In a move that has caught the attention of drivers, it was recently announced that Hitachi would be installing telematics on all their commercial vehicles.
This includes vans of course, so this is certainly something that van drivers and companies who employ van drivers might want to take a closer look at.
The telematics is to be provided by the RAC and if everything goes well then we might even see them use this technology in the consumer car market. Let’s wait to see what happens there.
For now though, thousands of commercial vehicles in the UK will be equipped with telematics technology, where driver and vehicle data will be recorded in order to give everyone more details about performance.
A good example could be a delivery company who have vans and wants to improve getting packages out on time. Having telematics installed in their vans means that they can look closer into things like how their employees are driving and whether or not the best route is being taken.
Not only that, but let’s not forget that telematics is an excellent device to have installed if you want to get cheaper van insurance.
Typically, having this kind of technology makes drivers better on the road, which means you can then show this data to van insurance companies who will reward you with cheaper policies.
So is telematics in vans and other commercial vehicles the future you might be wondering, or is it simply a fad that will go away? In my opinion it’s definitely here to stay, mainly because it offers so many insights into driver behaviour and ways to make your company better.
Sure, there are people out there who say that it’s too much of a “big brother” type scenario where employers are going to be monitoring every thing their employees do, but to that I say…if you haven’t got anything to hide then having telematics in your van shouldn’t bother you in the slightest.
That’s what I say anyway…I’m sure there are many people who disagree with me on this, but I really don’t think it is going to stop more commercial vehicle companies going down the telematics route, especially when the end result is it saves money for everyone involved.
You know, I think there are thousands of van drivers out there who would install telematics in their van tomorrow if they knew it could save them a few hundred pounds a year on insurance.
We’ve already heard about how van insurance is more expensive than car insurance…surely this type of technology should be applauded if it can save commercial drivers money? I for one think it should.
