Driving Business - Winter 2015

DRIVING

Issue 14 Winter 2015 £4.50

Helping you make better decisions

PICK-UP TRUCK BUYER’S GUIDE Family-friendly designs that offer big savings for businesses

GNEWT CARGO Sam Clarke on why his delivery vans are ‘100% electric and always will be’

NEW MODELS COMING SOON Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupé Nissan NP300 Navara Volkswagen Tiguan Renault Mégane Suzuki Baleno Kia Sportage Infiniti Q30 Ford Edge

TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL

GIVE YOUR BUSINESS SOME HI-TECH HELP How in-cab cameras, telematics and apps can save you time and money

CONFIDENCE COMES FROM WITHIN. THE ALL-NEW volvo XC90.

Leading a business takes confidence. And that, in turn, requires a little room to reflect. That’s why the all-new Volvo XC90 is designed to provide the perfect environment for contemplation.

Its intuitive communications technology keeps you connected to your professional world, while its effortless drive connects you to the road ahead; an intelligent blend of human and machine combines to deliver you to your destination assured, composed and inspired.

SE ARCH ALL-NEW XC90 OR CALL THE VOLVO CAR BUSINESS CENTRE ON 0345 600 4027

Official fuel consumption for the all-new Volvo XC90 in MPG (l/100km) ranges from: Urban 28.8 (9.8) – 45.6 (6.2), Extra Urban 40.4 (7.9) – 52.3 (5.4), Combined 35.3 (8.0) – 134.5 (2.1). CO2 emissions 186 – 49g/km. MPG figures are obtained from laboratory testing intended for comparisons between vehicles and may not reflect real driving results.

Contents

ISSUE 14 Winter 2015

FRONT END

7

Spare wheels 170 company car drivers a day are stranded at the roadside by the lack of a spare wheel.

8 Driver safety Government must “get a grip” on road safety, warns charity, as fatalities increased 4% last year.

10 Fleet Management Live Highlights for SMEs from the inaugural FML show held by Driving Business’s sister title Fleet News.

BROADER VIEW

14 Gnewt Cargo The all-electric delivery company puts its success down to its focus on environment, efficiency and employees.

14 Gnewt Cargo 23

Technology

PICK-UP BUYING GUIDE

17 Here comes the crossover Versatile, family-friendly designs are driving a boom in the sales of pick-up trucks.

TECHNOLOGY

24 In-cab cameras

 10 Fleet Management Live

Protect your company from ‘crash-for-cash’ schemes.

28 Software/apps The latest software and apps for mobile devices can make managing your business’s vehicles easier.

31 Telematics ‘Traffic light’ systems can improve driver efficiency and safety, but are they right for your business?

NEW MODELS

34 Coming soon A look at new vehicle launches from the Frankfurt Motor Show.

34

Frankfurt Motor Show mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ 3

Keep your business moving To meet the demands of your business, you’ll want to make sure your fleet stays on the move. And that means keeping things going whatever problems might crop up. AA Business Services can help with this. Whether it’s a flat tyre, misplaced car keys or a tank filled with the wrong fuel, our fleet of specialist services can offer the support you need to keep things running smoothly.

AA Business Breakdown Cover

Fleet Risk Management from AA DriveTech

0800 294 2994 quoting 0771 theAA.com/business

E-mail: TellMeMore@AAdrivetech.com AAdrivetech.com

DIESEL

AA Fleet Insurance

AA Business Insurance

0800 107 8175 theAA.com/insurance

0800 107 8175 theAA.com/business

AA Fuel Assist FuelAssistEnquiries@theAA.com

TAX AXI AA Tyres 0800 810 0980 tyres.theAA.com

AA Key Assist Fleet.Enquiries@theAA.com

For AA Business Breakdown Cover call 0800 294 2994 quoting 0771 Or visit theAA.com/business

AA Accident Management AAAccidentManagement @theAA.com

DRIVING

Helping you make better decisions

Contact us Driving Business, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough PE2 6EA. If you or someone you know is aged between 16 and 24 and is interested in work experience opportunities at Bauer Media, visit: gothinkbig.co.uk Editorial Editor-in-chief Stephen Briers 01733 468024 stephen.briers@bauermedia.co.uk Editor Sarah Tooze 01733 468901 sarah.tooze@bauermedia.co.uk News editor Gareth Roberts 01733 468314 gareth.roberts@bauermedia.co.uk Features editor Andrew Ryan 01733 468308 andrew.ryan@bauermedia.co.uk Web producer Christopher Smith 01733 468655 christopher.smith@bauermedia.co.uk Contributors John Charles, Catherine Chetwynd, Jonathan Manning, Simon McBride, Tom Seymour Production Head of publishing Luke Neal 01733 468262 Designer Erika Small 01733 468312 Production editors Richard Davis 01733 468310 Finbarr O’Reilly 01733 468267 Head of project management Leanne Patterson 01733 468332 Project managers Lucy Peacock 01733 468338 Angela Price 01733 468253 Kerry Unwin 01733 468327 Advertising Commercial director Sarah Crown 01733 366466 Group advertisement manager Sheryl Graham 01733 366467 Account managers Wendy Cowell 01733 366472 Lucy Herbert 01733 366469 Lisa Turner 01733 366471 Stuart Wakeling 01733 366470 Marcus Woods 01733 366468 Publishing Managing director Tim Lucas 01733 468340 Group marketing manager Bev Mason 01733 468295 Office manager Vicky Meadows 01733 468319 Group managing director Rob Munro-Hall Chief executive officer Paul Keenan Subscriptions: subscription@mydrivingbusiness.co.uk Printing: Garnett Dickinson, Rotherham. © 2015 Bauer Media No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. You can purchase words or pictures for your own publications.

Phone 01733 465982 or email syndication@bauermedia.co.uk.

Driving Business will not accept responsibility for unsolicited material.

Welcome If you run Volkswagen, Audi, Seat or Škoda vehicles you will no doubt have been anxiously waiting to find out if your models have been affected by the NOx emissions scandal and what the next steps are.

The Volkswagen Group scandal (you can keep up to date with it at our sister website, fleetnews.co.uk/vw-emissions) has prompted many businesses to consider whether to keep the brands on their car choice lists.

One third of businesses surveyed by our sister research brand, Sewells, said they were reviewing their Volkswagen diesel car orders, the highest proportion of the four brands – which is no surprise considering most of the media reporting has referenced only VW, while it also has the largest number of vehicles (508,276 cars; 79,838 vans) affected in the UK. In contrast, 27% are reviewing their Seat diesel cars – the brand is the least affected with 76,773 models – while 25% are reviewing Audi (393,450 cars) and 22% Škoda (131,569).

Rather than simply considering brands outside the VW Group, some businesses are looking at fuel type as part of their review. Diesel is still the best bet for highmileage business drivers, but plug-in or pure electric vehicles may prove suitable in certain circumstances.

London-based delivery company Gnewt Cargo is a case in point. It runs an all-electric fleet, which has given it a USP and contributed to business growth of 150% last year. Turn to page 14 to find out more.

You’ll also find a technology special in this issue (pages 23-33), which gives you advice on forward-facing cameras to help you avoid a £30,000 ‘crash for cash’ claim, how apps can help you manage your vehicles, and what real-time ‘traffic light’ telematics devices have to offer over traditional systems.

Sarah Tooze Editor, Driving Business Complaints: Bauer Consumer Media Limited is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (www.ipso.co.uk) and endeavours to respond to and resolve your concerns quickly. Our Editorial Complaints Policy (including full details of how to contact us about editorial complaints and IPSO’s contact details) can be found at www.bauermediacomplaints.co.uk. Our email address for editorial complaints covered by the Editorial Complaints Policy is complaints@bauermedia.co.uk.

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ 5

Donít take a chance with driver safety Businesses of all sizes have a responsibility to their employees whilst they drive on business. With so many sides to your drivers’ safety, are you prepared to take a chance with the hidden risks? DriveSafe from Lombard Vehicle Solutions offers a straightforward, practical and cost effective answer to help establish a lasting risk reduction programme. Protecting your drivers, business and ultimatly saving you cost.

Security may be required and product fees may apply.

www.lombardvehiclesolutions.com enquiries@lombardvehiclesolutions.com

Tel.: 0844 600 9012

Lombard Vehicle Solutions is a contract hire and fleet management product provided by ALD Automotive Ltd, trading as Lombard Vehicle Solutions, Oakwood Park, Lodge Causeway, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 3JA. ALD Automotive is registered in England No. 987418.

■ FRONT END

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170 company car drivers a day stranded by lack of a spare wheel Sixty-two thousand company car drivers were stranded at the roadside last year because they didn’t have a spare wheel, according to new figures from RAC Business.

The analysis of breakdown statistics among RAC Business’s fleet customers also found company car drivers were six times more likely than private car owners to be stuck with no spare wheel after getting a puncture. In 2014, 12% of company car drivers suffering a puncture were without a spare tyre, compared with just 2% of private drivers.

Last year, wheel changes accounted for one in four (24%) of all RAC Business call-outs and are consistently the most common reason for company car drivers needing roadside assistance.

The increase in the number of company car drivers getting stuck is almost entirely due to the fact that the vast majority of new cars, nine out of 10, are now sold without a fullsize spare tyre. This is in order to reduce the weight of the vehicle and comply with EU-wide regulations on emissions. Only a quarter of manufactures provide the smaller space-saving tyre and about half simply put a puncture repair kit in the boot of new cars.

Half of all manufacturers simply put a puncture repair kit in the boot of new cars RAC Business estimated that by 2018 it will deal with more than 100,000 PNS (puncture no spare) call-outs every year, a 60% rise from current levels.

At the start of 2014, the RAC responded to the change by equipping all of its patrols with a universal spare wheel, which can be fitted to more than 90% of car models and

Business growth ‘is a high priority for transport SMEs’ Business growth is top of the agenda for a quarter of SMEs in the transport sector, according to research from Close Brothers Asset Finance.

The Close Brothers Business Barometer, a quarterly survey of UK SME owners and senior management from a range of industries, found that more than half of businesses have experienced growth in the past 12 months, while a further 38% expect to expand during the next year.

John Fawcett, managing director, transport at Close Brothers Asset Finance, said: “The outlook appears optimistic, as almost two fifths of the firms we talked to said that trading conditions were better now than this time last year, and we’ve found that many are

now feeling confident that they can expand and move their business forward.”

The results also found a significant number of businesses plan to recruit, with 49% hoping to take on new staff within the next year.

“Two of the most important resources for transport firms are vehicles and personnel, so they often play a key role in any expansion plans,” said Fawcett.

“Many firms would like to increase their workforce and the size of their fleet, and a significant number now appear ready to do so. The challenge they now face lies in how they manage that growth. It’s important that firms have the appropriate plans and funding in place to match their ambitions.”

will allow drivers to safely reach a garage.

Jenny Powley, sales director corporate business at RAC Business, said: “Delays are costly and inconvenient and, as always, we aim to help stranded drivers get on their way with a minimum of fuss. A flat tyre can be expensive as well as inconvenient for companies running even a small fleet of vehicles.”

Traffic jams cost UK businesses £4.5bn a year, say experts Company car and van drivers are spending 13% of their time on work-related journeys in traffic jams, research suggests.

Collectively, employees spend about 70 million hours a week using their cars for work-related travel.

However, congestion on the UK’s road network is proving costly to the economy.

Lex Autolease, in its annual report on motoring, estimated that the delays equate to £4.5 billion per year in lost working hours.

Tim Porter, managing director of Lex Autolease, said: “Congestion is getting worse and is costing businesses millions of pounds every day in lost productivity. It is critical that the Government keeps investing in the road network to keep our workforce on the move.”

The RAC Report on Motoring 2015 found company car drivers were more concerned about the increasing congestion on UK roads than any other issue.

More than one in 10 (12%) company car drivers rated congestion as their biggest frustration about driving in the UK. The report found that the majority of company car drivers believed congestion had become worse in the past year (65%) and more than three quarters (78%) agreed that much stronger steps were required to reduce congestion. mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ 7

■ FRONT END

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Government ‘must get a grip’ on road safety as deaths rise by 4% The Government must “get a grip” on road safety and reintroduce casualty reduction targets to reverse recent rises in deaths and serious injuries on British roads, a safety charity has warned.

Last year, 1,775 people died on our roads, according to figures published by the Department for Transport (DfT) – a 4% increase on 2013.

The number of people seriously injured in reported road traffic accidents also increased, up 5% to 22,807, and a total of 194,477 people were killed or injured, the first increase in overall casualties since 1997.

“We should be under no illusions as to the seriousness of these figures,” said Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive of Brake, the road safety charity.

“The Government needs to get a grip on this situation and it can start by reintroducing ambitious casualty reduction targets, with an ultimate aim of reducing deaths and serious injuries on our roads to zero.”

Alan Prosser, director of the TTC Group, which educates 320,000 road users each year to cut casualties, said: “Every year there are more than 500 deaths and thousands of people injured driving at work.

“Nearly all these casualties are preventable and it’s costing companies millions. The human cost is incalculable.”

Looking at collisions by vehicle type, the DfT statistics showed fatalities involving a van or light goods vehicle (LGV) increased year-on-year from 153 to 169, while HGV deaths fell from 270 to 265.

The HGV figure is 43% lower than a decade ago,

The number of people killed on British roads increased by 4%, to 1,775, last year but the Freight Transport Association (FTA) says operators and drivers will remain vigilant about minimising harm on the UK’s road system.

An increase in traffic levels, up 2.4% in 2014, may account partly for the overall increase in deaths and injuries.

Nick Lloyd, road safety manager at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said: “As our economy improves, we can expect traffic levels to continue to increase, so we must do everything we can to make sure this does not lead to even more increases in road crashes and casualties.”

The road safety charity has called for a range of measures to help prevent road-related deaths and injuries. They include ensuring there are sufficient numbers of road police officers to properly enforce road safety laws, with more targeted road policing of the minority of drivers who put themselves and others at risk by speeding, drink driving and using mobile phones.

RoSPA is also calling on employers to reduce the risks their staff face and create when they drive or ride for work, and the introduction of safer vehicles as quickly as possible as vehicle technology improves.

Allstar to migrate 1.1m UK customers to more secure chip-and-pin fuel card

Report near-misses to cut risk, says HSE

Allstar Business Solutions has chosen smartcard specialist Oberthur Technologies (OT) as its partner for its chip-and-pin fuel card.

The company said chip-and-pin technology would improve card security and usability for its 1.1 million UK cardholders.

Allstar already offers chip-and-pin on its ‘One’ card through its work with OT, but all new customers will now be offered it as standard while current customers will be migrated over to the new technology over the coming months.

The ‘EMV’ chips contain microprocessors that make it harder for fraudsters to steal card users’ details. EMV, which stands for Europay, Mastercard and Visa (the three companies which originally developed the technology), is commonplace across the UK and the rest of Europe for cards issued by banks.

The technology is less widespread for other

Businesses should report near-misses to reduce the risks faced by employees driving for work, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The HSE defines a near-miss as “an unplanned event which does not cause injury or damage, but could have done so”, such as items falling near to personnel, incidents involving vehicles and electrical short-circuits.

“Reporting near-miss incidents is a very important way of identifying problem areas,” says the HSE. “This will help you highlight some of the less obvious hazards in a workplace, or identify areas where a problem is developing. Some models suggest that for every accident there are approximately 90 nearmisses. If there is a good reporting system in place, the hazard could be dealt with before someone is injured.”

8 ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

payment methods, such as fuel and supermarket cards, and as a result these payment methods can be at greater risk of fraud or misuse, according to Allstar parent company Fleetcor.

Allstar will be implementing EMV across its entire new generation of fuel cards, with OT assisting in EMV setup, artwork design and personalisation.

Steve is on the M4 from Reading right now.

At this rate, he’ll reach the Swindon depot by 4pm.

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■ BROADER VIE W

FLEE T MANAGEMENT LIVE

The biggest and best show for businesses that run vehicles In association with

Seminars, debates, best practice advice and expert guidance – there was a lot on offer for SMEs at the inaugural FML event

T

he date has already been set for next year’s Fleet Management Live (October 19-20) after visitors and exhibitors were wowed by the success of the inaugural show held by Driving Business’s sister title Fleet News.

Exhibitors welcomed the quality and range of attendees, while visitors appreciated the depth of industry knowledge and information available via the interactive seminars, debates and live exhibition.

Despite an early start, the Beginners’ Breakfast, hosted by the Institute of Car Fleet Management (ICFM), got both

80 exhibitors were in attendance at the first Fleet Management Live

1,000+ visitors attended the two-day event at the NEC in Birmingham

Businesses ‘are overpaying cash allowance drivers’

Businesses should beware giving too much money to cash allowance drivers, Alastair Kendrick, director at MHA MacIntyre Hudson warned attendees at the SME session.

“Employers that have opted out and given the cash allowance to their employees have often worked the cash out wrong, so you find they are [giving them] too much money as a cash alternative,” he said.

“To compound that, they pay what are called approved mileage allowance payments (AMAP) of 45p per mile, which is encouraging people in the grey fleet to do more business miles rather than get on the train, so it’s adding to your duty of care risk rather than reducing it.

“If you are going to offer cash, you need to think about how you control what you actually pay, so individuals are not effectively milking the system and driving round the M25 several times with a view to making more by way of expenses.”

Businesses also need to ensure they have proper mileage records, Kendrick warned.

“HMRC is undertaking more employee compliance reviews now than it did in the past,” he said. “When it reviews a company it looks to ensure the business mileage records are accurate so employees show where they start and finish the journey, ideally by postcode. It’s expensive for an employer if they get that wrong.”

10 ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

Supported by

days under way with well attended introductory sessions for those new to fleet management roles.

Attendees packed the interactive best practice seminars, keen to understand the latest industry developments as well as share ideas. The insight theatres, sponsored by LeasePlan, gave HR, finance professionals and SME directors expert guidance.

Ex-England footballer and now pundit Rio Ferdinand and TV presenter Jake Humphrey added a bit of celebrity sparkle, taking part in a foosball (table football) challenge and a football Q&A session on the BT Fleet stand.

Stephen Briers, editor-in-chief of Fleet News, said: “With so much going on, FML was the perfect place to catch up and network.”

Here, we cover the highlights from the SME session at the Insight Theatre and the Beginners’ Breakfast.

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

How to manage your company’s work-related road risk Businesses should not be frightened of managing work-related road risk, said Health and Safety Executive (HSE) policy adviser Andrew Wetters (pictured).

“It’sverystraightforward,”hetoldattendees at the SME session. “It’s normal health and safety activity and nothing at all to be frightened of. You need to look at the risks the drivers are facing and what you as a business are doing to protect them.”

However, Wetters did have a warning for companies that allow employees to use their own car for work purposes – the so-called grey fleet.

“Companies are just as responsible for those drivers as they are for ones they supply cars to,” he said.

“It isn’t a grey area, it’s a black and white one.”

Wetters advised companies to adopt a ‘plan, do, check, act’ approach.

PLAN Companies must identify the work-related road risk and produce a health and safety policy that covers organising journeys, driver training and vehicle maintenance.

“Ensure that the board of senior managers is committed to it. That’s vitally important because when health and safety works well it tends to have that support from board level and permeates through the company,” Wetters said.

It’s also important to identify everyone’s role (including the driver’s) in managing work-related road risk.

DO Make sure you have systems to manage health and safety.

For instance, reminders for when a vehicle’s service is due.

Keep maintenance records for vehicles, so there is a clear audit trail for an HSE inspector.

Involve employees in decisions and get them to support activities such as licence checks and responsible reporting.

Make sure they carry out weekly checks of their vehicle and are familiar with their vehicle.

Provide driver training and instruction where needed.

CHECK Monitor performance to make sure the work-related road risk policy is effective and that employees are being encouraged to report all incidents and near-misses.

“If you actually get people to talk about near-misses you’ll get an idea of how safe the fleet is operating and that gives you valuable feedback,” Wetters said.

Talk to drivers about health issues and make sure you have a system to support people if there are changes in medication that may affect their driving ability.

ACT Collect enough information to make informed decisions about the effectiveness of safety policies and whether changes are needed.

“One of the great inspector bugbears is that when they go out and interview companies they have a beautiful pristine risk assessment that has probably never be opened since the day they got a consultant to write it for them,” Wetters said.

“They don’t like that. They want a well-thumbed copy to show that it’s always at the forefront and people are acting upon it.”

The next stage is to develop a road safety checklist based on ‘safe driver, safe vehicle, safe journey’, according to Wetters.

‘Safe driver’ means making sure drivers are competent.

“How often does someone go out and sit in with someone and actually look at their driving? It’s worth thinking about – then you get an idea whether training is required,” Wetters said.

‘Safe vehicle’ means ensuring the right vehicle for the job is chosen and it is well maintained. This includes the grey fleet.

‘Safe journey’ is about planning.

“You have to make sure that you look after people as best you can and that the journeys are well planned,” said Wetters.

Make sure drivers are prepared for driving in poor weather with the right equipment and advice.

“

Companies are just as responsible for drivers that use their own car for work purposes as they are for ones they supply cars to

”

Work out the true costs of your vehicles – you’ll be paying them for years Vehicles are potentially a business’s second-biggest asset and they must bear in mind that costs are locked in for a number of years when they procure vehicles, the Institute of Car Fleet Management (ICFM) told attendees at the Beginners’ Breakfast session.

“The most important thing to remember with your vehicle strategy is you’re locking your costs in for three, four or five years, so decisions you make today are decisions you’re going to have to live with,” said Paul Hollick, chairman of the ICFM. A key decision is how long to run vehicles for.

“If you keep the vehicles longer than three years there is going to be a benefit because you’re going to get cheaper lease costs, but you’re going to get higher service maintenance and repairs costs and higher fuel costs so you need to think about the whole equilibrium,” Hollick said.

Companies that keep vehicles for shorter periods will benefit from the latest models, which will have lower CO2, better fuel efficiency and the latest safety technology.

“You need to think about your holistic costs and plan for a five-year period; don’t plan for a one-year period,” Hollick said.

Alastair Kendrick, director at MHA MacIntyre Hudson, said: “It is important when you select cars that you take into account not just what they cost to purchase, but what they cost to run and what you expect to get back on them when you want to

Fleet Insight Theatre sponsored by

move to a new vehicle. That is something a leasing company or your bank or a consultant can help you with.”

It is important to consider maintenance costs and whether a pay-as-you-go approach might work best.

“A lot of SMEs that I deal with go to the dealer and buy the car and buy the maintenance contract with that particular vehicle over a particular term, but that might be more expensive than putting your hand in your pocket when you have maintenance,” Kendrick said.

Businesses that contract hire their vehicles need to be alert to the penalties for excess mileage or end-of-contract damage charges.

“If you’re effectively hiring a car for four years it might be for 75,000 miles. If that driver then decides that he wants to travel round at weekends and he does 90,000 miles over the four-year term you’re going to suffer a significant penalty on the additional 15,000 miles and that’s the drawback.

“People think contract hire is very easy to do, which it is, but you need to be alert that there are risks if people do excess mileage or incur unfair wear and tear on the vehicle.

“If you buy the cars you’ve got the same risk because the car will be worth less than you thought it would be on the excess mileage. You need to be aware of those factors when you’re setting how you’re going to buy them.”

Alastair Kendrick, of MHA MacIntyre Hudson: ‘It is important when you select cars that you take into account not just what they cost to purchase, but what they cost to run’

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ 11

FleetNews

PORTFOLIO W H AT W E DO IN YOUR INDUS T R Y

Fleet News magazine The leading business publication for the fleet sector, offering insight, analysis, best practice and in-depth profiles of fleets and suppliers every fortnight. But don’t take our word for it: 96% of readers say Fleet News is the most useful fleet publication (Fleet News reader survey). Every issue is packed with information that helps companies to run efficient and effective fleets – and our readership of 16,000 is restricted to named decision-makers, running fleets of 10-plus vehicles.

Commercial Fleet magazine Commercial Fleet offers insight into the world of light commercial vehicles and trucks to provide operators with detailed analysis on key topics such as operations, safety, remarketing and the environment. Case studies in every issue provide best practice advice to help you to improve your efficiency. The magazine is supported by the commercialfleet.org website and events.

Driving Business magazine

Websites and newsletters

This quarterly magazine is sent to managing directors and finance directors at 25,000 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) that are running fewer than 50 vehicles. Focusing on the key elements of running cars and vans, Driving Business provides practical advice to reduce cost and improve safety with a minimum of time and effort.

The Fleet News website is an extensive library of best practice advice, fleet case studies, news and tools. Compare car and van running costs, check how much tax employees will pay and find out which models use the least fuel with our easy-to-use tools. We also send Ignition, a monthly newsletter which contains car reviews and interviews not included with our print magazine.

Fleet events Fleet News events are the biggest and best in the sector. Our annual awards night attracts more than 1,500 people; the FN50 Dinner sees 950 leasing, manufacturer, rental and supplier companies networking; Congress and Commercial Fleet Summit provide insight into key areas of fleet operation; monthly roundtables enable 10-15 fleets to discuss issues and share solutions.

Fleet Leasing magazine Fleet Leasing provides insight and analysis to board level executives, senior management and regional sales staff at contract hire and leasing companies.

Its objective is to inform and educate about fleet trends, new models and technological developments, once a quarter, supported by a website regularly updated with the latest leasing news.

Van Fleet Insight

ement Business Services and Facilities Manag www.mbvans.co.uk/fn

Fit for purpose

Improve your business with the right van choice Fleet best practice profiles

Kwik Fit and Stannah share their tips for success

Reliability

How to run an effective fleet Advice to maximise on-road time and

minimise costs

Brought to you by FleetNews

Bespoke publications

Best practice guides

Magazines, supplements, brochures and digital products are produced for commercial partners. These bespoke publications inform fleets about companies and topics relevant to their business. They include manufacturer and supplier reports, in which Fleet News journalists interview key personnel to unearth the developments of interest to fleet operators.

Special supplements that complement the magazine, our best practice guides look at areas that are core to fleet management or which are topical, such as electric vehicles. They provide you with the knowledge you need to make the right decisions. We also publish reports into the Fleet200, which analyse the UK’s biggest fleets, and the FN50 contract hire and leasing sector.

■ BROADER VIE W

GNE W T C ARGO

‘We are 100% electric and always will be’ All-electric delivery company Gnewt Cargo puts its success down to its focus on environment and employees. John Charles reports

G

newt Cargo is a young business that aims to change “last-mile logistics” by using electric vehicles only.

The delivery services company, whose name is an acronym for Green New Transport, was founded six years ago and currently operates more than 100 electric vehicles in central London. It claims it has the world’s largest fleet of pure electric vehicles based in a single city.

Gnewt Cargo works on behalf of a wide range of organisations almost exclusively in the London congestion charging zone, including third-party logistics companies, large retailers and Government departments.

Although it currently operates out of five central London hubs, Gnewt Cargo has ambitious plans to launch in cities across the UK – starting with Oxford in January – and, eventually, worldwide, after independent postal company DX Group took a 49.8% stake in the company at the end of last year.

Director and co-founder Sam Clarke says an increasing number of organisations recognise that while goods need to be moved around cities they can be transported more efficiently and in more environmentally friendly ways than in the past.

CONCENTRATING ON ELECTRIC EFFICIENCY “Delivering goods in central London is hard and expensive and we recognised that there was a more efficient way than the traditional method of companies travelling into cities from outside depots and using sub-contractors,” he says.

As a result, Gnewt Cargo operates a combination of 100% pure electric two- and three-wheel cargo-cycles and light commercial vehicles displaying clients’ livery as well as its own logo.

Clarke explains: “Our cargo-cycles offer a flexible solution that combine the traffic-beating agility of a bike with capacity comparable to a small van.

“Our vans are all electric and able to carry larger and heavier loads.

“This combination allows us to shape our service to suit all clients while reducing emissions and congestion.

“On average, diesel delivery vans are only half-full driving to the centre of a city and going to the same places. We consolidate loads that are going to the same place.”

Gnewt Cargo’s five central London hubs are located to meet clients’ requirements and each is equipped with a bank of recharging points. Independent verification by the University of Westminster suggests the company’s business model has cut 14 ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

CO2 emission per parcel delivered by 62% and reduced kerbside space usage by 54%.

Last year, the company delivered 1.5 million parcels and packages on behalf of a wide range of customers, including myHermes, the second-largest home delivery service in the UK, TNT Express and DX. The company calculates that it currently delivers up to 10,000 parcels a day inside the congestion charge zone on behalf of clients.

Last year it recorded business growth of 150%, which prompted a doubling of its fleet with the addition of 55 Renault Kangoo Z.E vans. These are supplied and funded by Alphabet and operate on three-year/30,000-mile contracts.

It has since added a further 10 Kangoo Z.E.’s.

Renault introduced Gnewt Cargo to Alphabet, as the manufacturer recognised the business mobility specialist as a competitive funder of electric vehicles.

Jon Burdekin, head of consultancy services at Alphabet, says: “We like to associate ourselves with anything innovative and Gnewt Cargo is an innovative company that has no concerns about the robustness of electric vehicle technology.

“The business cannot afford to have unreliable vehicles. It could have waited to see how the technology panned out, but it is a forward-thinking business and took the plunge.”

Alphabet calculates that the viability of electric vans can be proved versus the cost of operating diesel-powered vehicles in terms of fuel savings if travelling only 30-40 miles per day.

Gnewt Cargo has also added four Mercedes-Benz Vito E-cell vans to its fleet, which have been sourced on contract hire through Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, and seven Nissan e-NV200s. The remainder of the fleet is largely composed of aftermarket-converted electric vans.

Initially, Gnewt Cargo bought its vans, but as more contract hire companies became prepared to take the risk on electric vehicles – the company has also sourced models from Fleetdrive – it decided to turn to leasing.

Clarke, who says the company has been profitable since launch, explains: “As Gnewt Cargo expanded, we needed our cash to invest in the business rather than in vehicles.

“Additionally, electric vehicle technology is moving at such a pace that we didn’t want to own vehicles for many years and find they were outdated.”

Vehicles travel on average 10-15 miles a day, but Clarke, an electric vehicle advocate whose background is rooted in the two-wheel sector of the market, admits challenges have had to be addressed.

“In the early days, van range, payload and weight were issues, but over six years we have become experts in the operation of electric vans and know their limitations, although the technology has improved,” he says.

“We still have our original vehicles on the fleet and one of the reasons that electric vehicles last longer than diesel vans is because there are fewer moving parts, so less maintenance is required and they travel fewer miles.

Sam Clarke, director and co-founder of Gnewt Cargo

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

Renault Kangoo Z.E vans are the mainstay of Gnewt Cargo’s fleet

“Operating electric vehicles remains a challenge and they are not suitable for every organisation, but many more fleets could potentially operate them.”

‘DO THE MATHS’ ON EV OPERATING COSTS Gnewt Cargo undertakes vehicle maintenance in its own workshops and Clarke says: “After six years of running electric vehicles we understand how to look after them and keep them on the road as long as possible.”

He urges businesses: “Do the maths in relation to operating costs for diesel vans and equivalent costs for electric vehicles and you will be surprised at how much money you can save without compromising your business operations. What’s more, range anxiety in the right applications is not an issue.”

Gnewt Cargo also says there have been huge commercial benefits to operating a 100% pure electric vehicle fleet.

“Businesses use Gnewt Cargo because they applaud the fact that we provide them with an environmentally friendly option,” says Clarke.

Promoting “responsibility” for both the environment and employees, Gnewt Cargo also focuses on occupational road risk management. The company has achieved bronze accreditation in Transport for London’s Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme, the safety- and environmentally focused quality and performance benchmark programme for operators of commercial vehicles.

Gnewt Cargo employs all its delivery drivers and counts highly qualified professionals among them as well as some with a keen environmental conscience.

“We employ drivers who deliver a ‘doorstep experience’ and as a result our service levels are excellent,” says Clarke. “Our employees have a different mentality to the traditional delivery

115 the number of all-electric vehicles operated by Gnewt Cargo

49.8% the stake postal company DX Group took in Gnewt at the end of last year

driver. They are salaried and their demographic is typically young with a genuine interest in the environment.”

The company operates on a one-driver, one-vehicle basis and the fact that it employs people not from a delivery driver background means they have no pre-conceived idea of the job or the vehicle provided.

Gnewt Cargo has aspirations to provide a night-time and ultimately a 24/7 delivery service.

While the major conurbations of Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool may seem obvious locations to open, Clarke believes Oxford is a good starting point because vehicle accessibility is an issue and the local authority wants to promote environmental improvements.

He concludes: “Electric vehicles are our greatest asset, our USP, our differentiator. Our second greatest asset is that we employ all of our drivers and we don’t sub-contract.

“Many delivery companies say they are ‘green’ but they are not. There is a lot of greenwash around delivery and courier company vehicles, but we are 100% electric and always will be.”

“

Electric vehicle technology is moving at such a pace that we didn’t want to own vehicles for many years and find they were outdated

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ 15

Advertisement feature

The benefits of accident management Effective accident management can cut costs and get your business back on the road quickly

W

hile accidents may be a common sight on UK roads, the statistics behind them are rather shocking.

Up to one in three road crashes involves a vehicle being driven for work, according to the Driving for Better Business campaign.

Research by the Institute of Advanced Motorists has found that 86% of businesses have experienced an accident within the past 12 months, while the majority have had one of their drivers proven to be at fault at some point.

The effects on any business of a road crash can be considerable, along with the resources required to deal with the aftermath. In addition to any injuries and emotional or psychological toll to the driver involved, there is also the issue of the costs, both directly and indirectly, to your business while the driver and vehicle are off the road.

As a business owner or manager, of course, there are also the implications to you of many wasted hours of administration and disruption. In fact, research suggests the real cost of a road accident could be between four and 32 times the “bent metal” cost.

For many SMEs, this is why it can be highly worthwhile to use the services of an accident management specialist, ensuring that your drivers receive help in the event of a crash while also getting the vehicle back on the road as soon as possible.

There are many reasons why it can be beneficial to turn to accident management experts such as Lombard Vehicle Solutions, including aftercare, which ensures drivers are supported emotionally and physically in the immediate aftermath, backed up by 24/7 support.

Using such services can also bring about financial benefits to the business, through increased control over third-party costs. By providing trained specialists to speak to the driver over the phone at the scene of a crash, we can ensure that all data, including images if need be, is correctly captured. This can play a key role in assessing liability and

“Research suggests the real cost of a road accident could be between four and 32 times the ‘bent metal’ cost” can also help mitigate potentially expensive third-party claim costs by intervening to sort out courtesy car and vehicle repair requirements quickly and effectively.

There are many other financial and operational benefits to using a specialist in repairs, including lower average cost, reduced vehicle downtime and protecting future insurance premiums.

To find out more, contact Lombard Vehicle Solutions on 0117 908 6490 or visit www.lombardvehiclesolutions.co.uk Lombard Vehicle Solutions is the contract hire and fleet management product provided by ALD Automotive. Registered address: Oakwood Park, Lodge Causeway, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 3JA

Finally, a reputable accident management provider like Lombard Vehicle Solutions will also work with you to reduce the risk of incidents happening again.

This can include undertaking online driver risk assessments and driver training to explore any patterns and unresolved risks and even looking at the benefits of telematics, such as Lombard’s comprehensive ProFleet2 system, to capture vehicle information that will provide evidence for future claims.

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■ BUYER’S GUIDE TO

PICK-UP TRUCKS

Sponsored by

Prepare for the pick-up truck’s crossover moment Versatile, family-friendly designs are driving a boom in truck sales, writes Simon McBride ver the past decade, there has been a steady rise in the numbers of pick-up trucks on UK roads. There are plenty of reasons for this – they drive much more like SUVs and comfort and safety have both improved drastically.

Pick-up registrations are up by 23.4% year-to-date, according to the SMMT, and were up 32.9% in September, compared with September 2014.

It is no shock, therefore, to see more manufacturers looking at the market. In the next two years, Renault, Mercedes-Benz and Fiat are likely to join the heavyweights in this sector, which include Ford, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen.

Manufacturers are making the connection that if they make cool pick-up trucks that can be practical for the average family and also a useful workhorse, then there is a very lucrative lifestyle market around the corner. Don’t be surprised to see pick-up trucks with crossover looks very soon.

More and more businesses are looking at pick-ups because of their versatility and the tax savings they offer. Over the next three pages, we examine the business case and identify some of the top models.

O

▲ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ 17

■ BUYER’S GUIDE TO

PICK-UP TRUCKS

BETTER FOR BUSINESS HM Revenue and Customs classes a single cab pick-up as a commercial vehicle. This also applies to a double cab pick-up provided it has a payload of 1 tonne (1,000kg) or more, which means drivers with private use of the pick-up typically pay less benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax than they would in an equivalent company car.

For the tax year 2015/16, the BIK on a pick-up is £3,150, so someone in the 20% tax bracket will pay £630 a year while a 40% tax payer will be charged £1,260.

If the driver does no private mileage there is no BIK to pay. Unlike cars, commercial vehicles can be used for commuting without incurring tax. HMRC also allows ‘insignificant’ private mileage, such as making a slight detour to pick up a newspaper on the way to work.

However, using the commercial vehicle to go on holiday or for regular trips to the supermarket would not be considered ‘insignificant’.

It’s important that a business keeps accurate mileage records and gets employees to sign an agreement about the use of the pick-up to prove it is not used privately.

If the employee is allowed private use of the vehicle and the business pays for their fuel the employee will also pay BIK tax on that, but this is currently at a flat rate of £594, so a 20% tax payer would be charged £119 a year while a 40% tax payer would pay £236.

Being classed as a commercial vehicle also means that a business registered for VAT can reclaim all of the VAT on a pick-up truck (provided it is for business use only). If the pick-up truck is used 50% for business purposes and 50% for private purposes then only 50% of the VAT can be recovered. This rule also applies to VAT on fuel.

Be careful, though, if the pick-up has a hard top. HMRC gives this a generic weight of 45kg, which means that the addition of a hard top to a double cab pick-up with a payload of 1,010kg will convert the vehicle into a car (net payload reduced to 965kg).

For more information, visit gov.uk. It is also a good idea to seek advice from an accountant or fleet consultant.

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN CARS AND LCVs In recent years, pick-up trucks have raised the bar in the level of comfort they offer. They are more refined and much more car-like.

Chris Gilson, service director of Kenwood Commercial Services says: “We have a fleet of 10 vans, but the best addition to the fleet has been the Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian pick-up truck. It is brilliant, it’s never going to be as good as a family car, but it can do so much more. It is very comfy when compared to its rivals.

“I needed an automatic transmission and wanted heated leather seats – no other pick-up truck had both of these options as standard and that was the main reason we chose the L200.”

Another manufacturer embracing the crossover potential of the pick-up truck is Nissan, which showed off a new, more rounded NP300 Navara at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Barry Beeston, corporate sales director at Nissan Motor (GB), says: “NP300 Navara is a very important model for Nissan in the UK. “While this may not be the biggest sector in terms of volumes, it’s strategically important as it bridges the gap between passenger cars and commercials and will allow Nissan to lead its customers from one to the other.

“In this respect, the NP300 Navara is the perfect fit.”

Nissan has added a new 2.3-litre dCi engine that is up to 24% more efficient than the previous generation, which should appeal to business customers. It also comes with the option of a twin-turbocharged variant for the first time.

The manufacturer has made a number of developments in 18 ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

“

Most pick-up trucks can tow 3,000-3,500kg

The pick-up truck is such a valuable tool. It is instrumental in helping us to get the job done Forestry Commission

Manufacturers are adding more tech to pick-ups

”

the cabin, aimed at enhancing the crossover-like experience.

The technology on board includes safety features, such as an around view monitor and forward emergency braking, as well as popular features like cruise control, hill descent control, hill start assist, keyless entry, a rear camera, parking sensors and spinal-support front seats.

WORKHORSE vs FAMILY-FRIENDLY

In-cab features include cruise control and heated seats

A double cab pick-up can also be used as a family car

One of the core attributes of a pick-up truck is its utility. A single cab is probably the best option for those who want to use the vehicle as a pure workhorse, as you can throw stuff in the rear and not worry.

However, double cabs increasingly allow pick-ups to be used as family cars, allowing you to ferry the family and your equipment in a safe manner.

Gilson says: “When we bought the L200, we used it as a pure pick-up truck, but we wanted more from it. We chose a double-cab for practicality and because we wanted it to double up as a family car.

“The main reason for this was to tow our jet ski.

However, we came to a crossroads. We didn’t want to leave tools and watersports equipment on show in the back of the pick-up, so we ended up purchasing a canopy for the truck.

“The canopy has given the L200 an extra dimension. The dog can now travel in the back with the watersports equipment while the four of us sit in comfort in the double cab. The boys love the L200 that much that they prefer to go out in it rather than our sporty family hatch.”

OFF-ROAD ABILITY

Most pick-ups can switch between 2WD and 4WD

Most of the pick-up trucks in the UK today can switch between two- and four-wheel drive and the best will offer lockable centre differential and low-range transmission.

This enables you to tackle severe inclines and descents.

For the Forestry Commission, having a range of trucks that can handle different terrain is a must.

“We have a mix of 2WD and 4WD pick-ups in the fleet as well as single and double cabs,” says a spokesman.

“The job changes constantly, so we could be transporting maintenance staff and their tools and equipment

Sponsored by

SPONSOR’S COMMENT What should companies consider when purchasing a new pick-up truck?

for servicing and repairing forestry machinery in the field or transporting wildlife rangers and their equipment. Our fleet of single cabs are mainly used for carrying forestry workers and their equipment, such as chainsaws, slashers, shovels and spades as well as spraying, fencing and planting equipment for tasks such as fencing, weeding, planting, drain clearing, spraying and similar.

“If it is a big job and a squad of up to five staff and their equipment are needed then we will use our double cabs.

“The pick-up truck is such a valuable tool in our line of work – it is instrumental in helping us to get the job done.”

LOAD CAPACITY

Canopies allow large loads to be carried securely

Carrying capacity varies from pick-up to pick-up. Isuzu’s D-Max, for example, has a payload capacity of between 1,036kg and 1,128kg depending on the variant. All of its 4x4s can haul a braked trailer weighing up to 3,500kg.

Ford’s Ranger has a payload capacity of 932kg-1,250kg, while braked trailer towing capacity goes up to 3,500kg.

Beeston says: “The Nissan NP300 Navara has payload ratings in excess of one tonne right across the range and a towing capacity of 3,500kg.”

DEALER NETWORK Keeping downtime to a minimum for businesses is a must, especially with commercial vehicles.

Pick-up specialist Isuzu UK has strengthened its network by appointing selected dealerships as fleet centres.

Fifty have been appointed so far, and each has signed up to a 14-point fleet charter that commits them to capped rates for labour and parts and to providing customers with a suitable alternative vehicle should their Isuzu be off the road for more than three hours.

William Brown, Isuzu UK general manager, says: “The ongoing enhancements within our network mean we’re better placed than ever to meet the diverse needs of the UK’s commercial vehicle customers.”

Nissan is also concentrating on its business customers and has launched a new LCV warranty alongside the new NP300 Navara. All NP300s will be covered by a five-year or 100,000-mile manufacturer warranty.

Dealer networks are catering more for pick-up trucks

For more on pick-up trucks, visit our sister website: commercialfleet.org

Businesses need to weigh up many factors when buying a new pick-up. As well as the vehicle’s capability and durability, companies also need to consider the total cost of owning the vehicle, ■ MARK and the safety and comfort of WHEELER, NISSAN GB its drivers.

FLEET With the price of fuel SALES increasing, mpg figures are DIRECTOR increasingly important, to reduce trips to the filling station and cut fleets’ running costs. Nissan has recognised this, and our new diesel engine benefits from a reduction of up to 24% in fuel consumption compared with the engine it replaces.

There are other, less direct ways to reduce the total cost of ownership of a pick-up. We understand that working environments such as construction sites and farm yards can pose many obstacles for large vehicles like pick-ups to manoeuvre around, often leading to costly bumps and scrapes. Market-first technologies, such as Nissan’s Around View Monitor and Forward Emergency Braking system, not only reduce trips to the repair garage, but also increase driver safety.

Ultimately, a pick-up is a workhorse, so the capabilities of the vehicle are essential. A pick-up needs to deliver and the new NP300 Navara’s strong towing capability, up to 3,500kg, and one-tonne payload can ensure companies achieve even their toughest tasks.

Driver comfort is another important consideration, and the new NP300 Navara uses a lightweight multi-link rear suspension – a first in its class – to deliver refinement of the kind that has made Nissan’s crossovers so successful.

The quality crossover feel continues with the materials and build quality in the cabin. An array of market-leading technology, lifted straight from Nissan’s allconquering Qashqai, has been introduced to the NP300 Navara, making it safer and more comfortable for drivers. mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ 19

■ BUYER’S GUIDE TO

PICK-UP TRUCKS

Sponsored by

Eight of the best A comparison of key pick-ups in the market, based on the best running cost for each O N S A L E : J A N UA RY

MITSUBISHI L 20 0

NISSAN NP30 0 NAVAR A

WARRIOR PRICE: £23,049 ENGINE: 2.4Di-D 178hp EFFICIENCY: 42.8mpg RV: 30%/£7,121 TOTAL RUNNING COST: 39.67ppm

PRICE: £n/a ENGINE: 2.3 dCi 160PS and 190PS EFFICIENCY: 44.9mpg RV: n/a TOTAL RUNNING COST: n/a

SSANGYONG KOR AND O SP ORT

FORD R ANGER

EX PRICE: £16,845 ENGINE: 2.0e-Xdi 155hp EFFICIENCY: 37.7mpg RV: 30%/£5,082 TOTAL RUNNING COST: 35.11ppm

XLT PRICE: £21,229 ENGINE: 2.2TDCi 150hp EFFICIENCY: 36.2mpg RV: 32%/£6,885 TOTAL RUNNING COST: 36.69ppm

GRE AT WA LL STEED

TOYOTA HILUX

SE PRICE: £15,718 ENGINE: 2.0TD 143hp EFFICIENCY: 34mpg RV: 24%/£3,702 TOTAL RUNNING COST: 35.59ppm

ICON PRICE: £20,771 ENGINE: 2.5D4 144hp EFFICIENCY: 38.7mpg RV: 38%/£7,627 TOTAL RUNNING COST: 33.97ppm

ISUZU D-MA X

VOLKSWAGEN AMAROK

YUKON PRICE: £19,974 ENGINE: 2.5TD 163hp EFFICIENCY: 38.2mpg RV: 28%/£5,646 TOTAL RUNNING COST: 36.96ppm

TRENDLINE PRICE: £22,465 ENGINE: 2.0BiTDI 180hp EFFICIENCY: 35.3mpg RV: 36%/£7,977 TOTAL RUNNING COST: 37.23ppm All prices are exclusive of VAT; RVs based on four years/80,000 miles

20 ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

Advertisment feature

GET ANY JOB DONE SMARTER. Launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this year, the new Nissan NP300 Navara brings together the best of Nissan’s utility heritage and crossover leadership, making it perfect for hard-working businesses.

Its head turning looks and restyled interior give it obvious appeal to the driver whilst highly efficient engines and innovative features – which are often unique or class leading – offer serious advantages to fleet managers.

HEAVY DUTY ELEGANCE Inside, Nissan have given the cabin a major makeover, cocooning drivers and passengers in new levels of up-market comfort and style. NASA™ inspired seats provide spinal support for out-of-this-world levels of comfort, something that can make a big difference during those longer hauls, whilst 5-link rear suspension (not available on any other pickup) ensures a smoother and more refined drive.

GET A LOAD OF THIS As suggested by the dynamic profile, the driver’s seat puts you in a serious position of power with the new twin turbo engine supplying 190PS and 450 Nm, all of which ensures that you don’t compromise on power or torque for an instant. All that muscle gives the robust NP300

Navara a class-leading towing capacity of 3,500kg, to go with its one ton payload carrying capacity, distinguishing it as the go-to vehicle whenever work gets really demanding.

But what’s power without control?

Responsive switchable modes provide superior 4WD manoeuvrability on any kind of terrain imaginable. Wherever a job takes you, low ratio 4WD can step in for serious off-road capabilities with reassuring technologies like Hill Start Assist and Hill Descent Control at hand.

HIGH PERFORMANCE EFFICIENCY Of course, driver friendly features like its Bluetooth® mediasystem, NissanConnect, are all very

appealing for the workforce, but what about the costs?

This is where the NP300 Navara is full of surprises, for it can boast up to an impressive 44.9 mpg, which means you can significantly reduce the number of trips to the fuel station. At the same time CO2 emissions from 167g/km help to keep tax costs down, an impressive feat for a vehicle of this size and weight.

NEXT GEN TECH Then there is the host of innovative safety technologies, all serving to keep the NP300 Navara out of the bodyshop and further drive down the total cost of ownership.

Developments like the Around View Monitor, a market first, which gives the driver a full bird’s eye view when

performing difficult manoeuvres; or the Forward Emergency Braking, a safety innovation which lowers the NP300 Navara’s insurance group and like other attributes, a feature not available in other pickups.

TAKING YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD The NP300 Navara embodies Nissan’s legacy of excellence, trust and reliability in this highly demanding segment. But its best-in-class-economy and high performance output means this pick-up truck is leading the pack where it really counts.

With a 5 year/100,000 mile warranty it’s a model that you and your business can truly rely on.

So if you would like to learn more, simply visit nissan.co.uk

Over 850 guests have already booked their seats, so contact us now to secure your attendance at the Fleet News Awards 2016 10 March 2016 Grosvenor House Park Lane, London

For tickets and tables contact Emma-Louise Kinnaird on 01733 395133 or email emma-louise.kinnaird@bauermedia.co.uk

www.fleetnewsawards.com

■ SPECIA L REP ORT

TECHNOLO GY

GIVE YOUR BUSINESS SOME HI-TECH HELP In-cab cameras, ‘traffic-light’ telematics and the latest smartphone apps can protect you from fraud, improve your drivers’ efficiency and safety and save you time and money managing your business vehicles

■ TECHNOLO GY

IN-C AB C AMER A S

Have you been framed?

The installation of forward-facing cameras in vehicles is helping businesses to improve driver behaviour, reduce insurance premiums and protect themselves from ‘crash for cash’ scams. Jonathan Manning reports

T

“ ”

We see a reduction in accident frequency even before the cameras go in, as drivers start to modify their behaviour Mark Berry, international sales director, SmartWitness Vehicle CCTV

£392m cost per year to insurance industry of ‘crash for cash’ scams

90

number of ‘crash for cash’ accidents attributed to one perpetrator over a three-year period

whiplash and fraudulent claims, so the vehicle cameras will help us protect our engineers and avoid unnecessary insurance costs,” says Dave Quarterman, managing director of National Windscreens (South East).

“Since installing the solution, we have already successfully challenged two claims by proving what actually took place, demonstrating its importance to our business.”

Like many businesses (a poll on our sister site fleetnews.co.uk found 69% of respondents would consider using in-cab cameras, while 15% already do), Quarterman is now looking to use the high-definition footage to start a virtuous circle.

The video will illustrate other data gathered, both of collisions and near-misses, allowing the company to respond immediately to any accidents or incidents involving its vans and consequently minimise financial and operational risk. The end goal is significant

▲

here is a rapidly growing library of film clips that look like spoof viral videos, until you realise they are real-life recordings of incidents of life, licence loss and death.

Forward-facing cameras in cars and vans have captured the footage, which reveals moments of madness by other road users as well as examples of organised crime.

Welcome to the hidden world of in-cab cameras, hi-tech eyewitnesses to what actually happens when vehicles collide.

This recorded testimony is increasingly resolving insurance claims and prompting more and more businesses across the country to install cameras in their vehicles.

Initially, this investment was intended to provide protection from insurance fraud via so-called ‘crash for cash’ scams. Criminal gangs deliberately contrive these crashes to claim for fictitious personal injuries, vehicle repairs and replacement hire car.

The illegal practice is alarmingly simple to execute and businesses, especially liveried commercial vehicles, have found themselves under attack.

“Gangs have specifically targeted branded vehicles because they know the vehicle will be insured, it is unlikely to be driven by the owner, and the driver is less likely to defend a claim as vigorously as an owner,” says Matt Warden, managing director of corporate motor insurance at Towergate Insurance.

The Insurance Fraud Bureau estimates ‘crash for cash’ fraud costs the insurance industry £392 million a year.

To avoid becoming part of these statistics, National Windscreens (South East) has installed an advanced vehicle camera solution from Intelligent Telematics in its glass-fitting vehicles.

“We are seeing an increase in crash for cash, bogus

■ DA SH - C A M FAQ S IS THE CAMERA EVIDENCE SUBMISSIBLE IN COURT? “Yes, anything that drivers have filmed will be admissible in court,” says David Barton, specialist motoring lawyer.

“Courts are having to decide about the accuracy of events that may have taken place six months ago and which took only a few seconds. The court has to decide what weight to attach to people’s memories.

“If the footage shows you did not do what you are accused of doing, that would be enormously helpful in defending a claim. If the footage shows you are at fault you are under no obligation to show it and implicate yourself.”

24 ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

HOW WILL DRIVERS REACT TO THE CAMERAS? “Sometimes there’s an initial anti-Big Brother reaction, but drivers soon come around, especially when there has been an accident and we can prove instantly it’s not the driver’s fault,” says Sam Footer, head of international business and strategic development at Intelligent Telematics.

“We pitch them as independent witnesses, not a spy in the cab,” says Matt Warden, managing director, corporate motor insurance, Towergate Insurance.

“They are there to support the driver’s version of events and protect

them from poor drivers. We only need the film clip when you need the clip.”

HOW DO THE CAMERAS WORK? The cameras constantly film what is happening on the road ahead. When the G-force sensor in the camera is triggered by a violent manoeuvre, such as harsh braking, harsh acceleration or a swerve, the camera stores the data from the previous minute leading up to the incident and its aftermath.

This is either recorded on an SD card in the camera or on a hard drive in the vehicle that then automatically emails the footage using 3G mobile phone coverage.

CAN DRIVERS DELETE EVIDENCE OF THEIR OWN POOR DRIVING BEHAVIOUR? “The camera is tamper-resistant, hard-wired and secure,” says Mark Berry, international sales director of SmartWitness Vehicle CCTV. WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR IN A CAMERA? “The most important thing to bear in mind when buying a dashboard camera is image quality across a range of conditions,” says consumer body Which?.

“If image quality isn’t high enough, you might not be able to use your footage in the case of an accident to

■ C AU G H T O N C A M ER A Footage captured on incab cameras often helps to resolve insurance claims swiftly, resulting in significant savings.

The videos are also popular with internet users, attracting thousands of viewings on websites such as YouTube.

Many of these videos can be watched on Driving Business’s sister website, fleetnews.co.uk. Here we highlight three incidents featured on the site:

■ Footage of this headon collision caused by a driver rushing to work, captured on a SmartWitness camera, helped to correctly attribute blame and settle the insurance claim quickly. fleetnews.co.uk/head-on

■ A Volkswagen Tiguan was shunted 90° to the side after it was hit by a car jumping a red light.

The SmartWitness camera footage resulted in a £5,000 insurance claim quickly being settled. fleetnews.co.uk/red-light

prove you’re not to blame. Image quality varies enormously between the best and worst dashboard cameras. And while a good dashboard camera may show number plates and faces clearly – allowing you to prove exactly what happened in the event of a collision – a bad dashboard camera could just show a fuzzy mess.”

SD CARD OR 3G? Recording video on SD cards is generally cheaper, but when a collision does occur the card needs to be removed from the vehicle and the data uploaded to a computer, which can introduce delays into the system, hampering the control of at-fault claims.

“With a 3G camera, a signal is sent within one second of the G-Force sensor being triggered, and it can be viewed within two minutes.

“SD cameras can fail and the business does not know the camera has gone down. With our 3G camera a ‘heartbeat’ pings into the camera every six hours to check it’s still working,” says Sam Footer.

“But 3G cameras are reliant on a mobile phone signal, which is getting there, but not 100% reliable,” adds Matt Warden.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? Cameras vary hugely in price, with cheap retail cameras starting from under £50.

Business-specific systems start from about £150, with higher costs for hard drive recording and multiple cameras. For 3G systems, add about £25 a month for the mobile phone tariff.

HOW MUCH CAN I SAVE? Insurance broker Adrian Flux is offering savings of up to 15% on insurance premiums where dash-cams are fitted.

I’M INTERESTED IN FITTING CAMERAS, WHAT SHOULD I DO? “Talk to insurers before installation to see if they have a preferred camera and to see if the insurer is ready to receive the footage,” says Warden.

■ An in-cab camera from the Vehicle Group has clearly shown the fraud of a ‘crash for cash’ scam in this video. fleetnews.co.uk/crashcam

These videos and more collisions and near-misses can be found at fleetnews.co.uk/video

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ 25

■ TECHNOLO GY

IN-C AB C AMER A S ■ PROTEC T YOUR BUSINESS FROM ‘CR A SH FOR C A SH’ SC AMS

▲

SmartWitness driver report: drivers improve their behaviour as they realise their actions are recorded

cost savings from improved driver behaviour, lower accident frequency, shrinking insurance claim costs and the reduced premiums that follow.

Many insurers have been convinced of the benefits of in-cab cameras and the footage they provide, and are increasingly prepared either to contribute towards the cost of the camera equipment or offer premium reductions to make the installation of cameras more affordable and attractive to cost-conscious businesses.

Moreover, as the price of the technology has tumbled, so the economic case for installing cameras, not just in HGVs but also in vans and cars, has strengthened.

“Installing cameras is not a good idea… it’s a great idea,” says Larry Smith, managing director of Towergate Risk Solutions. “It’s the ability to settle claims really quickly; the evidence is indisputable.”

This is transforming the resolution of contested claims that previously would have left insurers with no option but to accept 50:50 liability.

Conclusive video evidence also allows claims to be settled faster, which further drives down costs.

For businesses with a rapid turnover of staff, such as courier companies, the camera evidence can help to settle

The deliberate staging or causing of road traffic collisions is costing the British insurance industry £392 million a year, inflating premiums and leaving businesses wide open to high cost claims.

The scam typically involves a motorist on a main road flashing their lights to invite a driver waiting on a side road to pull out, only to then broadside the unwitting victim. The scammer subsequently claims that the victim pulled out without checking first.

Alternatively, the scammer brakes suddenly, frequently having disabled his vehicle’s brake lights, making it very difficult for the vehicle behind to avoid colliding. In most rear-end shunts, it’s the driver of the vehicle behind who is considered to be at fault.

“Innocent motorists are being targeted on roads by fraudsters motivated by greed. By deliberately causing accidents, fraudsters are gambling with the lives of innocent people,” says David Neave, former chairman of the Insurance Fraud Bureau.

In one case, office workers in Cheadle became suspicious at the frequency of accidents on the roundabout below their office.

While the vehicles involved were all different, the driver was the same. He was implicated in 90 accidents over a three-year period leading to insurance claims of more than £2 million, and was jailed for four-and-a-half years for his role as a stooge driver.

Fifty people were convicted as part of the investigation, and three of the ringleaders received prison sentences totalling 13 years.

55%

reduction in accidents seen by one business after installing cameras

25%

reduction in claims costs seen by the same business

claims after an employee or agency driver has left the business.

Daily rental firms are also seizing the opportunity to protect their expensive assets by installing cameras to record a hirer’s driving experience.

Insurance company Swiftcover is already offering a 10% reduction in premiums to drivers who fit a dashboard camera, or ‘dashcam’.

“We believe that by using a dashcam and being able to accurately and quickly establish who was at fault, we will save money and therefore motorists will significantly benefit from lower premiums and more responsible driving,” says Roman Bryl, Swiftcover product manager.

■ ‘CR A SH FO R C A SH’ IN N U M B ER S

£30,000 Annual cost of ‘crash for cash’ fraud.

26 ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

Potential cost of each ‘crash for cash’ through personal injury, vehicle damage, car hire, storage, loss of earnings, bogus passenger claims.

Personal injury claims linked to suspected ‘crash for cash’ scams.

For businesses, evidence is mounting that the installation of cameras leads to an immediate improvement in behaviour behind the wheel as drivers realise that any poor decisions or actions will be captured for posterity.

“We see a reduction in accident frequency even before the cameras go in, as drivers start to modify their behaviour,” says Mark Berry, international sales director of SmartWitness Vehicle CCTV. “Then when the cameras go in, it goes down exponentially.”

It’s not just accident frequency that declines, but also the cost of claims. Sam Footer, head of international business and strategic development at Intelligent Telematics, explains: “We have done a six-month trial with one big fleet where half the vehicles had cameras fitted.

“They had a 55% drop in accident numbers and a 25% reduction in claims costs compared to the other half of the fleet that did not have the cameras.”

One reason for the lower claims costs is the speed with which managers or accident management companies can start to deal with incidents.

New 3G cameras can send an accident alert back to base within a second of the collision occurring, and the video footage follows within a couple of minutes.

By intervening swiftly in at-fault accidents, businesses can limit their exposure to high costs for vehicle recovery, replacement vehicles and repairs. “[You] can make sure the driver is OK, and deal with the accident immediately,” says Footer.

“The system provides images and GPS data and that information is gold dust,” he adds, because it allows businesses “to intervene and deal with a claim immediately, and that drives down the cost of claims.”

This opportunity to have complete, instant visibility of all collisions and driving incidents has led Krispy Kreme, the global doughnut company and coffee house chain, to install Intelligent Telematics’ IT1000 forward-facing camera system in its UK delivery vans.

“By selecting a 3G vehicle camera, we can gain a live

“

Since installing the cameras, we have already successfully challenged two claims by proving what actually took place Dave Quarterman, managing director, National Windscreens (South East)

69%

of respondents to a fleetnews.co.uk poll would consider using in-cab cameras

£150

starting cost of business-specific camera systems

15%

savings on insurance are possible where a camera is fitted

Smart Witness KP1 vehicle journey recorder

For the latest news and best practice on in-cab cameras, go to Driving Business’s sister website: fleetnews.co.uk/dashcam

”

view of any incidents to ensure we are operating a safe and responsible fleet, while at the same time target insurance and fuel savings,” says Ben Povey, logistics manager at Krispy Kreme.

He adds that the video footage and incident data gathered by the system will support Krispy Kreme’s driver training programme, highlighting another area where in-vehicle cameras can pay dividends. These new systems can trigger alerts of harsh driving back to the business, even when no accident has occurred.

A G-force sensor within the equipment identifies instances of excessive acceleration and braking, as well as violent swerves to the left or right, and can record the relevant video for subsequent analysis.

This can help employers to identify higher risk drivers and introduce appropriate defensive driver training.

“Technology is only as good as the people using it,” says Simon Marsh, managing director of FleetsCompare, a new company established to help businesses work with insurance brokers that understand the benefits of using vehicle cameras and telematics. They use information from these sources in order to lower the frequency and cost of claims, reduce premiums and promote road safety.

A former fleet manager running 200 commercial vehicles, Marsh started a trial scheme of in-vehicle cameras in 2006, using the information generated to review both accidents and near misses as part of the company’s driver training programme.

“When you watch footage back you can see what has happened, and the opportunity to intervene to show drivers where they are driving poorly is invaluable,” he says.

“It’s about making them realise the implications of their actions. A split second could make the difference between going home in the evening or not going home at all.”

Source: Insurance Fraud Bureau, RAC

26%

One in four motorists thinks in-car cameras should be compulsory to combat ‘crash for cash’ scams.

80%

69,500 Number of personal injury claims linked to ‘crash for cash’.

Average £1.7m value of organised ‘crash for cash’

scam investigated by the IFB.

of motorists concerned about sustaining an injury in a deliberately caused accident.

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ 27

■ TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLO GY

SOF T WARE

Get smart with mobile phone technology The growing popularity of smartphones gives operators another tool to increase the efficiency of their vehicles. Catherine Chetwynd reports

T

he proliferation of mobile devices has radically changed the way companies work.

People plan and live their lives by them and expect their work environment to be equally accessible and efficient. Gone are the days when companies insisted that work was undertaken on the corporate Blackberry, it has become accepted practice for employees to use what suits them and BYOD – bring your own device – is the norm.

Frost & Sullivan estimates there will be 80 billion connected devices by 2020 and by 2018 there will be 6.2bn mobile users worldwide.

Mobile technology is also changing how businesses manage vehicles. According to ‘Mobility Solutions: Driving Your Company Ahead of the Competition’, a paper produced by Drive Software Solutions and Asset Finance International, in the future, the aim will be to offer the user access to a broad mix of mobility options, including short-term rental, train, bus, Tube and planes, all available via a single touch on a smartphone.

In a recent online poll by our sister title Fleet News, 44% of respondents said they or their drivers used smartphones or tablets to manage company vehicles, 53% do not, while 3% were planning to.

The latest Corporate Vehicles Observatory (CVO) Barometer research from leasing company Arval shows 44% of UK-based respondents at companies with 100 or more employees find mobile phone apps a useful vehicle management tool, as do 27% of smaller organisations.

The range of apps available to businesses and their drivers is legion. There are dedicated tools that deal with one area such as mileage capture or driver behaviour and, increasingly, wholelife vehicle management – from ordering vehicles to checking that mileage does not exceed the contract agreement.

According to respondents to the study, the top six most useful app functions are access to company car policy, services locator, services booking, driver 28 ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

47%

of Fleet News readers use or plan to use smartphones or tablets to manage vehicles

44%

of large companies find mobile phone apps useful for vehicle management

45

number of management information reports available on Lex Autolease’s LAi portal

behaviour, remote access to car data and consolidated dashboard.

However, there is a risk that businesses will be swamped by all this data.

Many businesses “become slaves to data capture and then do nothing with it”, says Martin Evans, managing director of vehicle and asset management company, Jaama.

“Information captured should act as the basis for implementing change, whether in respect of replacing expensive-to-maintain vehicles, changing operating cycles or maximising vehicle uptime.”

Finally, as the number of platforms on which devices operate proliferates, there is a move back to websites and portals, which ensures they are compatible with all types of mobile device.

If there was any doubt as to the value of mobile technology to people who manage vehicles, some companies have designed technology to fit their purpose, including Kelly Fleet Services, whose defect app has been upgraded to be more user-friendly and is a mobile app, instead of requiring users to go through the website.

■ C A SE S T U DY: SP EEDY HIR E SERV I CE S Tool, equipment and plant hire company Speedy Hire Services has developed a highway infringement app for use by drivers. In the event of an accident, they take photographs of the scene and the tool guides them through a series of questions and requirements, ranging from whether the emergency services were called out to witness details.

“Once they have got the full picture, they

submit the form and email a copy to the expense management provider, fleet manager and insurer,” says logistics project manager Mark Woodworth.

“The insurance company organises a replacement vehicle immediately, which lets us maintain customer service levels.

“Before, we reported direct to the insurer.

Replacing the vehicle took up to 15 days,” he says. “Our insurance premiums have come down by about 15%.”

ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT The RAC has launched Advanced Crash Detection via a telematics device, which monitors acceleration and vibration to detect if a crash has taken place.

“The transport laboratory tested our telematics and it has a 92% accident detection rate,” says Nick Walker, managing director of telematics for RAC. “That is almost double the industry standard.”

Masternaut has designed its app for one-touch use, with a two-part modular system

DIAGNOSTICS Ctrack is developing, with a vehicle manufacturer, an app that detects dashboard diagnostic warning lights and reports the problem to the manufacturer or dealer, who would then contact the customer to suggest booking the vehicle in for a service.

A work in progress is the RAC’s ability to read vehicle fault codes to diagnostic effect. “At every roadside event we record fault codes, symptoms and the fix we deployed, so we have a huge knowledge database on what they mean and what repair is required,” says Walker.

“We are bringing that capability to telematics, sending live data feeds to call centres who can make contact with drivers to discuss the problem with them. We are giving motorists information about how to avoid a breakdown – which seems counter-intuitive for a breakdown organisation.”

DRIVER BEHAVIOUR GreenRoad’s telematics box not only tracks location and logs five common driver errors – braking, accelerating, cornering, speeding and lane discipline – it is also able to identify and reconstruct 150 manoeuvres. “For example, going into a roundabout, we can say if the driver is braking on the way in and then sharply accelerating,” says Zeev Braude, chief executive of GreenRoad.

“This highlights which drivers are at risk. We categorise drivers as red (highest), amber and green and drivers are alerted by lights on the unit installed in the vehicle. It raises their awareness and acts as a prompt to correct bad habits.”

Managers receive this information in real time via text alerts and emails on their mobile device and, at the end of the day, drivers see location, type of incident, traffic light score and how they compare with their peers.

“Most of our customers post the scores in common areas in the company and 90% of drivers are scoring

“

As consumers, they are familiar with websites such as eBay, Amazon, and dating sites. We took best practice from those and others Christian Hook, Lex Autolease

” 156

FUEL UK Fuels covers 6,000 fuel stations out of about 8,500 in the UK, through a variety of own brand and proprietary cards. The company’s Velocity portal, free to all customers, is accessible via an app and is updated monthly; and the Velos charge card allows drivers to put all vehicle expenses in one place, giving vehicle operators robust management information (MI).

“The charge card technology alerts [management] to every transaction by text or email, so there is a lot of control,” says Colin Peters, European head of digital for UK Fuels’ parent company, Radius Payment Solutions.

Most recently, UK Fuels has added telematics, in

▲

GreenRoad’s software tracks location and identifies driving errors and manoeuvres

of ECG Facilities Services’ company vehicles have the Fleet Alliance app installed

green in three months,” says Braude. “The return on investment is huge because of the impact on fuel consumption, safety and vehicle maintenance.”

To ensure compatibility with all operating platforms and PCs, Masternaut designed its latest platform to allow one-click/tap access and use. The app represents two parts of the modular system. The first part is for submitting expenses and the second, Eco Drive, monitors driver behaviour.

Scores, mileage and mpg are available for periods from a day to a month, and individuals are rated against their peers (anonymously) in a traffic light system. Further detail is supplied in the form of type of event – harsh braking, excessive idling, etc., and trends such as whether a driver is getting worse/better over a given period.

The latest smartphone app to join the fray is the TomTom Curfer, which gives real-time feedback on drivers’ behaviour, covering the key areas. It works in conjunction with the TomTom Link 100 dongle, which is plugged into the car’s on-board diagnostics port. The app also contains an optional car finder tool that will navigate users to their parked vehicles.

Arval Drive Challenge measures speed, acceleration and braking on any given journey and areas for improvement are highlighted, while good performance wins recognition and rewards.

Ctrack’s app records details in summary or graph format. Being able to pinpoint their position allows drivers to set and capture routes via the app, showing distance, time and traffic information. The company is working on apps for insurance telematics for drivers whose policy premiums are based on driving behaviour.

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ 29

SOF T WARE

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■ TECHNOLO GY

the form of Kinesis Fleet, to the mix, usable on a month-by-month, no-contract basis, with an option of a one-month free trial. “Fuel card transactions, with vehicle tracking through the telematics, give a true miles per gallon report,” explains Peters. “Managers can see the journey on maps and assess driver performance, allowing them to improve routing and save money on fuel.”

MILEAGE There is no latitude in accurate mileage capture now that HMRC has an eagle eye on fuel expense claims, as engineering company Ivor Searle discovered when a spot check early this year found mileage claims from one employee were estimated and could not be reconciled to fuel card invoices. The company faces a potential fine for an incorrectly compiled business/private mileage log and the driver faces a full fuel benefit charge for just a number of unaccounted-for miles.

To prevent this issue occurring in the future, Ivor Searle has adopted ABAX’s Triplog system, which is a GPS dongle, fitted to the vehicle, which can be linked to an app. Drivers assign themselves to the vehicle, the hardware logs all trips and drivers mark them business/ private. The app then calculates what they are paid for each journey and they claim accordingly. GPS also allows the app to be used as a tracking device.

There is an optional mileage function on Masternaut’s app, which allows drivers to submit business and private mileage using a module on the website. Details can be amended or updated while on the move.

Drivers logging into the Ctrack app can see their trip history, average speed, distance and locations. They can also allocate business and private mileage against trips and make notes about the journey and then submit expenses. An update allows the frequency of location updates to be varied between 10 seconds and two minutes, according to customer requirements.

Arval’s Mobile Plus also allows the addition of journey details to facilitate quick and accurate reporting of business and private mileage.

■ C A SE S T U DY: ECG FACI L I T IE S SERV I CE S Facilities management company ECG Facilities Services operates about 156 company cars and vans for use by service engineers and water hygiene technicians across the UK. Drivers have the Fleet Alliance E-fleet mobile app on their smartphones, which allows them to record their mileage and vehicle condition every month while on the move. This helps fleet operations manager Tim Muir to ensure ECG does not exceed contracted mileage. All drivers have to attend a half-day induction course in its use, so that they understand the importance of using it regularly.

OVERALL VEHICLE MANAGEMENT The Lex Autolease Interactive (LAi) portal identifies drivers from their log-in by their role, company, services they are entitled to, financial penalties, plus documents such as MOT certificates.

About 45 MI reports are available and coming soon is a more intuitive dashboard design.

A new capability allows employees to upload mileage as they go and the system tracks the status of each vehicle, so if a driver is about to renew, for example, LAi provides upfront the necessary information for getting a quote.

To make the process of ordering more straightforward, LAi provides the ability to compare similar makes and models of car on a range of attributes, such as BIK contributions to emissions. “The comparison tool is our crown jewel,” says Christian Hook, e-commerce manager at Lex Autolease.

Hook says Lex Autolease driver surveys were a rich seam of inspiration. “As consumers, they are familiar with websites such as eBay, Amazon, dating sites and we took best practice from those and others,” he says.

The LeasePlan UK app provides a similar range of information to users. Details include accident services, breakdown assistance, car reviews and more. It was updated in April 2015 to improve look and feel.

The Arval Mobile Plus app allows drivers to check weather and traffic and provides an interactive map of nearest fuel sites and service centres.

The E-fleet mobile app from Fleet Alliance is specific to the vehicle registration and runs the gamut of driver requirements, from mileage reporting through vehicle inspection reports to service booking. Preferred suppliers can be contacted at the touch of a button. Postcode mileage tracking follows.

Jaama’s Key2 system tracks maintenance costs against budgets so that managers can see the vehicles’ lifecycle expense and extrapolate likely spending patterns.

Pendragon Vehicle Management recently created a new operating platform to improve the range of products and services available, which includes tools to generate reports, vehicle quotes and orders, driver benefit-in-kind tax, etc.

VEHICLE CHECKS The most recent addition to Jaama’s Key2 system is a defect manager module, which provides a checklist for completion of a walkaround appraisal of vehicles, from cracked windscreens to bald tyres, plus vehicle mileage. This provides an auditable trail of inspections and resulting work.

■ C A SE S T U DY: L & Q G RO U P

The Ctrack mobile tracking application allows drivers to submit business and private mileage using a module on the website, which can be updated

30 ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

Housing association L&Q Group introduced the FleetCheck system in March to streamline its vehicle check process.

“Our drivers are not full-time drivers: they may be plumbers, electricians or general builders who drive from one job to the next,” says fleet manager Maurice Elford, who oversees 17 cars and 137 vans.

In the past, the employees completed a PDF form and either emailed it or posted it to Elford.

However, since the organisation introduced fleet management software, it began using FleetCheck, which allows drivers to carry out vehicle checks through their smartphones and send the data directly to the software package.

“FleetCheck gives us a record that a vehicle has been checked and is roadworthy,” says Elford.

“It has already made a difference.”

■ TECHNOLO GY

TELEMATICS

Real-time or time for reflection?

‘Traffic light’ telematics solutions provide instant feedback to drivers, while traditional systems require lengthier analysis. Is there a clear winner? Tom Seymour investigates

T

▲

he telematics market is a crowded one, with a range of systems available, from basic track and trace to detailed driver behaviour monitoring, that can either give drivers live feedback or provide reports for managers to discuss with drivers.

The good thing about having a wide choice of systems available is having the opportunity to find a telematics product that is a custom fit for the company’s objectives.

Paul O’Dowd, sales manager at In-Car Cleverness, says it is difficult to advise how often, or for how long, managers should interrogate their telematics data, as it is usually determined by the needs of the business.

However, if data is raising an issue where the business would be liable if it did not take action,

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ 31

■ TECHNOLO GY

TELEMATICS

“ ”

12%

The traffic light system is reliant on the type of personalities or individuals that use it

▲

Paul O’Dowd, In-Car Cleverness

using alerts could be the best option. Depending on what telematics system a business is using, it can set up parameters for an alert such as speeding or to flag up something outside policy.

O’Dowd says: “Alerts can help those managing the system to be proactive and to be positioned to rectify these kinds of issues, rather than waiting until the matter has passed or has lost its importance to the business due to the time taken to act upon the transgression.”

Real-time traffic light systems can give visual and audible warnings to drivers who operate their vehicle outside preset safety and efficiency parameters.

David Wilson, Tracker chief operating officer, believes while real-time systems are great at ensuring drivers are alerted of offences as they happen, spending more time with the data can provide greater detail.

Business, he says, “need to be selective about the amount and type of data their company needs – and has the resources to analyse.

“It has to be usable and, most importantly, the right resource has to be in place to interpret it, to give it meaning and relevance to the business.”

Paul Foster, Telogis solutions engineer, says managers cannot afford to sit and spend hours each day looking at telematics data. Foster believes a weekly check to make sure trends are moving in the right direction is a good idea.

“Don’t try to boil the ocean, just pick out the key areas you want to pick up on,” he says.

While the Telogis system doesn’t use a visual real-time traffic light system, drivers are encouraged to check their

Reduction in fuel costs seen by Christie Intruder Alarms from telematics

86%

The reduction in weekly calls Hobart has had to make to drivers about speeding since it introduced telematics

progress on their smartphone before they start driving and after they have completed a journey.

This is illustrated with a red, amber or green rating.

Drivers can also see how they rank compared with others within the company. This can be named or anonymous, depending on what the company wants.

“If everyone knows they’re being compared across the same level and they’re being monitored in the same way, I think it helps with acceptance,” says Foster.

For companies concerned their drivers will check midjourney, use of the app can be disabled while a vehicle is in motion.

“Introducing an element of competition for who is the best driver can always be a good motivator and introducing prizes for the best each month can be good too,” says Foster.

“It doesn’t have to be a monetary reward necessarily.

One company we work with awarded the managing director’s car parking space to the best driver for a month.”

DATA-INFORMED DRIVER TRAINING

Make sure you choose the right telematics product.

Visit Driving Business’s sister website: fleetnews.co.uk/telematics

Mark Roberts, managing director of real-time driver training company Lightfoot, says: “That whole admin cycle of getting data, interpreting it and then implementing a plan to improve is something we’re looking to cut out entirely.

“If the company has set their parameters for what constitutes a violation we don’t see managers having to check in other than glancing at the report they get from the system each week.”

Roberts says this is because the majority of drivers will not drive outside what is acceptable due to the way a real-time system works.

Vehicles fitted with Lightfoot give drivers two audible warnings if they accelerate or brake outside set parameters. These warnings are not reported to managers. Only when a driver continues to drive outside the policy will a violation be added to their driver profile.

A weekly Lightfoot report shows the percentage of time each driver spent in red, amber or green. If any driver is in the red for an unacceptable percentage, managers can step in with training. A real-time traffic light system provides a prompt to the driver based on their driving style. This is usually generated by a visual light bar that illuminates green when driving well; amberto-red when driving becomes persistently worse.

A ‘traffic light’ system determines good or bad driving

■ C A SE S T U DY: H O BA RT U K Eric Bristow, fleet manager – service division at catering industry kitchen appliance provider Hobart, has reduced the amount of time spent on administration now his telematics system has had time to bed in.

Bristow was making 35 calls a week to staff about excessive speeding when the company’s telematics system was first fitted to 200 LCVs, making a total of about 300 deliveries a day.

The number of cases has been reduced to just four a week after using the system for a period of four years.

Bristow gets daily reports from Hobart’s telematics provider Navman Wireless and he then uses a custom programme he wrote himself to monitor drivers. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes each day.

There is a clear educational and disciplinary route in place at Hobart, with drivers receiving a phone

32 ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

“ ”

If drivers are saving the company money, it’s only fair that we reward them for that in some way Eric Bristow

call, a letter, training and then a formal warning.

Bristow says: “We look at speed as the main issue and the system we use has a parameter which highlights the single worst incident on each day.

“I would say the first step has always got to be education.”

Hobart doesn’t use a real-time system using traffic light indicators. “I think sharing that information in real-time can be a real distraction when they should be focusing on driving safely,” says Bristow.

Drivers who speed are given training, while those who improve their driving efficiency receive a monetary reward.

Bristow says: “I think that, if drivers are saving the company money through using less fuel and helping to lower SMR costs due to lower tyre and brake wear, it’s only right that we reward them for that saving in some way.”

■ C A SE S T U DY: CH RIS T IE IN T RU D ER A L A R MS Security solutions business Christie Intruder Alarms (CIA) chose to install a real-time traffic light system across its 100-strong fleet of Vauxhall Astra vans after fleet manager Andy Jenkins researched the market for driver training and duty of care.

“As a company, we take our responsibilities seriously,” he says. “I needed to know we’d done all we could to make sure that our guys are safe and also that they are responsible road users.”

CIA ran an eight-month trial of Ashwood’s Lightfoot system to see what effect it would have on saving money on fuel, as well as on driver behaviour.

The trial had to establish that CIA would be saving enough on fuel in order to make the installation of a real-time system self-funding.

“ ”

Driver training is a quick fix.

A real-time telematics system is a long-term fix Andy Jenkins

Jenkins says: “Through experience, I know people change their habits for a short time only. As humans, we generally know what we’re supposed to be doing but we often don’t do it.

“Driver training is a quick fix; its impact lasts for maybe three or four weeks. Whereas a real-time telematics system is a long-term fix; it provides continuous reminders to help drivers maintain a safe and efficient style.”

After running the system for five months, CIA was seeing a consistent monthly fuel saving of 12%.

There has also been a reduction in its accident rate.

Jenkins says: “The reduction in our accident rate could be a coincidence. However, now that our drivers are much more aware of their driving style, it follows that there will be a lower risk of accidents.

The picture will become even clearer when we have 12 months of data.”

Telematics alerts influence driver behaviour

behaviour based on a combination of triggers. A score is typically generated based on real-time analysis taken from gear changes, revving, speed and braking.

A real-time system can provide instant feedback to drivers, but is it the best way to improve efficiency and behaviour? Some companies worry drivers will be focused on whether the display is changing from green to red, rather than giving their full attention to the road.

“We like to look at our system as a distraction from bad driving,” says Roberts.

“We find that most drivers don’t tend to look at the colour display at all once they are used to the system and the audio notification gives an indication without having to take your eyes off the road. If they’re driving within the set parameters, they won’t see or hear a thing.”

Roberts argues that while some telematics systems provide data that somebody in the business has to sit and react to, the benefit of using a real-time system is that you cut out the analysis.

“Real-time driver coaching is pre-empting bad driving, rather than being reactive. Having a real-time system is like giving a voice to the engine and training the driver on each journey,” he says.

However, Amanda Mullans, operations director at Total Accident Management, argues that instant feedback alone is not enough to improve driver behaviour.

“Instant driver feedback does not prevent an incident from happening; it notifies the driver when an event has occurred,” she says.

O’Dowd says one of the downsides to using a real-time traffic light system over a long period is that drivers can become complacent.

“The traffic light system is reliant on the type of personalities or individuals using it,” he says.

“Will they follow the prompts? Would the system make a driver more nervous and prone to making mistakes?

You still have to make sure drivers are following the prompts correctly.”

O’Dowd claims that a real-time system also does not tolerate certain situations that may arise, for example, preventative measures to avoid accidents, a particularly hilly delivery location or increased payloads (which affect fuel consumption, braking and accelerating) and all would be seen as bad driving by a real-time system.

The crucial consideration is that operators choose a system that is right for them and their drivers.

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ 33

■ NE W MODEL S

Coming soon...

A look at some of the vehicles displayed at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN

FORD EDGE

ON SALE: 2016 PRICE: From £25,000 (estimated) CO2 EMISSIONS: From 109g/km (estimated) WHAT’S NEW: Volkswagen has injected a little more personality and ruggedness into the design of its second-generation Tiguan.

Efficiency is better thanks to reduced weight and the interior is bigger, with 1,655 litres of boot space with the rear seats folded.

Engine power outputs range from 115hp to 240hp, although those earmarked for the UK will be confirmed closer to the car’s launch next year.

ON SALE: Late 2016 PRICE: From £30,000 (estimated) CO2 EMISSIONS: From 149g/km (estimated) WHAT’S NEW: Ford’s SUV was shown in European production form for the first time. It confirmed the availability of two 2.0-litre engines – a 180hp TDCi and bi-turbo 210hp 2.0 TDCi. The Edge will be available in Zetec and Titanium equipment grades and will become the company’s flagship 4x4 in Europe.

All-wheel drive will be standard in the Edge, while the higher power variant will be fitted with a six-speed PowerShift dual-clutch automatic, emphasising the car’s premium position in the range.

RENAULT MÉGANE

KIA SPORTAGE

ON SALE: Summer 2016 PRICE: From £19,000 (estimated) CO2 EMISSIONS: From 86g/km WHAT’S NEW: Renault’s recovery in the UK fleet market will gather pace with the new Mégane, says UK managing director Ken Ramirez.

He said year-to-date UK fleet registrations were currently 46,000 for the Renault Group, an increase of 17% year-on-year over 2014.

UK deliveries of the C-segment hatchback begin next summer and it will be available with six engines, with power outputs ranging from 90hp to 205hp. Fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions will peak at 85.6mpg and 86g/km for the Energy dCi 110 model. A mild hybrid diesel model with fuel efficiency of more than 90mpg and CO2 emissions between 70g/km and 80g/km is due in 2017.

ON SALE: Early 2016 PRICE: £19,000 (est) CO2 EMISSIONS: Not available WHAT’S NEW: Kia unveiled the fourth generation of its popular SUV, which accounts for about a quarter of its UK sales.

The new Sportage provides more room inside the cabin and safety was high on the manufacturer’s agenda when developing the car, said Michael Cole, chief operating officer, Kia Motors Europe.

“The Sportage will be a leader for occupancy protection,” he said.

Available safety equipment will include autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning system, lane keeping assist, high beam assist and blind spot detection.

34 ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

SUZUKI BALENO

INFINITI Q30 ON SALE: January 2016 PRICE: From £19,780 CO2 EMISSIONS: From 103g/km WHAT’S NEW: Infiniti has struggled to register on company car lists to date, but the Q30 unveiled in Frankfurt ought to create a bigger impression.

Built in the UK and using a platform and engines from the Mercedes-Benz A-Class through a partnership with Daimler and the Nissan-Renault Alliance, the Q30 has the strongest company car credentials of any Infiniti model to date.

It will be offered with a range of petrol and diesel engines, including a Renault-sourced 1.5-litre diesel as well as Mercedes-Benz 2.1-litre engines.

There is also a choice of 122hp and 156hp 1.6-litre petrol engines or a 211hp 2.0-litre, but all of these have CO2 emissions above 130g/km.

ON SALE: Spring 2016 PRICE: From £12,000 (estimated) CO2 EMISSIONS: From 93g/km WHAT’S NEW: Suzuki’s new supermini will be offered with an 89hp mild hybrid engine when it goes on sale next year, producing 93g/km of CO2. Baleno will also be available with a new 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged motor producing 110hp and a 1.2-litre Dualjet unit with 89hp. CO2 emissions are 103g/km and 101g/km, respectively.

Baleno will sit above the Swift in its model range and promises useful practicality: its 355-litre boot is larger than that of rivals such as the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo. It is based on an all-new platform, which Suzuki says has enabled increased rigidity and reduced weight while improving fuel economy, stability and handling.

MERCEDES-BENZ C-CLASS COUPÉ NISSAN NP300 NAVARA

ON SALE: December 2015 PRICE: From £30,000 (estimated) CO2 EMISSIONS: From 109g/km WHAT’S NEW: Mercedes-Benz unveiled the sportiest variant of its new C-Class range: the C-Class Coupé, with CO2 emissions from 109g/km. It shares its underpinnings with the popular saloon and is also larger than the model it replaces, which increases interior space.

Its suspension has been lowered by 15mm compared with its saloon sibling, but Mercedes-Benz says it has adjusted the suspension to provide a more dynamic driving experience without affecting ride quality.

Specifications have not been confirmed yet, but engines include four petrol and two diesel units. Both diesels are 2.1-litre engines with a choice of two power outputs: 170hp and 204hp.

ON SALE: January 2016 PRICE: £22,000 (estimated) CO2 EMISSIONS: Not available WHAT’S NEW: Nissan unveiled its new Navara pick-up, which features a new-look exterior and revised interior, a new engine, new technology and an overhauled chassis.

Now called NP300 Navara to fit in with the rest of the company’s commercial vehicle range branding, the range features a new 2.3-litre dCi engine that is up to 24% more efficient than its predecessor and comes in either a 160hp single-turbo or 190hp twinturbo variants. Redesigned using Nissan’s crossover philosophy, the manufacturer said the Navara’s comfort levels have been increased, while a new multi-link rear suspension system improves ride quality.

The pick-up is available with technology more usually seen on passenger cars, including Nissan’s around view monitor, which gives drivers a bird’s-eye view of their vehicle, and forward emergency braking.

Payload ratings are now more than one tonne for all models, while towing capacity is 3,500kg.

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Winter 2015 ❚ 35

T H E

U K ’ S

P R E M I E R

D R I V I N G

E V E N T

Put it in your diAry

...Another greAt event from fleet news

14-15 JUNE 2016 Millbrook Proving ground For further information email sandra.evitt@bauermedia.co.uk