RISING fuel prices are leading
businesses to ask for black boxes
to be fitted to vans they hire, a
North-East company has said.
Noble Vehicle Hire, part of Darlington-
based Northgate, believes
that new corporate
manslaughter laws have also led
to a rise in demand for the devices
known as vehicle monitoring
systems or telematics.
With petrol and diesel now
more than £5 a gallon and a 35 per
cent increase in fuel prices since
June 2005, many companies are
being forced to find ways to cut
costs.
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The interest in the vehicle
monitoring systems follows industry
research showing the systems
can lead to a 20 per cent reduction
in fuel costs and a 30 per
cent reduction in insurance
costs, by cutting the number of
accidents.
Ross Clarkson, spokesman for
Noble, which is offering a threemonth
free trial of the devices,
said: "We have seen more demand
for trackers and I think
that might well continue. There
is more legislation and there is a
strong economic requirement because
of the cost of fuel.
"We have 3,500 vehicles with
black boxes in and what we are
finding is that customers are
using it for better journey planning,
because you know where
the van is going. It gives fleet
managers information to plan
journeys more effectively, resulting
in fuel savings."
Mr Clarkson believed a second
important reason was duty of
care obligations on companies.
A company using the system
would know exactly how and
where its vehicles were being driven,
so it could ensure that
routes were as efficient as possible,
provide automatic
timesheets based on actual working
hours and tackle dangerous
driving.
Mr Clarkson said: "If they (employers)
see drivers regularly
speeding they can put a training
programme in to deal with that
issue.
"It also gives them a record of
driving hours, which again helps
them in duty of care.
"It has become a big issue recently
because of the new corporate
manslaughter laws.
"In future, I think there will be
more of an obligation on people
who run cars or vans to have
records and this device gives you
that.
"I think in five or ten years
time this will be normal."
Satellite technology tracks the
movements of a vehicle by picking
up signals from a tiny transmitter
and receiver box it is carrying.
Mr Clarkson said that one firm
that fitted only ten vehicles with
the system reported cost reductions
of up to £12,000 a year in
fuel and overtime claims alone.
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