Keeping drivers compliant and safe in Merthyr Tydfil

Ioan Vantu, Transport Manager, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council said: “We are delighted with the performance of the Fleetclear camera systems which have been a huge improvement on the previous supplier and enable us to accurately monitor each vehicle’s movements. The image clarity is far superior, and they are exceptionally robust which means minimal equipment failures. We have relied on the cameras many times to live monitor collections, to check footage to clarify any potential incidents and use in crew training sessions.  The systems have saved us both time and money regarding the investigation of false insurance claims or complaints regarding missed bins.”

Adapting to 20mph in Merthyr Tydfil

In September 2023 the Welsh Government reduced many speed limit zones in urban areas from 30mph to 20mph to improve safety, affecting approximately 7,700 miles of road.

This has created its own challenges for fleet managers, drivers and councils and Merthyr Tydfil took a proactive approach by contacting Fleetclear to ask for help.

Ioan added: “We generate speeding reports and once the 20mph zones were introduced the number of speeding alerts for the whole fleet jumped from an average of 70-80 per month to over 11,000! We used to be able to address the alerts with specific drivers. However, this number made it impossible to deal with on a one-to-one basis. We knew we needed a solution and quickly.”

There are a few problems for drivers when navigating the new zones:

• It can be tricky to know exactly where the zones start and end, which means it easy to get caught out.

• There is pressure on drivers and crews when making waste and recycling collections to complete the rounds within a certain period to achieve workload deadlines

• If drivers incur a speeding fine that means 6 points and at 12 points they can lose their licence.

Councils in Wales have found that drivers who perceive they are at greater risk from losing their licence in Wales have been choosing to work elsewhere, further exacerbating the current HGV driver shortage and potentially increasing costs in councils are forced to use agency drivers.

Ioan added: “We’d always had a good relationship with Fleetclear. They’re always very helpful and we trusted their products and service, so we turned to them for help. They didn’t disappoint and immediately got to work to find a solution.”

GPS-Controlled Safety from Fleetclear

Jason Maddern is Head of Municipal at Fleetclear: “We came up with a customisable solution that customers can set up according to their needs. Our GPS-Controlled Safety is the first of its kind and helps fleet operators maintain the 20mph speed limit where necessary. The system provides real-time alerts, automatic speed management options and valuable data insights.”

Over 125 of Merthyr Tydfil’s vehicles have now been equipped with the GPS-Controlled Safety system, from off-road quad bikes, small vans and tractors to specialist vehicles and 7.5t-26t waste and recycling vehicles. These vehicles facilitate the full range of council services from grounds maintenance and parks, catering and highways, to cleansing and waste collection. 25% of the council’s fleet is electric reflecting Merthyr Tydfil’s position as the third best rated council in Wales on fleet decarbonisation.

Ioan added: “We were very impressed with the installation process. It only took one month to equip the entire fleet and Fleetclear were very agile and flexible, adapting their schedule to fit around our operational requirements.”

Real-time GPS and telematics data monitor vehicle locations and are triggered when a vehicle enters a designated 20mph zone. When a vehicle crosses into one of these zones, an audible speaker inside the cab warns the driver to slow down. This real time feedback is very useful for drivers who are navigating areas with frequent speed changes.

Ioan commented: “Since having the system fitted, we have monitored the occurrence of speed alert counts at random intervals across the fleet and have found a reduction of  53.54% in speeding events within the geofence zones.”

For fleet managers who require an additional level of control, Fleetclear offers an automatic speed management option whereby a vehicle’s speed remotely without needing to be inside or near the vehicle.

Data insights with Fleetclear Connect

Merthyr Tydfil consolidates data from the GPS Controlled Safety, live camera systems and RFID Driver Identification solution via  Fleetclear Connect – an all in one web-based software platform for streamlined fleet management, which unites tracking, telematics and safety.

Fleetclear Connect provides detailed data about the GPS-Controlled Safety including information on driver behaviour and the number of speed alerts per month, which can be incorporated into staff training sessions.

Jason Maddern added: “Using GPS coordinates for the whole of Merthyr Tydfil we were able to pin point all the 20mph roads and use our online platform to make drivers aware of the change in speed limit and also show the exact point where the MPH was exceeded. Our GPS Controlled Safety system helps remove the anxiety of potential fines for both drivers and local authorities.”

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