UK law states that CV drivers must take a rest break of at least 45 minutes after driving for four hours and 30 minutes – one in four of the fleet managers surveyed admitted their drivers take breaks after five hours or more.
Two-thirds of fleet managers have systems in place to monitor rest breaks. However, 16% leave it to each driver’s discretion; 15% rely on drivers telling them when they took a break; and 3% do not know.
The survey also revealed that fleet managers spend more than three hours a week correcting driver errors on tachographs. And, despite requirements to keep tacho data for at least 12 months, 31% said they fail to download data every 28 days and 29% store the data for less than a year.
“Fleet managers are frequently under pressure to increase margins, impress their customers and outshine their competitors,” says Derek Bryan, VP EMEA for Verizon Connect.
“However, safety is still priority number one. Our research shows how hard fleet managers have to work to maintain safety and compliance while juggling so many demands.
“Simple systems can be put in place to cut down time spent on admin, while ensuring compliance and driver safety. By integrating tachograph data with their fleet management system, organisations of any size can improve driver safety, compliance, and productivity.”
The research was conducted at the start of this year with 201 fleet managers who have 3-50 vehicles in their fleets.