New research has found that at least one in eight fleet managers are only monitoring their drivers after an accident or crash and not before it.
A survey undertaken by MiX Telematics of more than 200 fleet professionals across Australia, found that while a large majority of organisations are on track with their telematics – a small proportion aren’t monitoring their drivers at all.
“Around 2% are not monitoring their data in any way, shape or form. 11% of respondents stated that they only monitor their telematics data in the event of an incident or crash,” the report said.
It is believed that connected cars generate in excess of 25 gigabytes of data every hour. This array of telematics data can include information about speed, fuel economy, harsh cornering, sudden acceleration, excessive braking, driver hours and much more.
But for many businesses, this ‘big data’ can represent some significant problems. How is the data stored? And is the data being analysed properly to reward good behaviour, and to reprimand drivers that aren’t meeting the organisational standards?
For those surveyed, many seemed most interested in telematics technologies that could help to manage driver fatigue, while journey management, driver identification and fleet maintenance followed as some of the most valued telematics capabilities.
“These capabilities have had the unexpected side effect of impacting positive but slow change to insurance,” the report said.
“It has, among other things, enabled cheaper policy options, resulted in fewer penalties and made insurance claims simpler.
The overall findings showed that companies are becoming more aware than ever about the major benefits of telematics. Recent data from the Nasdaq Stock Market has suggested the global telematics market is expected to reach $140.10 billion by 2022. Almost half of participants in the survey believe telematics is “essential to the efficiency of their fleet”.
Creating a culture of safety around your fleet vehicles is a no-brainer and should be a priority of any fleet manager. Thinking ahead, it would be a worthwhile consideration to find ways your organisation can not only increase your overall telematics commitment but how you can use that data effectively as well.
The full MiX Telematics report is available for download here.
