How fleet management can improve road safety

Road safety is one of the gravest concerns for South African motorists, with statistics from the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) annual road death statistics revealing that from January to December 2016 shows that 14,071 people died on South African roads, a 9% increase on the 2015 figure of 12,944.

One of the best ways to counter this trend is to implement fleet management practices that can help ensure that your vehicles and drivers are kept safe on the roads. In particular, it is beneficial to invest in vehicle telematics, which refers to the tracking and diagnostics of vehicles.

Through either a GPS system or a cellular triangulation platform, fleet managers can track the journeys of their vehicles and the actions taken during the course of a day by their drivers. Precise data can also be extracted from driver’s trips from the tracking system and onboard. Subsequently, fleet managers can identify areas in which their drivers are not following the rules of the road and endangering both their lives and the lives of other motorists. This data can include:

Engine speed management

Fleet managers can better manage how their engine is performing with information provided on the engine’s Rev’s Per Minute (RPMs). Subsequent mediation with drivers will help to prevent this behaviour and result in improved and therefore safer performance from vehicles within a fleet.

Speeding Reports

This report provides a clear indication how often drivers in a fleet exceed the legal speed limit on their routes. Customers can also pre-determine a maximum speed for their drivers, and duly receive reports related to when they exceed this speed limit. This function enables fleet managers to control over-speeding drivers and prevent potential accidents.

Fuel Consumption

Data can be provided relating to fuel consumption with the intention of improving fuel management, receiving details on fuel consumption and Co2 emissions. Better fuel management not only saves costs, but also ensures that drivers are less likely to run out of fuel on long trips, thereby preventing unnecessary mishaps related to fuel shortages or loss.

Route profile and difficulty

Information can be provided on variables relating to the route that the driver has taken, including the total distance driven, the total ascent and descent and the average uphill and downhill gradient. More information is also provided on actions that the driver has taken during the route, including accelerator and brake pedal frequency, gear change frequency and the average speed recorded. Providing drivers with remedial guidance in relation to these actions will result in better driving behaviour on the roads.

When it comes to fleet management, nobody does it better than Cartrack. Through dedicated GPS monitoring, Cartrack clients are always aware of their fleet’s activity. Customers can locate all the vehicles in their fleet, accurately shown on our web-based street-level map, in real-time. Clients can use their PC or smartphone to monitor their fleet, with no additional software required.