The telematics category was one of the hardest fought of the 2013 Techies with a plethora of top entries, but Trafficmaster subsidiary Teletrac came up trumps. The strength of the Fleet Director 9 system is that it moves the telematics-based insurance game along in a big way, as it monitors drivers’ behaviour, picking up on harsh braking, cornering, acceleration and other such elements, and produces reports that allow fleet operators and insurance companies to see how employees are driving all the time.
The reports include scores for each driver, which are then emailed to them with hints and tips on how to improve their driving, and employees can even view the specific manoeuvres that have been called into question. Potential for a 30% reduction in insurance premiums and a 20% lower accident rate have been claimed.
The two Highly Commended spots go to Tracker Fleet and Ram Evolution. The former has been around since 2011 but new developments include the ability to add fuel card data to the system and create a more accurate picture of fuel usage and ‘overload protection’, which can detect when loaded vehicles are exceeding their weight limit to avoid fines. Among a stack of other features, RAM’s Evolution system includes a clever financial reporting tool, which calculates the exact operating cost of each vehicle, including fuel, insurance, MoT and driver wages in real time.
