AfMA Fleetdrive Issue 16 | Page 6

Promote green driving TIP #1 Telematics provides vehicle data that helps your drivers become greener drivers. This doesn’t just improve your organisation’s overall green credentials, it also helps you save money. By spotting poor driving techniques, such as harsh acceleration, heavy braking, excessive speeding and over-revving, you will be able to target specific training for problematic drivers and make them drive more efficiently. Improve business performance TIP #2 Reduce insurance costs One thing that often gets lost when thinking about telematics is the improvement it can have on your service and performance to your clients. But think about it, with the routes of your drivers being tracked and monitored you can optimise routes and improve service times across the board – whether that be directly through delivery of products, or indirectly by ensuring your staff get to meetings or their destination safely and efficiently. TIP #4 TIP #3 Some insurance companies will offer benefits to businesses that have black box devices and telematics systems installed in their vehicles. Check with your existing insurer, or talk to your fleet management service, to see if you could save money on your business vehicle insurance by having black boxes fitted to your fleet. Telematics are also proven to reduce accident rates, which in turn will likely lower your premiums in the long term as well. Tip #4 Ditch the phones Prior to telematics, fleet managers would traditionally have been fixed to their phones calling their drivers to verify their location. A telematics solution can provide contact live tracking of the fleet freeing up the time of a fleet manager for other tasks, potentially reduce the overhead costs of phones within your organisations and most importantly remove the distraction of mobile phones for your drivers. Try before you buy TIP #5 6 Before committing to a purchase, look for a provider that allows you to test their telematics system. Online demos are a great way for you to explore what features and benefits are on offer but you won’t understand the full advantages to your business until you have fitted a device to one of your business’s vehicles. Any reputable provider will offer you a month-long trial and give you full access to web portals and mobile apps before committing so do your homework and look for a solution that best fits the unique needs of your organisation. ISSUE 16 2019 / WWW.AFMA.NET.AU