Majority of Small Fleets in the EU don't bother monitoring driver speed

53% of all fleets in the EU don't bother to monitor driver speed;
a key factor in reducing collisions and liability, as well as potential
driver related deaths and injuries.

A new report from road safety charity Brake suggests that a significant proportion of fleet managers still don’t remotely monitor driver speed.

The second part of the group’s fleet survey report 2013 claims that speeding or driving too fast in wet or slippery conditions increases the risk of crashing and that a 1km/h reduction in average speed would save 2,200 lives every year in Europe.

Of the 220 fleet managers included in the research, one in four respondents (26%) didn't know how many of their cars were exceeding the speed limit when involved in a collision.

Six in ten (61%) managers of fleets with 50+ vehicles said they monitor driver speed while only 32% of smaller fleet managers could say the same.

This indicates that 53% of all fleets don’t bother to monitor driver speed.

Managers can do more
Roz Cumming, Professional Engagement Manager at Brake, said fleet managers have a duty to ensure the safety of their drivers and protect vulnerable road users.

She commented: “Monitoring driver speed and reminding drivers to keep well within speed limits, and to slow down even further around vulnerable road users can help.

This report shows that some fleets are already addressing this risk, but there is still more that managers can do.”

A spokesman from licence checker service Licence Bureau, which sponsored the research, says: “To reduce risks, organisations should: have a clear policy that all employees adhere to speed limits; use realistic route planning, taking account of congestion etc.; monitor compliance, for example through [GPS and wireless] telematics; and challenge or address unsafe behavior at both an individual and organisational level.”