FLEETS of all sizes could benefit more from technology that helps manage incidents according to a survey which informed a new white paper launched  by AX.

The study by the AX Motor Assist team, the end-to-end motor claims and accident management service, found that uptake of technology among fleets is modest, with only 57% using simple GPS trackers, the most popular form of technology used.

Utilisation of other technologies, including fleet management software (43%) and telematics data to monitor driver behaviour (35%) is even lower than that of GPS trackers.

The white paper, which included a survey of 200 commercial vehicle and company car fleet decision makers, examined the use of various technologies for incident management, gauging how fleets are harnessing technology to improve processes and provide a digital experience to customers and drivers.

The study found that 90% of respondents said technology can reduce vehicle off road time following an incident, despite moderate update of recognised technologies such as GPS trackers, telematics, fleet dashboards with performance indicators, fleet management software, and management reporting tools.

Over three quarters of those surveyed (76%) said technology saves between 1 and 4 days of off-road time per incident – a significant cost and efficiency saving. The results suggest that there are opportunities for fleets to make considerable improvements to their operations.

Nearly two thirds (59%) of respondents said technology also reduces the frequency of incidents, yet the survey found that only 74% of respondents said that they have a driver safety programme in place.

Scott Hamilton-Cooper, Chief Commercial Officer at AX, said: “A year on from the launch of AX Motor Assist, our new white paper identifies several eye-catching findings. It’s an incredibly tough time in which to optimise and improve fleet operations but fleets aren’t fully capitalising on the technology available to them to the extent we expected. The upside is that there’s a huge opportunity for fleets to make significant efficiency gains without too much upheaval.

“GPS tracking technology has been available for some time now, so it is surprising that it is not utilised more widely. Every fleet, large or small, can benefit – but only if they act on the data or use technology to inform decision-making. If human resources are scarce, this is where an outsourced partner is essential.”

Nearly all respondents (95%) in the survey said they agree that having more information about fleet risk and incidents would help them take action to improve their fleet, suggesting that most fleets would benefit from improved oversight through more comprehensive, actionable data.

AX Motor Assist is a technology-driven end-to-end accident management solution that is designed to be simple for any fleet to implement. The 360 suite of incident support services can be easily tailored to suit a partner’s business priorities, whilst delivering a step-by-step customer journey that simplifies the handling of complex incidents for all stakeholders.