From an outside perspective, fleet management may seem like a simple, rosy walk in the park. Unfortunately, this is not the case and fleet management is a complex process that requires a lot of intricate inner workings to ensure your fleet runs like clockwork.

Employees and assets are managed by fleet controllers. This includes ensuring drivers are well trained and rested to complete their tasks effectively, and that vehicles are roadworthy – this is where fleet compliance comes into play.

Fleet compliance is one of the common struggles among fleet managers. Fortunately, fleet management systems provide information and data for your entire fleet operation on one platform. In this article, we’ll discuss fleet compliance, best practices, benefits and how to make it easy with Cartrack.

What is fleet compliance and who is the fleet controller?

Before we dive into fleet compliance, let’s really understand compliance. Compliance refers to actions or agreements that comply with a set of legal rules and standards. That being said, fleet compliance means meeting the set rules and standards that apply to fleets – from just about anything with wheels to the people who operate them.

Fleet controllers are responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of a fleet and ensuring operations remain compliant.

Fleet Compliance and Safety Management

An essential part of fleet compliance management is safety management. Safety management is the application of a set of principles, frameworks, processes and measures that describe the prevention of accidents, injuries and other catastrophic consequences caused by the use of services or products. Effective safety management ensures fleet compliance and vice versa.

Safety management and fleet compliance both rely on software that can store detailed information and data about vehicle maintenance, driver performance and road behavior.

This systematic approach will enable fleet operations to achieve fleet compliance and safety management through the effective use of fleet management solutions. By using fleet management software, fleet operations can continually update and review their fleet safety strategy, transportation operations, policies and procedures to meet established standards, laws and rules.

5 ways to implement compliance best practices

As a fleet controller, fleet compliance is critical! Fleet compliance not only ensures safety and productivity for your business. It also gives the business a reputation for adhering to established standards, rules and laws. Here are five ways to implement compliance best practices:

1. Monitor driver hours of service (HOS)Driver fatigue is caused byOne of the leading causes of accidents, especially in long-distance, bus, taxi and fleet operations. Driver fatigue can occur anywhere, at any time, under any circumstances. Fortunately, HOS limits the number of hours a driver can operate a vehicle without taking a break. HOS refers to the maximum number of hours a commercial driver can drive and work per day. To achieve fleet compliance, fleet controllers need to prioritize HOS. fleet commercial driverThe standard service hours are:
   

   – Cargo drivers are limited to driving for 11 hours and are off work for 10 consecutive hours
   – Drivers carrying passengers are restricted to 10 hours and are off duty for 8 consecutive hours
   – Other restrictions include: 14-hour limit, 30-minute driving rest and sleeper berth rules
   
   Complying with the established HOS restrictions will reduce the occurrence of accidents, injuries and deaths related to the operation of commercial motor vehicles. Effective management of HOS will also improve driver safety by keeping fatigued drivers off the road.
   The goal is to keep the driver alert, awake and focused!

2. fleet maintenanceRegardless of industry, companies have a responsibility to provide a safe work environment (including vehicle safety). Fleet controllers need to ensure that fleet operations adhere to safety standards when the work is completed.
   
   Ensuring your fleet compliance efforts include maintaining safe and roadworthy vehicles is almost as important as monitoring driver hours of service. Fleet maintenance is the process of ensuring fleet vehicles are serviced, repaired, safe and roadworthy. Fleet vehicles are on the road every day, which can cause damage, meaning the vehicles require regular maintenance. Otherwise, daily or regular use of a vehicle without maintenance will result in vehicle breakdown or downtime, bringing business operations and driver productivity to a standstill.
   
   To help avoid breakdowns, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCS) requires all drivers to fill out a Driver Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR) as a pre-trip and post-trip inspection. These vehicle checks are preventive road safety measures to ensure your vehicle is safe and roadworthy. DVIR includes basic checks to ensure fleet compliance:
   

   – Lamps and reflectors
   – Tires, rims and wheels
   – horn
   – Rear view mirrors and side view mirrors
   – windshield wipers
   – Steering mechanism
   – Braking System
   – fifth wheel and connection point
   – safety and emergency equipment
   – Wear and repair records
   
   You can already imagine how time-consuming and frustrating it is to fill in the DVIR manually. As a solution, fleet management as well as software and telematics companies allow Electronic Driver Vehicle Inspection Reporting (eDVIR). This greatly reduces paperwork and administration, resulting in accurate DVIR.

3. Keep compliance, security and accountability scores up to dateIn addition to monitoring driver hours and fleet maintenance, fleet compliance includes
   Compliance, Security, and Accountability (CSA) Score. CSA scores range from 0 (best) to 100 (worst) and are calculated based on seven Behavioral Analysis and Security Improvement Categories (BASIC):
   

   – unsafe driving
   – car Care
   – Collision indicator – frequency or intensity of collisions
   – Comply with service hour requirements
   – controlled substances or alcohol
   – Hazardous Materials Compliance
   
   The CSA is operated by FMCSA and is designed to implement safety measures for fleet controllers and drivers. The categories listed above are evaluated at roadside checkpoints on every major highway in the United States, and drivers with a CSA score approaching 100 will be
   Stop service and fleet operations may be subject to penalties. While this law is U.S. law, it can apply to fleet compliance for businesses around the world. 

4. Driver qualificationFleet controllers have a responsibility to ensure that all drivers operating vehicles are licensed and have the relevant training and expertise required by law. Likewise, drivers need to ensure that fleet controllers are informed of any changes to their license so that fleet controllers can ensure a smooth license renewal.
   
   Fleet controllers can ensure compliance by conducting pre-employment screenings. This gives fleet controllers an idea of a potential driver’s history on the road. Pre-employment screening includes drug and alcohol testing, although fleet controllers should conduct random checks to ensure drivers remain compliant.
5. Comply with fuel taxFuel tax refers to the excise tax levied on the sale of fuel. Fleet controllers track where commercial vehicle fuel taxes go. Fuel monitoring is considered an important aspect of fleet management as it helps fleet controllers determinefuelconsumption, whether for personal or business use.

   The International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) is an agreement between 48 U.S. states (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) and ten Canadian provinces that record:

    

   – driven distance
   – purchased fuel
   – Where to buy
   – The vehicle operator or fleet compliance manager submits these records to the local IFTA office on a quarterly basis. The IFTA office then allocates fuel taxes to each state and province based on the number of miles driven and location.
   
   Most fleet companies rely on remote information processing to demonstrate compliance with fuel taxes. Through remote information processing, fleet management software can provide fleet controllers with fuel consumption insights.

5 Benefits of Fleet Compliance

Making fleet compliance a core component of fleet operations and doing so correctly and accurately can lead to the following benefits:

1. Organized paperwork and reduced administration:Powered by fleet management software, fleet controllers can effectively ensure compliance by electronically keeping insurance, licenses, and any other regulatory contracts up to date. This way, all fleet files can stay organized and updated,filesNothing gets misplaced and no time is wasted searching through piles of paperwork.
   
2. Minimize traffic violations:Compliance with driving licenses and qualifications and fleet maintenance ensures drivers are well-trained and vehicles are roadworthy, ensuringPrevent traffic violations. Additionally, drivers adhering to agreed company route plans and work schedules help minimize risks and fuel costs.
   
3. Improve driver safety and efficiency:Fleet compliance enables drivers to perform within set safety standards. Fleet controllers can clarify safety and productivity standards – how drivers should load vehicles, operate them, optimize routes and how much time they should spend on the road. Drivers who comply with established standards will be properly trained, adequately rested, fully engaged, and adhere to the rules of the road and company safety standards, thereby mitigating safety risks.
   
4. Reduce legal costs:Fleet-related lawsuits and settlements can cost significant amounts of money or result in damage to a company's reputation and lost sales. Regardless of the situation, businesses will lose money. Following fleet compliance best practices can help your business avoid legal risks.

Build customer trust:Adhering to established standards, rules, and laws will demonstrate to your customers that your business cares about ensuring the safety of your drivers and their assets. While a lawsuit or traffic violation can damage a company's reputation, a compliance record will demonstrate that your business is a trustworthy operation.

by Cartrack Easily achieve fleet compliance and safety controls

Although fleet controllers and fleet owners would like to be everywhere at the same time, they cannot always ensure fleet compliance. Unless they use fleet management software that makes fleet compliance simple, easy and undemanding.

Cartrack provides fleet management software solutions that enable fleet controllers to streamline their entire fleet operations from one platform.

Fleet controllers can ensure fleet compliance with Cartrack’s fleet tracking software features:

• Report: With Cartrack you can start from Choose from over 40 standard reports, including mileage, driver scorecard, speeding and productivity reports. Cartrack's GPS tracking devices monitor driver behavior and track vehicles. This data is captured by the fleet management system and can be accessed by the fleet controller via the Internet at any time.

Some of the reports available to fleet controllers include:

• Driver reports:Fleet controllers can use these reports to inform drivers of areas where they can improve their performance. The report focuses on a driver's on-road performance and captures records via GPS vehicle tracking, which includes incidents such as hard acceleration, braking, cornering or speeding.
  
• Driver Scorecard: This monthly report shows how safe drivers are on the roads by monitoring high-risk behaviour. With this, fleet controllers can improve driver behavior by training drivers when needed.
  
• log:Historically, drivers had to manually record trip details to distinguish between business and personal journeys in order to claim tax relief. Cartrack's logging feature simplifies this process. This feature automatically records all vehicle trips and categorizes them as personal or business trips. This ensures tax-compliant logs by distinguishing between business and personal journeys for filing SARS.
  
• Vision: Cartrack’s artificial intelligence and live streaming footage technology keeps drivers safe using the following features: 
• forward collision warning
  
• Distracted or drowsy driving detection
  
• Yawning and cell phone usage detection

Up to 8 lenses: any combination of internal or external AI cameras

MiFleet: Easy-to-use management and vehicle cost software that fleet controllers can use to effectively manage drivers, fleets and associated operating costs. Key benefits include managing:

• vehicle service
  
• All-inclusive vehicle maintenance 
• vehicle mileage 
• Driving license validity period 
• Asset depreciation 
• fines and notices 
• Trouble with every car 
• driver's license 
• gas card fraud 
• Fuel fraud detection

by Cartrack fleet management solution makes fleet compliance easy

Fleet compliance has never been easier! With Cartrack, you can stay compliant by easily managing and automating fleet compliance throughout your operations.

Take full control of your fleet, contact us today.