Telematics insurance has been on a steady rise for years now, and new research has revealed that the biggest reason why is … cost.
Almost half (47 per cent) of the 1,500 UK drivers that took part in a recent survey said cheaper car insurance was the main factor behind their decision to have a telematics-based insurance policy.
More than a third (36 per cent) said they opted for telematics insurance in case it helped track their car if it was stolen, while three in ten (31 per cent) hoped it would help with claim management after a car accident.
Over a quarter of the survey sample reckoned telematics insurance provided a financial incentive to drive safely (29 per cent) and help to increase self-awareness of their own driving style (27 per cent).
Separate research by BIBA (British Insurance Brokers’ Association) revealed there are now nearly one million telematics policies live in the UK – up by nearly 30 per cent on 2016’s figure.
Despite these obvious incentives, it seems the insurance sector still has work to do in terms of convincing UK drivers of telematics’ benefits – nearly 30 per cent of those surveyed stated they could think of no reasons to change from traditional motor insurance policies.
Dr Colin Smithers, chief executive of Redtail Telematics – which commissioned the survey, believes developments in the car insurance market have the potential to revolutionise the way we drive and how we guard against the risks of poor driver behaviour.
He commented: “The increased use of telematics has important implications for anyone who might consider taking up a a telematics-based insurance policy, policymakers and for society as a whole.
“Widespread use of telematics is also likely to lead to better driving and fewer fatalities.”
Jez Strong, general manager for Tele-Gence, commented: “The benefits of telematics are well documented, but it’s interesting to see why people are keen to include the tech in their insurance policy.”
Your business can benefit from affordable telematics with no hidden start-up fees or long-term commitments. Find out how at www.tele-gence.com
The Met office is warning there will be a significant change in the autumnal weather this week, as Storm Diana moves from the Atlantic and is set to bring rain and gales to the UK, from Wednesday.
Here is some advice to your fleet drivers from IAM RoadSmart on how best to cope with it.
Heavy rain:
Heavy rain will affect your visibility, so take it slow. Rule 126 of the Highway Code states that the braking distance between yourself and the vehicle in front of you should be two seconds when driving on a dry road, and at least four seconds in the wet. It is even longer on icy surfaces. IAM RoadSmart recommends up to 10 times the braking distance when driving on ice.
Your windscreen should be clean, wipers effective and the jets positioned correctly and aimed at the screen. It is sensible to clean the windshield, make any necessary adjustments and remove anything from the main area before you start your journey.
A good rule of thumb is that if you need windscreen wipers, then you need your headlights. Automatic light settings will not always activate in lousy weather conditions, so it is up to you to make a sensible decision as to whether these need to be turned on.
Aquaplaning:
If the water is standing in puddles on the road surface, your car is at risk of aquaplaning. Aquaplaning is where a wedge of water forms in front of the tyre and lifts off the road surface, causing the tread not to be able to displace the amount of water present. To recover form aquaplaning, ease gently off your accelerator, have a firm grip of the steering wheel and be sure not to make any sudden steering actions. The car will eventually regain its grip as the water clears.
Floods:
First, ask yourself – can you take another route? If not, then you need to identify how deep the water is. If the standing water is more than six inches deep, avoid driving through it. If you are familiar with the road, you can judge the flood to the kerb.
If heavy rain was not the cause of the flood, then what was? Moreover, what impact on the road does it have? For example, if it is a burst water main, the standing water may look like a normal flood, but the road surface beneath the water may be completely broken up. If you are unsure how the surge has formed, then avoid it altogether.
Are there other vehicles similar to yours that are safely driving through the water? From this, make a judgement call as to whether it is safe to travel through or not.
If the water is fast flowing, do not attempt to drive through it, as there is a real danger of being swept off the road in your car.
If you have considered everything and decided to drive through the flood, be sure to do so slowly. The best approach is to press lightly on your clutch and add gentle pressure on your accelerator to increase your engine revs. Do so without increasing your speed, in a similar way to how you would undertake a hill start. Doing this will prevent water from entering your exhaust. If you are in an automatic car, accelerate slightly but control the speed with your brakes. When you have passed the flood, test your brakes to make sure they are dry and working correctly.
If you are in the slightest doubt, then turn around and don’t go through the flood. Often modern saloon cars have the air intake in the wheel arch, which may be below the water level. If your engine should take in water, it will take immediately hydro lock, and the vehicle will stop.
Remember to stay alert and avoid splashing pedestrians. If accidentally done – even when causing splashed when driving through puddles at the side of the road – you could receive a fixed penalty and three points on your license for driving without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other road users. If deliberately done, it could be a public order offence, a court appearance and a fine.
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Fuel cards are being used by thousands of companies to pump around two million litres of petrol and diesel into company cars throughout the UK every single day.
However, data from Fuel Card Services has uncovered some unexpected users of fuel cards, proving that they’re not just for your run-of-the-mill fleet car, van or HGV; they are actually being used to fuel virtually anything with wheels and an engine.
In addition to the thousands of saloons and hatchbacks filled up using fuel cards, Fuel Card Services has noticed that they’re also called into action to fill the tanks of 543 concrete mixers, 36 cranes, 34 gritters, 59 line painters, 127 livestock carriers, seven fire engines, 12 mopeds, a snow plough, a tar sprayer, a bulldozer and two tricycles.
More than 56,000 panel vans are topped up using fuel cards, making them the most common vehicle type, followed by 30,000-plus estate cars.
This amount of diversity and variety probably shouldn’t be so surprising, considering the fact that around 55,000 customer organisations of all sizes and types from every area of industry, commerce and the public sector take advantage of fuel cards to keep their company vehicle on the road.
As one of the largest independent agents of fuel cards in the UK, Fuel Card Services works to help keep your running costs down.
Whether your fleet uses diesel, petrol or both, Fuel Card Services covers every major brand including specialist networks: Allstar, BP, Diesel Direct, Esso, Shell, Texaco and UK Fuels.
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Unsurprisingly, the top annoyance for the UK motorist is a traffic jam. This finding was part of IAM RoadSmart’s Safety Culture Survey, which was published on Thursday last week.
It is the fourth year, that the UK’s biggest road safety charity, asked more than 2,000 drivers about their worries, fears and attitudes. In the past, two years safety concerns around other drivers using hand-held mobile phones topped the list – but now traffic congestion is the top concern.
Congestion costs money
Congestion becomes a very real worry when looking at the road usage landscape from a business perspective. Hire car organisation, Europcar launched a new white paper, exploring the mobility challenges facing UK business. In Charting a Safe Path Through the Minefield of Challenges Facing UK Businesses, the paper reveals a mood of caution and mild pessimism amongst UK businesses.
Europcar conducted the research in response to the increasing challenges facing businesses and decision makers when it comes to keeping workers on the road and productive. More than half of the 500 businesses surveyed by Europcar said they generate their revenue through monthly contracts, so unsurprisingly, economic growth and cash flow were found to be the top two concerns for this sample of firms.
Congestion affects business
With Christmas coming, and the delivery of online retailing after Black Friday increasing, this will mean our roads are about to get even busier. Congestion becomes a critical business issue according to research from the Mercedes-Benz Vans Business Barometer survey.
Delivery drivers say that, on average, 16% of their working day is lost due to congestion, which means, based on a (very conservative) 8 hour working day this equates to 1 hour 17 minutes a day, or more than 6 hours across a typical working week, adding up to 37 working days a year lost due to congestion for the average delivery driver.
Greater London reaffirms its place at the top of the ‘congestion league’, with respondents saying 18% of their working day is lost to congestion – higher than anywhere else in the UK.
The research, undertaken amongst 2,000 van owners and operators, also highlights that congestion is now the second biggest ‘barrier to growth’, with 31% believing this will be a barrier to growth in the coming year, rising to 38% amongst fleet managers, and second only to rising fuel costs (57%).
Commenting upon their survey, Steve Bridge, Managing Director, Mercedes-Benz Vans UK Ltd, said: “We know from our Business Barometer that a growing customer base ever more focused on online retail is a positive for the industry, but unless the issue of congestion is tackled, these businesses will suffer. Congestion causes delays that cost money as well as time and can damage the reputation of business that rely on their deliveries.”
Dealing with congestion
IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman, is all about how you can save fuel. Here he provides some top congestion-driving tips.
Try to keep your driving smooth. Gentle acceleration and using the highest safe gear will use less fuel. Ease off the accelerator early for traffic lights if they are red – why hurry up to wait?
If possible, try to avoid driving during heavy traffic. Stopping and starting in traffic needs the use of the first gear and a lot fuel is used to get the vehicle moving again
Keep your tyres well maintained by checking the condition, pressures and tread depth. When it comes to choosing new tyres, it’s worth having a look at ones which are designed for extra economy
Get rid of unnecessary weight. Cars work just like the human body, it needs more energy to move around more weight and so does your car. Take heavy items out of the car if you don’t need to carry them. A roof rack or roof box will increase drag and you will use more fuel to overcome this, so remove it if it is not being used
Nowadays, you don’t need to manually warm up a modern car, so once your windows are clear (a bit of elbow grease will sort them out) you are able to set off to your destination without having to wait around
During this winter season as your engine is trying to warm up it uses more fuel for the first four miles or so.Your engine stays cold when you drive less than two miles and your car will produce 60 per cent more pollution than a warm engine – avoid these short journeys where possible
Turn off the air-conditioning as it uses extra fuel. When the rear window is cleared turn off the rear screen heater – the more electricity your car has to produce, the more fuel it will use
Keep your speed low as you can reduce fuel consumption by up to 25%. Try pressing more lightly on the accelerator, often you can maintain the same speed with less pressure on the pedal
For the moment, whilst the government navigates through its own Brexit congestion, road users and business will have to await any further constructive news about a future without traffic jams on our roads.
At My Fleet Solutions, we understand that managing a commercial fleet is more challenging than ever. We offer the very best for fleets when it comes to vehicle servicing, maintenance and repairs, on all makes and models. My Fleet Solutions can take the sting out of automotive costs, with 60% typically saved on SMR compared to franchise dealers. The costings are transparent, based upon thorough working knowledge and up-to-date automotive data, plus all genuine parts and repairs are protected under warranty.
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More than a quarter of fatal road accidents are caused by drivers who have fallen asleep at the wheel, government figures suggest.
The latest road casualty statistics from the Department for Transport show that drowsy drivers were to blame for 53 fatal and 351 serious crashes in 2017.
However, the true figure for fatigue-related crashes is believed to be much higher due to under-reporting, with up to 25 per cent of fatal accidents estimated to have been caused by people who have dropped off driving.
An online poll of 20,561 UK drivers in September found that one in eight (13 per cent) have fallen asleep at the wheel.
In addition, close to two in five (37 per cent) admitted that they have been so tired they have been worried they would fall asleep when driving.
Who is most likely to drive tired?
Men were deemed to be three times as likely as women to say they have fallen asleep at the wheel (17 to five per cent).
The research raised concern that young drivers, aged between 18 and 24, are the most at-risk. This group was found to be the most likely to say tiredness doesn’t affect their driving ability (13 per cent compared to two per cent of all drivers), as well as being the most likely age group to say they normally carry on driving if they feel tired (18 to three per cent).
Close to three in five (57 per cent) stop for a break as soon as they realised they might be too tired to drive. This figure dropped to just 34 per cent for 18-24-year olds.
One in ten (11 per cent) knew they were tired when they began their journey, increasing to 29 per cent for 18-24-year olds.
When asked why they were so tired, almost two in five (39 per cent) said they’d had a hard day at work, while a third blamed the monotony of the journey.
Around a quarter pinned their tiredness on trying to cover too much distance in one day and a lack of sleep the night before.
Tiredness is inevitable, managing it is crucial
Edmund King, AA Charitable Trust director, believes that drowsiness is one of the most underestimated risks on the roads.
“Tiredness is a fact of life at some point for most of us and it is crucial we know how to manage it in relation to driving,” he commented.
“Crashes involving a drowsy driver tend to be catastrophic. If a driver has fallen asleep at the wheel, they do not brake before an impact and make no attempt to steer away from a collision.”
Jez Strong, general manager for Tele-Gence, added: “Some drivers wind down the window or turn up the radio to wake themselves up. But the truth is that the only remedy is to take a break.”
Your business can benefit from affordable telematics with no hidden start-up fees or long-term commitments. Find out how at www.tele-gence.com
