A Q&A with Santa, and Fleet Manager Mrs Claus, of North Pole Inc
As a professional lorry driver, nobody could blame you for having the odd mixed feeling about your job every now and then. For many it's a love-hate relationship ??? you love your job, but you'd probably like to see certain things change.
Safety standards of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) may have improved dramatically in the past 20-30 years, but standards upheld by motorists generally have not.?? Cars getting impatient behind you honking their horns, flashing their lights, harassing you, cutting you up.
Even worse is the rise of the 'crash for cash' scammers, who are targeting commercial vehicles in particular as van and HGV drivers account for a large proportion of road users they are considered as 'easy prey.' These incidents are yet another obstacle for professional drivers to contend with in their day-to-day work.
Remember the recent incident on the M25 when a motorist swerved in front of lorry driver on the busy motorway to claim ??75,000 for whiplash??? Video showed the Ford Galaxy veering over three lanes of traffic get in front of the HGV and cause it to slam on it's brakes before crashing, such was the intent of the driver. Fortunately on this occasion no one was killed or seriously injured and footage from the truck's in-vehicle camera proved the car had deliberately driven into its path.
But with reports of 'crash for cash' incidents increasing by 50% over the past year and also accounting for approximately 60% of the 550,000 whiplash claims filed annually in the UK, many at-work drivers will not be so fortunate.
Such is the perception of increased risk the insurance industry has sent its starkest warning yet that drivers and business fleets will be forced off the road or face higher insurance premiums unless they find ways to improve the risk to the insurer.
Of course, the use of technology such as in-vehicle cameras will put the brakes on 'crash for cash' scams and also offer some added protection to drivers, but the bigger question being asked by insurers is how can telematics and vehicle tracking be used effectively, from an insurance perspective, to 'change the claims experience' of businesses.
Certainly, when telematics is used in conjunction with other emerging technologies, such as in-vehicle cameras, its potential to improve drivers' behaviour becomes even greater and herein is the solution to improving risk.
The rationale is simple, yet highly effective ??? use data to train your drivers to be the best on the road and also use it to back them up when incidents happen. We call this approach our '360 Degree' fleet safety solution, designed to improve road safety, reduce insurance costs and enhance duty of care.
Drivers being monitored, by telematics and in-vehicle cameras, are likely to take greater care, which is why this type of technology integration is going to have an increasing importance when it comes to accident minimisation.
The single most important criterion for success, however, is how the information that's gathered from the technology is subsequently used. The onus remains on fleet managers to monitor the data to identify those drivers with training requirements.
But thanks to accurate driver reports and scorecards, it is possible to easily identify non-efficient drivers and tailor training to remedy problem areas. You can even be informed if one of your drivers exceeds a certain speed, allowing you to quickly issue a warning.
The reports are also intelligent, so as well as providing a quick method of grading to allow benchmarking and comparison, the system will only tell you about issues that require attention.
Footage obtained from in-vehicle cameras, supplied by Smart Witness, can also be used for training purposes. The system can give invaluable evidence in the event of an accident, and acts as the?? 'safety net' in our '360 Degree' fleet safety solution, but the in-cab CCTV is an equally powerful catalyst to change driving behaviours, enforcing greater awareness from drivers as to their driving behaviour, which can only be of benefit to all concerned.