Low Cost Vans

Did you know that Citroën is the only manufacturer in the UK to offer LCVs fitted with stolen vehicle tracking as standard. Just recently Citroën announced a big milestone when a Berlingo van had become the 100,000th Citroën LCV to be fitted with a unique Teletrac telematics package. The Citroën Teletrac package includes:  Smartnav satellite navigation and Trackstar stolen vehicle tracking. This specially developed package is standard in all Berlingo, Dispatch and New Relay panel vans. Citroën says its unique Teletrac Smartnav package saves the equivalent of circa 20,000 working days per year due to congestion avoidance. Drivers can also use the emergency call system function to call Teletrac’s control centre, allowing two-way voice communication.  Smartnav Personal Assistants handle some 40,000 routing and other queries, including emergency calls. As an added bonus, Citroën LCV owners also have the option of specifying Teletrac’s newly updated Fleet Director real-time fleet manageme...

There’s been a bit of talk lately about telematics, especially the new DrivePl us Van app from Direct Line insurance. It could potentially save van drivers up to 15% on the cost of insurance cover. But, this does mean being continually monitored or, as some see it, being spied on by a “black box” type of recording device. The app will log your van driving behaviour and once 300 miles are clocked up, marks your driving with a score of up to 100. If you manage a high enough score, you will get a promotional code, which can be redeemed for savings on Direct Line’s insurance costs. This may be seen as a cost effective way for van driver’s and fleet owners to save money on insurance, and to better evaluate risk management, but will those driving the vans feel that this is the best way to promote responsible driving or just an intrusive “big brother” way to nit-pick. The DrivePlus Van is free to download and available for the iPhone using iOS 6 or later software, and Androids with the 2.2 F...

Vans and their contents are high on the list of and rich pickings for thieves. On average, the monetary value of tools, equipment, and other necessary items that most businesses have inside their vans can be about or well exceed £1,500. Should the worst happen and your van is broken into or stolen altogether, it could cause a huge financial strain on your business. It can also cause emotional stress and take up valuable time for the police when trying to locate the van if it was stolen. There are several security measures and tools available out there that can help reduce the risk of becoming a target for thieves. I wanted to share a recent press release I read from TRACKER , the stolen vehicle recovery ( SVR ) specialist, about how their range of SVR products played a key role in helping police locate and return a stolen van belonging to Mark Keel, of KD Doors in Lanarkshire. The van was stolen from one of his engineers who had been out on a job, but because his fleet of vans had been...

In a recent press release, leading vehicle tracking and telematics company, Tracker , is urging businesses to assess their vans to ensure they are running a safe fleet, especially those running vans that are older than three years on. The advice comes in light of the Freight Transport Association’s ( FTA ) data from a March 2013 report that showed nearly half of all vans on the roads that are over three years old are no longer roadworthy. The auto market has seen many businesses and individuals keep possession of their vehicles for much longer periods in recent years and Tracker says, “ The FTA’s figures highlight the fact that businesses are holding onto vans for longer, rather than investing in a new fleet,” explains Stephen Doran, Managing Director of TRACKER. “But with 50% of vans over three years being old unfit to be on the road, some van owners may not be maintaining their fleet adequately. At a time when businesses are focusing on reducing costs, the last thing they need is for...

One of the UK's leading magazines for van drivers and operators, Trade Van Driver , has just announced the winners of this year’s Trade Van Driver Awards. The Mercedes-Benz Citan van was voted as the Best Newcomer and the Fiat Doblo Cargo took home the coveted Traders' Choice win. The Trade Van Driver Awards aim to give recognition to the companies who offer the best products and services to LCV operators. The judging panel consisted of journalists from the magazine and also readers, who operate light CVs on a daily basis. Click on the link above to visit Trade Van Driver's website to view the online version of the current magazine featuring a full list of winners. In the Security Innovation Award category, Global Live from Cobra UK Ltd has taken the top prize. Telematics, safety and security supplier, Cobra UK, launched Global Live last year – a world class and innovative mobile CCTV security monitoring system with unique live image streaming. The system offers van and H...

For fleet operators that are currently using a sophisticated transport planning and management system to produce an optimised schedule for deliveries, recent news of new transport management software may make your dirver's journey even more efficient. Navigation specialists and developers of an innovative and forward-thinking sat nav for HGV drivers, Navevo have announced this week that they have launched an advanced navigation system specifically designed for fleet operators that can significantly cut down on wasted journeys and lost man hours, saving thousands of pounds every year called Line of Route . The problem with other current software, Navevo points out, is that they simply provide a list of stops without providing a route on how to get there, leaving the driver to have to sort out by using other tools, maps, etc. These methods don't quite match the optimised scheduled route calculated by the transport planning software, thus creating a significant disparity between ...

Citroën has announced that they are fitting the C1 Connexion special edition with a telematics ‘black box’ as standard. In an effort to help bring down the cost of insuring a new vehicle, the Smartnav system, provided by Trafficmaster, allows Citroën to offer free insurance for the first year of ownership to all eligible drivers from 19 - 75 years of age when the car is funded with Elect 3 or Elect 4 finance. The Citroën insurance included in this offer is free for qualifying young drivers subject to two years No Claims Discount (NCD). With the fitment of the telematics unit, Citroën is also able to offer heavily discounted cover to drivers with zero or just one year’s NCD. For example a 19 year old with no NCD can insure a new C1 Connexion with Citroën Insurance for just £950. Citroën also say that renewal premiums will be based on the recorded driving behaviour over the first 12 months of ownership. The good news is that, regardless of the age of the named individuals on the policy, ...

What Van? posted an interesting article last week giving details of a new smartphone-based driver performance app. Apparently, this new app is so advanced that it may replace the need for the hardware currently used in in-cab telematics. Telemetry firm GreenRoad, whose slogan is, "Delivering the best drivers on the road" with headquarters in California USA and offices in the UK and Israel, have developed the smartphone edition they have named Asimov to alleviate the intrusive feeling some drivers have of being 'spied on'. The app displays the data it collects right on the smartphone screen so the driver knows exactly what information is being supplied back to the fleet managers. The article explains more on how the app works and what benefits it provides to van drivers and fleets. Please click here to read the post titled, "GreenRoad launches smartphone-based driver performance app" on the What Van? website

Aside from full telematics being installed in fleet vehicles, Apps are now being used as inexpensive or better yet, free monitoring tools for companies to keep an eye on driver performance. GreenRoad, the leader in driver performance and safety management for fleets, announced the launch of their new GreenRoad Central mobile app view for managers. This newly launched mobile application has a separate view for drivers and one for managers that can help produce driver safety scores. Stated on the GreenRoad website: "The manager app view features access to live fleet location enabling fleet managers to see where each driver is, at anytime, by address; safety scores for all drivers; and real-time access to each individual driver’s mobile dashboard. Managers and drivers use the safety score to review trips and determine specific habits or skills that need attention." This application can be ideal for those companies looking to ensure their drivers remain safe on the road by follow...

I used to work for a company that began using vehicle tracking technology in the early stages and I can remember the van drivers taking an instant disliking to what they perceived as being "spied upon" throughout their day. No longer could they sneak off for a cheeky unscheduled stop between customer visits or take an extra long lunch, but the benefits to the company and to customers soon ensured that this kind of service was well worth it and here to stay. I recently read an article about a vehicle tracking and telematics company called Tracker , which provides telematics and tracking for a broad range of vehicles from domestic to business fleets, including the agricultural and construction industry. The benefits to companies using this service included better management of fleets, utilising work force more efficiently, the ability to track stolen vehicles, and savings on fuel costs. Stephen Doran, Managing Director of TRACKER said, “Whether you have a large fleet of vehicle...