Imagine if you could ensure that every driver of every vehicle in your fleet was 100% committed to road safety? To do so though, you’d have to have eyes on them all the time which, thanks to the advances made in technology over the last few years, is now possible.
Fleet management has come a long way since simply being able to tell you where your vehicles are. Nowadays, not only can you see where they are in real time, but amongst other benefits, you can ensure that your drivers are 100% committed to road safety – a huge win for any logistics manager who has concerns around the upcoming implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (AARTO).
AARTO is the government’s solution to reducing the amount of smaller infringements before they become bigger infringements that cost lives and money. The Act also introduces the decriminalization of minor road traffic offences, by putting an administrative process in place to collect fines for these offences.
With the implementation of the administrative process, comes one of the biggest changes that AARTO will ring, automatic guilt. If a driver or operator is charged with an infringement, they will have to prove their innocence. And it is here that having a fleet management partner on board will come in handy.
In addition to proving innocence, a fleet management system, such as that offered by Cartrack, can also be used to implement better driving habits and training strategies for your workforce.
The AARTO administrative process starts with the infringement notice and an infringement penalty levy of R100 with every notice. As infringement notices can be served to the driver at the point of infraction, or the registered owner of the vehicle up to 60 days afterwards, your drivers could continue to commit the original offence and rack up more notices.
Notices can be issued by government authorities such as SANRAL, SAPS, Metro Police and local and provincial traffic police, so the sooner a logistics manager can improve his fleet’s driving habits, the better the company budget.
Here are 4 of Cartrack’s solutions designed to put you in control and help you and your drivers stay on the right side of the law:
1. Driver scorecards
Harsh driving habits can often result in road traffic infringements especially speeding. Over-cornering, or sudden braking speeds up wear and tear on tyres and brake pads, which means an expense coming sooner than expected. With a driver scorecard in hand, you can monitor how your vehicles are being driven and run coaching interventions where and when necessary and before infringements occur. This saves you money on spare part sand having to pay fines.
AARTO includes the implementation of a demerit system, where all drivers, owners and operators start with a zero balance. Points area warded up to a maximum of six for serious offences. A point collection of 15will result in the driver having their licence suspended for three months and infringements that continue beyond this could have more severe repercussions.
On the flip side, points will be deducted when drivers keep their record clean for the three months following an infringement.
Demerit points are given for speeding, dangerous overtaking, failing to stop at traffic lights and stop signs, roadworthy offences and infringements for faulty brakes and lights, as well as not having a valid driving licence or professional driving permit, and failure to have a roadworthy certificate for a vehicle.
2. On-the-job training
With Cartrack’s super intelligent system, you’ll also be able to set up alerts that warn you of any driver infractions. You’ll be able to make a real-time call of what action to take to help improve bad road behaviour, before it is picked by law enforcement.
3. Fit to drive
According to Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), almost 30% of fatal road accidents in South Africa are caused by drunk driving. With Driver ID tags and onboard breathalyser, you can ensure that you know who is behind the wheel and that they are fit to drive.
In addition, legal compliances such as road worthiness, driver permits, vehicle licences and toll fees can be tracked using Cartrack’s MiFleet software. This powerful vehicle administrative programme helps you keep track of costs, and where and when items need to be paid for.
4. Avoidance & evidence
Front-facing dashcams with live tracking and internal sensors ensure that a safe distance is kept between your vehicle and the one in front, preventing potential accidents and expensive repairs. In addition, Cartrack’s shock event technology will kick in on impact alerting you to a possible emergency. This means that you can get the required response dispatched quickly and to the right place. The impact detection is also triggered by harsh driving such as sudden acceleration, braking or cornering
In addition to these early warning systems, the onboard camera can help with evidence showing what happened and possibly who was at fault. A great tool to have in your arsenal when it comes to infringement notices and proving innocence.
Cartrack’s fleet management options, features and benefits have the backing of an in-house value chain, world-class technology and a 16-year legacy of providing a service trusted to over 70 000 businesses across the globe.
Click here to find out how we can help keep the long arm of the law on your side.
Cartrack offers innovative solutions to ensure legal compliance for you and your drivers, enhancing safety and efficiency.
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