Drivers play a very important role in any fleet business’s operations. They are the worker bees of the hive that collect and build the foundation of the fleet’s operations. Thus it is why it is very important that managers put thought into ways to encourage and reward their drivers.
Maintaining driver scores can be beneficial to both parties involved in this process. Let us understand this in detail with the help of the following sections.
Factors Affecting a Driver’s Score
The score a driver receives can vouch for their reliability, which is why maintaining a good number is very important. So what factors affect this score and how can drivers ensure that they do not lose marks to small mistakes? Here are a few ways how:
Driver Behaviour
How the driver decides to drive their vehicle has a huge impact on their score. This is because bad driving practices can harm not just fleet resources, but also the vehicle’s health. It puts the vehicle, driver and consignments at risk and might cause heavy losses to the fleet business.
The system alerts managers of any events that their drivers might trigger. For every event they trigger, there is some depreciation to their score. But every industry has different needs which means that the weightage of the events will also be wary. This is why they can set the priority events relevant to their industry to have more score deductions than others.
For example, drivers A and B work in fleets Z and Y respectively. Fleet Z works in the FMCG industry and fleet Y works in logistics. While Z needs managers to pay special attention to harsh driving as perishable goods are often fragile, fleet Y needs to pay more attention to their idling. This is why A will experience more score deductions for overspeeding while B will have to cut down on their idling time.
Video Telematics
Businesses that invest in a video telematics system, must pay special attention to their distracted driving. This is because road accidents can be very common if drivers are distracted on the roads.
Thus, drivers’ scores can include driver’s distraction events in their calculation. This will ensure better attention to their end which in turn translates to better safety.
Route Deviation
Routes selected by managers take a lot of factors into consideration. This might include the route traffic congestion, road conditions and the number of tolls on the specified paths. But imagine spending time creating these trips and drivers still choosing to travel via other routes. Sounds damaging and wasteful right? It is!
Route deviation alerts let managers know if their drivers stray off their designated paths. Thus, the system can calculate their driver’s score based on their adherence to the route planning system as well.
Benefits of Using Driver Scores With a Fleet Management System
So what do you think are the advantages of using a driver score? We can list the following off the top of our heads:
For Managers
Managers need to ensure that their drivers are always making good choices on the road. Only then can they ensure better protection and profits for their fleet business. This is why driver scores can be a very good way to encourage drivers to make better decisions and drive safely. Some benefits of using this system include:
- Better Productivity: Drivers aware of the system tracking their activities will make conscious efforts to ensure that they are not making frequent mistakes on the road. This will in turn boost their productivity by reducing their time theft.
- Team Engagement: Teams where drivers receive scores create the opportunity for healthy competition amongst drivers. This means not only will they interact with their team better, but also ensures that managers have a better way to connect with the drivers.
- Higher Profits: When drivers are making an effort and there is a boost to their productivity as well, profits also become easier to earn. Better driving practices also mean less wear and tear on vehicles. This reduces the expenditure on repairs, ensuring that fleet businesses better budget their business operations.
- Data Generation: Reports that the system generates help managers better study their fleets. Thus, they can pinpoint the pain points of fleet operations, data driver optimisation is so much easier this way.
- Higher Visibility: manual management forces managers to run around trying to ensure that their drivers are performing well. But errors are kind of inevitable with such a way of functioning. Driver score allows managers to regulate their drivers’ performance remotely.
For Drivers
You might be wondering, how can a scoring system that judges the driver’s performance be beneficial to them. Let us tell you how:
- Better Visibility: It goes both ways! To stand out is difficult in a group of hundred drivers. But with conscious efforts, maintaining a good driver score will ensure that you become a name the managers remember.
- Easier Incentivisation: As we mentioned above, when a driver stands out because of their hard work, managers can incentivise them very easily using driver scores. Tracking well-performing employees become easier through technological aid.
- Higher safety: Drivers who pay better attention to their driving habits are likely to get into accidents. Thus, they can better maintain their security. If in any case, they end up doing an activity that might be harmful, the system allows them to learn that that action was wrong so that there is no such mistake in the future.
- ELD Mandate: The governments of the USA and Canada have introduced the ELD mandate that forces fleet businesses to log their drivers’ hours of service. This becomes very easy to execute with the help of a driver’s application and driver score as well. Thus, drivers do not have to worry about overworking themselves.
Conclusion
A fleet management system is a great way that fleet businesses to optimise their operations. Similarly, a driver score system can help managers ensure that not only do their fleets stay out of harm’s way, but are also able to maintain their vehicle health for a long time. An overall win!
So what system is the best suited for your fleet business?
TrackoBit is one of the leading vehicle tracking platforms in the market, with its customisable interface and effective solutions. This is why investing in it is one of the best decision fleet businesses can make. You do not have to believe our word. Instead, simply try out a demo and experience the change for yourself.
