Better accident analysis can help cut costs

Better accident analysis can help cut repair and insurance costs says fleet software solution specialists, Mycompanyfleet, at a time when both are increasing nationally, according to latest reports.

Government figures show the number of road accident casualties has fallen by more than a quarter in six years, but personal injury claims, especially for whiplash injuries, have risen by more than two thirds.
 

And while the number of accidents on Britain's roads has fallen every year since 2005, the cost of car insurance has risen by 20% in the last two years alone.
 

At the same time, repair costs continue to rise, due to a combination of factors such as the rise in the cost of parts or an increase in the cost of raw materials.
 

As a result, the Office of Fair Trading is currently investigating the costs associated with replacement car hire and car repairs after the Government said last September that the rising cost of car premiums was "a problem" which it wanted to see tackled by "everyone playing their part".
 

At the same time, the latest figures produced for the Institute of Advanced Motorists show that the cost to the economy of all road deaths and injuries is around £13bn, some 1% of GDP, with damage-only accidents costing a further £5bn.
 

“It’s clear from the latest figures that this is an area of rising costs which need tighter control in its management,” said Jon Tandy, Business Development Manager at Mycompanyfleet, the automotive arm of global HR solutions provider, NorthgateArinso.
 

Mycompanyfleet has the solutions to help fleet managers improve their control over accident frequency and costs through improved accident analysis.
 

Powerful dashboard functionality within Mycompanyfleet’s main fleet software solution, FleetAcumen, allows fleet managers to record the number of accidents and the types of accidents that are occurring most frequently on the fleet.
 

It also allows fleet managers to identify those drivers who are having the most accidents and put in place interventions to improve their driving skills, such as hazard awareness and driver training.
 

And it also helps to identify any particular problems that might be occurring with a particular type or model of vehicle.
 

“By configuring the dashboards appropriately, fleet managers can analyse the most common types of accidents that are occurring on the fleet and where they are occurring. These may be low speed impacts in parking areas or on congested urban roads, for example,” said Jon Tandy.
 

“They can also be used to identify any possible problems with a particular model of vehicle, such as a 4x4, which may be more prone to having accidents
 

“Once this information has been analysed, the results allow the fleet manager to take the appropriate interventions to put them right, hence saving both accident and repair costs.
 

“This could involve emailing drivers to alert them to the problems involved in parking in a certain area, identifying an accident hotspot in a local town or suggesting that they avoid a certain model of vehicle when they come to order their new company car,” he said.
 

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