Report on the use of tachographs and telematics. See what carriers analyse most

As many as three quarters of UK transport and logistics companies surveyed for the report, produced by trade magazines Motor Transport and Commercial Motor, are now using only digital tachographs. For 20% of companies, at least half of the vehicles are equipped with these devices. Only 2% of the carriers surveyed operate analogue tachographs only.

The use of smart tachographs is also becoming more common in the UK. Their use has grown rapidly since they became a requirement for new vehicles in 2019. In the UK, 73% of respondents admit that part of their vehicle fleet is equipped with such tachographs. In the previous survey conducted in autumn 2019, the figure was much lower at 38%.

However, only 13% of respondents claim that all vehicles in their fleet are equipped with smart tachographs. A quarter of companies have such devices in half of their vehicles. As many as 27% of them have not yet installed these in any vehicle. Moreover, 37% of those surveyed say that smart tachographs do not bring any benefits.

But the majority see such benefits. According to the report, 39% of those surveyed said they receive better real-time data thanks to smart tachographs, 34% saw a decrease in costs and benefits related to less time spent on paperwork. In addition, 19% of respondents indicated that the number of road checks had decreased.

Fleet operators seem to be more interested in their drivers than their vehicles. While driver card data is collected weekly or more frequently for 78% of respondents, only 38% of companies do this for vehicle data. Only 6% of operators look at their drivers’ activity less than once a month. As many as 46% of companies examine vehicle data so infrequently.

One interesting point is that two thirds of companies use external companies to analyse tachograph data. 70% of the companies surveyed admit to analysing all data obtained from tachographs.

It comes as no surprise that the most popular use of tachographs by companies is to check drivers’ working hours. This is declared by 71% of the carriers surveyed (of which 17% check their drivers daily).

Interestingly, 4% of companies do not analyse the acquired data at all.

The most recent report also points to the increasing use of telematics solutions in road transport in the UK. As many as 79% of fleet operators surveyed are now using this type of solution, compared to 69% in 2019.

90% of respondents see benefits from using such solutions. Among the most frequently cited advantages of telematics were the ability to track vehicles (85% of survey participants believe so), monitoring of driver activity and control of fuel economy.

The report follows a survey of readers of the trade magazines Motor Transport and Commercial Motor. The survey was aimed at fleet managers and those responsible for fleet maintenance. 145 logistics and transport companies with an average turnover of £71m participated in the survey. On average, participants in the survey had a fleet of 159 vehicles.