How Do You Monitor Your Drivers’ Tachograph Compliance?

We’re all aware of the need to comply with the regulations on the use of tachographs. Research carried out by TomTom Telematics, found that there are growing concerns amongst transport managers about managing tachograph compliance effectively.

Not only are they faced with possible financial penalties, but health and safety compliance continues to impact on businesses across the transport sector. Effective use of tachographs enables transport managers to monitor drivers to ensure that they are driving safely and complying with the regulations by taking regular rest stops.

Difficulties Impacting Fleet Managers

The Logistical Challenge

The main practical difficulty that many of our clients faced was a logistical one. Drivers could be out on the road for up to 48 hours before returning to base. Their tachograph data would then be downloaded and checked to allow the transport manager to calculate their remaining driving hours for the rest of the week.

This meant that work couldn’t be allocated to that driver until they had returned. This limited the transport manager’s ability to plan and allocate work in advance and often meant that the fleet operated less efficiently. Some of our clients were spending 20 to 30 minutes per day downloading data from each vehicle, leaving limited time for analysis and planning.

Health and Safety Concerns

There was also a potential impact on health and safety. Without real time information about a driver’s activities whilst on the road, there was no opportunity for managers to intervene if they were breaching the regulations. We’re all aware of the potential consequences of driving whilst overtired, not least the risk of vehicle damage or accidents that result in injury.

TomTom Telematics, commissioned research into the use of tachographs amongst fleet managers and found that 28% never analysed their tachograph data to ensure compliance whilst 20% had had a tachograph infringement recorded against them in the last three years. That could be a real cause for concern if those infringements are impacting on driver health and safety.

The Solution

At Vtec Solutions, we’ve helped our clients overcome these challenges by using WEBFLEET from TomTom Telematics.  This software allows transport managers to monitor drivers in real time. That improves their ability to ensure compliance with the regulations and plan ahead based on the hours that each driver has already worked. The software calculates a running total that enables a driver’s remaining available hours to be seen at a glance.

We helped our client John Beaty Transport, achieve greater visibility on his drivers’ Remaining Driving Time and think that he says it best:

“Previously in our business it has been difficult allocating work from Wednesday onwards each week as we have been unsure of the Drivers remaining hours for driving.  With Remaining Driving Time from TomTom Telematics we are now able to allocate work correctly a these hours are now visible.  This has proved to be a significant saving in administration and additional work carried out.”

Here at Vtec Solutions, we offer a telematics solution from Tom Tom, which takes the difficulty out of managing your fleet and gives you detailed data at the touch of a button.

If you would like to take the hassle out of downloads and analysis, then please contact us today!