are strong and where companies may have works councils that include union representatives, as is the case in Germany. “I know of one fleet where the employer tried to do this and 80% of the workforce affected reacted by taking industrial action,” says Lane.

The fleet concerned reconsidered its approach, decided it would be wiser to work with the union instead, and took the time and trouble to convince its drivers and their union that telematics could bring some positive benefits. Doing so can include allaying any fears they may have that the boss is spying on them 24/7.

Driver incentivisation

“You can incorporate a setting which allows drivers to switch their telematics devices between business and private use,” points out John Cameron, general manager of Trimble Field Service Management.

“While the individual is driving for work businesses will be able to comply with duty of care regulations by monitoring and recording driver behaviour as well as obtaining journey details,” he says.

“However once a driver switches to private use only mileage is recorded whereas any journey details and driver behaviour statistics will not be.”

Trimble has telematics clients in a number of different countries worldwide including Atlantic Tower Services and Eaton Sales and Service in the USA.

“Something else you can do is offer the best drivers bonuses,” says Albertsen.

Rewards could be offered to those who are shown to have the lowest fuel consumption or the fewest accidents over a given period.

Privacy

Any firm that invests in tracking must ensure that it does not fall foul of privacy laws. “Germany for example has strict legislation in this area,” says Lane.

“In Sweden the tracking of company cars is quite common thanks in part to some tough rules over the ways in which business and private mileage are treated for tax purposes,” he continues. Accurate records have to be kept of both – a requirement in many other countries and one that has implications for the driver’s own personal tax liability ‐ and a telematics‐based tracking package is the best way to do it.

It is a vital ingredient too when it comes to managing car‐sharing and mobility schemes that involve a variety of different modes of transport and that are being rolled out in a number of markets.

There are tight restrictions over the use Swedish employers may make of the data such packages can glean, however, Lane warns.

“If for example you suspect that a salesman has not been making all the sales calls that he claims he has then you cannot go trawling through the telematics records to check prior to discussing it with him,” he points out. “If a customer rings up and complains that the salesman has not been to see him when he said he would however then you are allowed to do so.”

There has to be an outside trigger; you are not allowed to go on an unprompted fishing expedition.

“On the other hand Spain and Italy are comparatively relaxed about privacy legislation,” Gourlet remarks. “In the Czech Republic tracking devices are fitted in a lot of company cars and are widely accepted, again because they allow private and professional mileage to be reported separately,” says Gutierrez.

“The fact is that you have to adjust your offer in line with what local legislation will permit,” he continues, “We like to think that Europe for example is a homogenous market; but it isn’t.”

“And when you’re considering privacy just remember that we all carry smartphones and that means we can be tracked 24 hours a day,” Albertsen comments. “People know where you are,” agrees Gutierrez, who suggests that – notwithstanding today’s legal restrictions – getting on for 100% of new cars will be fitted with a tracking device by 2025.

Duty of Care

Laws governing the duty of care employers have towards their employees are favouring the introduction of a telematics solution. This includes the European Union’s Lone Worker Directive, which obliges businesses to have mechanisms

in place designed to help protect members of staff whose job means that they regularly have to work on their own away from home base.

“Ignore such requirements and you will eventually attract serious liabilities,” warns Gourlet. “Businesses operating vehicle fleets of any size have a duty of care to ensure that their employees are safe on the road,” observes Cameron. “Many understandably have a need to implement risk management policies to comply with legislation and to avoid any potential road accidents or corporate manslaughter charges.”

“Car fleets have been late into the telematics market but that is changing, and risk management is a big motivating factor so far as some fleets are concerned,” observes Matt Hague, executive director, product strategy, at Microlise.

“Indeed it can be a more significant motivating factor than fuel economy though a telematics solution may be able to improve economy by from 25% to 40%.”

Last year Microlise announced its first move into the Indian telematics sector through a tie‐up with Tata Motors.

Whereas telematics systems have traditionally been hard‐wired into vehicles that is now no longer essential, says Thomas. “When car fleets are considering driver behaviour monitoring systems then the mobile option is typically the one that is most cost‐effective because the technology can be downloaded directly to the driver’s existing mobile device,” she points out.

That means far less capital expenditure.

OnStar on hand to help

In the event of a collision (detected by airbag deployment or other sensors), General Motors' OnStar Advanced Automatic Collision Notification can automatically send information about the vehicle's condition and GPS location to OnStar call centres worldwide.

The service is designed to assist emergency response efforts and advise the driver on the safest course of action. This OnStar feature can provide particular benefits for lone workers operating in remote locations.