Get a car alarm
We’ve all been there at 3am when the neighbour’s car alarm starts going off. And even though everyone in a two mile radius can hear it, the neighbour appears to sleep through it – leaving it going off for hours. As annoying as they may seem, vehicle alarms are actually the best way to prevent people breaking in. Some of them are quite sensitive, meaning that the slightest bump will set them off, but some are more subtle than that – it would have to be a forceful try of the door or something hitting the window to make them go off. And as soon as that noise starts blaring people don’t want to stick around.

Hide any valuables
One of the most common mistakes that people make is leaving their valuables on display. Whether it’s a sat nav left in its cradle, or a phone left on the seat – people do this all the time. Leaving valuables on display is like putting a sign up to thieves saying ‘come and break in here’. For a thief, seeing a car with valuable things inside is like hitting the jackpot. So next time, before you leave your car for the night (or even just a few hours) make sure you have taken the time to hide anything that might be valuable, or even things that look like they could be valuable – empty bags and such. You’ll thank yourself for it later.

Lock the vehicle
This one seems fairly obvious, but you’d be surprised by how many people forget to do this, or just don’t bother. This is the easiest way for thieves to get into your car and take whatever’s inside – or even hotwire it and take it for a spin. Get into the habit of checking your doors whenever you leave your vehicle and make sure they’re always locked up tight. Many thieves are chancers – they’ll simply walk down a street and try the handles of every vehicle they pass in the hopes that one is left unlocked. Don’t let the one unlocked be yours.

There are other things that you can do to make sure your vehicle is secure whenever you leave it. Vehicle CCTV is a tool that is on the rise, and isn’t just for big company vehicles. Unfortunately, vandalism is on the rise too, meaning that you could go out to your car one morning and find it covered in graffiti, or scratched from bumper to bumper. With vehicle CCTV you’ll be able to catch whoever did it. Not only that, but having vehicle CCTV acts as a deterrent, so people will be less likely to break in, or vandalise your vehicle, if they know that they’ll get spotted on camera.

Vehicle CCTV works not just for buses and public transport, but can also be used on personal vehicles too. Vehicle security is something we take very seriously, and we want everyone to be protected when it comes to this.

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Yes there have been cutbacks which mean that many companies cannot hire enough bus and coach drivers to fill all the routes that need filling, but there is another reason for this shortage. Westminster Transport Committee has brought to the attention of the public that one of the other reasons that there is a shortage of people is because recruitment isn’t what it used to be. Many companies have more buses or coaches than staff to drive them, and they don’t have enough time to recruit people the way they should be.

Many people have cited poor pay, unsocial hours and the general attitude of the public as reasons for putting them off the job. There are also a lot of conditions that bus and coach drivers need to meet before being able to drive safely and legally within this industry. These include passing a medical, obtaining the proper licence and completing a driver training course. Newly qualified bus drivers can also sometimes be left with a bond, which leaves them liable to pay back some of the cost of their training if they leave the company early.

As you can see, there are many reasons why there is a shortage of bus and coach drivers in the industry, but what people don’t see is the knock on effect this has to the general public. Many people are unable to drive themselves, and so rely on buses and coaches to get them to work, to visit friends and family or to go to the shops. In rural areas in particular, this can be a hard task, as many things aren’t within walking distance and the bus routes are few and far between. Because of the shortage, companies don’t have enough drivers to make all the routes that they could be so some people are left feeling isolated or ‘stuck’ at home. This further provides the general public with a negative attitude to the bus and coach industry – making the gap between the public and the driver even wider.

We understand that there is only so much that coach and bus companies can do in terms of recruitment – you can’t hire what isn’t there. And with everyone pulling their belts a little tighter, it isn’t always possible to have as many drivers as you would like to. But there are some things that this industry can do to help change the shortage of drivers in the country.

The attitude of the general public has been cited as one of the reasons that people don’t want to become drivers, so let’s go about changing that for the better. If we make the public feel safer, then they are more likely to trust bus companies, and therefore leave the negative attitude at the door. One of the ways to this is by installing CCTV in all buses and coaches, and letting the public know it’s for their benefit. This way both the driver and the public will feel better – and it will hopefully inspire more people to ‘come on board’ (pun intended) with the bus and coach industries.

Let’s start fixing relations between bus/coach companies and public and the rest will follow.

The post Shortage of Drivers in the Bus and Coach Industry appeared first on Vehicle Security Solutions Ltd.

One of the reasons is due to the rise in crime that is happening in the country. Particularly in the case of buses and coaches, where they are transporting the general public, they are seen as vulnerable to vandalism and other acts of anti-social behaviour. In fact, buses and coaches are at higher risk of vandalism because they come into contact with more people over the course of a day. Not only that, but with the amount of people that buses transport every day, it’s getting harder and harder for the driver to keep an eye on everyone who is riding their bus or coach.

Insurance companies are aware of these facts, and so have decided to raise insurance premiums for buses and coaches – simply because these are the vehicles which are more susceptible to damage and therefore owners are more likely to make claims. It’s not entirely fair, but the insurance companies have to make their money somehow.

Another reason that insurance premiums have risen in recent years is that there is a lack of drivers in the industry. You may be wondering why this would affect the amount of insurance that people are paying, but to insurance companies, less drivers mean that the existing drivers are stretched thinner than ever before. This mean that are likely to be driving longer hours, longer routes and doing more hours without breaks. Because of this, bus and coach drivers are more likely to be tired and therefore more likely to make mistakes. Obviously, if you manage a bus or coach company, or are even a driver yourself, you will know what the proper precautions are but the insurance companies don’t see it this way, unfortunately.

Tired drivers are far more likely to make mistakes and do things which will cause accidents. This is true of any driver and not just bus and coach drivers, but unfortunately these are the drivers who are worst affects because they are driving bigger vehicles, and are responsible for the lives of more people. This means that if they make mistakes, the consequences are likely to be more far reaching than that of a normal driver. So the insurance premiums go up.

It seems unfair that the bus and coach companies are taking the brunt of the rising premiums, but at least after reading this you will have some understanding of why they’re doing it. Luckily for you, there are things that you can do to help stop the rise of insurance so quickly, or perhaps even make it go down.

One of these things is installing CCTV systems in all of your vehicles. This will make your vehicle safer for drivers and those on board. The driver will feel safer knowing that they are covered in the event of an accident and the general public will feel safer knowing that there will be footage if something were to happen. CCTV also acts as a deterrent to those looking to vandalise the buses and so makes them less likely to do it. In the eyes of insurance companies, this makes your buses and coaches safer.

The post Insurance Premiums on the Rise appeared first on Vehicle Security Solutions Ltd.

In recent years, these schemes are becoming more and more commonplace, unfortunately for innocent motorists on the road. There are three main types of crash for cash schemes – none of which are good news for other motorists. The first type is where two fraudsters will crash two of their own cars together, or use tools to simulate the damage of a crash. The second type is where someone will deliberately slam the brakes on their car to ensure that the car behind will crash into them, even though they weren’t braking for anything. The third type of scheme is called a ghost scheme and is where a fraudster will make a claim for an accident that never even happened.

There is good news though. In 2006, the Insurance Fraud Bureau was created to ensure that something would be done about these kinds of crimes. This organisation works alongside the police and insurance companies to investigate every claim that comes to them, making sure that nobody falls victim to these scammers. Unfortunately, they can’t catch every one that comes to them and some of these scams do fall through the net. If you’re worried about this happening to you, then there are some things that you can do. If you’re running any kind of company where you are in charge of people who are driving a lot, then you might also want to pass this advice onto them.

First things first, and something that you should be doing anyway, is making sure you stay alert when driving. Be aware of your own driving as well as those people around you. Be aware of when others are getting too close to you when driving. If there are cars which are driving too quickly and too slowly at the same time, then they may be people looking to fake an accident. Another warning sign is drivers who pay too much attention to the car behind them, and try to stick quite close to them. This could also be passengers doing the same thing. Make sure that you aren’t paying so much attention that you forget to pay attention to what you’re doing.

Make sure that you always maintain a safe distance from the car in front of you. This is something that you should be doing anyway, but it can be easy to forget sometimes, particularly on long journeys, but it is one of the most important ways to keep your driving safe. Make sure to adjust your distance according to how fast you’re going and what the conditions of the roads are like. Another things that fraudsters often do to increase the chances of causing an accident is disabling their brake lights. Be aware if you end up behind a car that doesn’t have any brake lights and make sure to keep an even larger distance between you and that car, just in case.

The post Crash for Cash Schemes appeared first on Vehicle Security Solutions Ltd.

David Morley, Bibby Distribution’s continuous improvement manager, said: “The data we get from our telematics system is incredibly powerful and we have been able to use it to create tailored training programmes, delivering bespoke training aligned to business strategy which improves driver skills and customer experience.
“That means we can give customers every confidence they will benefit from lower carbon emissions in their supply chain and more cost-effective delivery.”
Nadeem Raza, chief executive officer at Microlise, added: “Bibby Distribution’s use of telematics data is highly intelligent. Instead of just using it to track general trends, the training team has taken that information and is proactively helping drivers improve their skills.”

Bibby Distribution’s training strategy contributes towards its long-term Road to Zero strategy, aimed at achieving zero harm, zero waste and zero environmental impact from its operations.

Author: Commercial Fleet

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Having CCTV installed on buses and coaches will not only allow the driver to see what is going on while they are trying to navigate busy streets, but it will also protect them, the company and of course, the passengers. CCTV is the easiest way to do this, as they are easy to install and simple to operate and retrieve the footage if needed. This is good news for bus companies as it can be used as evidence in case any accusations are made against the company.

It can also help protect the passengers, by monitoring the drivers to see if they’re behaving appropriately, driving safely and generally not putting anyone at risk. Improving the quality of drivers often means that insurance costs are cheaper. You can also rest easy knowing that your drivers are aware that they’re being watched so will on their best behaviour. It will also reassure passengers that your coach or bus is a reliable and safe method of transportation due to the increased security.

In a world of constant surveillance, people are worried about becoming a ‘Big Brother’ state. However, many of these people are also heavily reliant on CCTV footage to protect them. In inner cities, where surveillance is high, people feel safer because they know should anything happen, there is video evidence of it somewhere. Unfortunately, people don’t always get the same feeling when on public transport, and as such avoid using it. With CCTV installed in your buses or coaches your clients can travel safely in the knowledge that should anything happen they will be covered by the evidence.

VSS903 – Four Channel Hard Drive MDVR

CCTV can also act as a deterrent. A lot of vandalism or anti-social behaviour takes place on board large public vehicles because the driver often cannot put a stop to it as they need to focus on driving. It can be hard to keep track of a full coach of people as well as trying to steer a vehicle that size. Having CCTV in place can prevent people from vandalising or stealing if they know they’re being watched. It can give you and your drivers’ peace of mind when travelling because they know that they don’t have to be aware of every passenger on the bus and can remain focused on the job at hand.

Most CCTV equipment comes with GPS tracking inbuilt, so you can monitor every vehicles’ precise location at any time. This can come in handy for auditing, insurance claims or claims against the company. By being able to monitor the location and movements of your buses, you can make sure that all vehicles are doing what they’re supposed to. It can increase efficiency and productivity because you will be able to see what each coach or bus does with its time.

Buss and coach tamper proof cameras

A large percentage of speeding incidents can be avoided if the driver is aware they are being watched, and having CCTV on board your vehicles can reduce insurance by up to a significant percentage. Commercial vehicles make up a small percentage of vehicles on the road at just 1.7%, but these same vehicles account for 18% of accidents. These numbers can be reduced with the installation of CCTV, because everyone is more aware that they are being watched and therefore likely to behave with more caution. It can also reduce the number of false claims made against your company or your drivers – as there will be video evidence to back your company up.

Nearly every public place in the UK now has CCTV, why should a bus or coach be any different?
Contact us now at Vehicle Security Solutions on 01562 544108 to discuss your vehicle CCTV requirements and obtain a free quote or email us at:- info@vehiclesecuritysolutions.co.uk.

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As the cost of fuel continues to rise, many companies are looking to reduce the amount of fuel they’re using in order to save them money. There are a lot of things that can be done to reduce the amount of fuel being used and vehicle tracking is one of them.

When a vehicle is idling it can use fuel unnecessarily and stopping this idle time can be one of the easiest ways to cut down on fuel costs.

Why do vehicles remain idle if they don’t need to?

There are a number of reasons that a vehicle can remain idle, particularly if the driver is in their vehicle for long periods of time. Lorry drivers can sometimes spend a few days in their cabin – often sleeping there at night and Bus and Coach drivers keep their vehicles running during winter months to keep the heaters on.

Obviously, a driver spending this much time in a vehicle will want it to be as comfortable as their home. Warm at nights and during the winter, yet cool during the summer. Because of this, when they stop – be it for dropping off deliveries, waiting to collect passengers or just stopping for a rest – they can leave their vehicle running. This will cause fuel to be used even if the vehicle isn’t moving.

What effect does this have?

This can add unnecessary mileage to a vehicle, potentially shortening its life span. Not only is it losing fuel while it is running, but all this mileage will age the vehicle. The older the vehicle is, the worse its fuel economy gets, thus losing further fuel in the long term.

What will vehicle tracking achieve?

Vehicle tracking has many uses, the basic concept of a tracker is to make the fleet manager aware of the movements and habits of a particular vehicle. Vehicle tracking can monitor speeds, which in some cases is much needed. A lot of delivery companies want their packages delivered as quickly as possible, and speed is of high importance these days when it comes to making deliveries. Because of this, many drivers use this as an excuse to exceed the speed limit. This can cause the company or the driver fines and can also lose you competent drivers, if they are going over the speed limit.

The other reason why you may want to track vehicle speeds is because going higher speeds can significantly reduce fuel efficiency. If you can keep track of which drivers are going over the limit, you can take steps to ensure they understand why they shouldn’t be doing this. You can also monitor people of a period of time, so you can see which drivers are consistently exceeding the limit. This isn’t about tracking the drivers, but more making sure that you are getting the most out of your fuel consumption.

As well as speed, vehicle tracking can show you when a vehicle is stopped but still idling, when it is switched off entirely, and of course when it is on the move. This can be handy as it enables you to see which vehicles stop the most often, for how long and for what reason. Knowing this information can help your company to provide better solutions to why the drivers have left the engine running.

For instance, if a driver leaves the vehicle running while they are going to make a delivery, and you find that it’s because they want to leave their air conditioning on, you can think of alternative ways to keep the cabin cool while they’re making the deliveries. The same if they want to keep the heating on, offering up other solutions such as adding a company uniform jacket may help solve the problem of why some vehicles are kept running. You can monitor which drivers stop the most, and if you seem to find a common problem, you can solve it throughout the whole country – giving every employee different options and essentially saving you lots of money in fuel costs.

All in all, there are many different uses for a vehicle tracker and if you’re looking to save money, this is a simple and easy way to keep track of your vehicles and make sure they are not using fuel unnecessarily.

For working out which tracker is right for you or to discuss additional options such as driver Fobs, then please don’t hesitate to contact us at Vehicle Security Solutions on 01562 544108 or email us at info@vehiclesecuritysolutions.co.uk

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As I look through my living room window in the aftermath of a ‘Tornado’ hitting our village, I begin to assess the costs of this natural disaster and how it will affect the local community as a whole. Insurance companies telephone lines will be ‘red hot’ today.

You see, unfortunate events like this affect us all. Personally, we came away relatively unscathed with regards to actual damage, however, with insurance claims being submitted by those directly affected over the next few days, the costs of insurance premiums in our postcode will rise.

I can accept this, as there was nothing anyone could have done. It was no one’s fault, we all bore witness to what this storm threw down at us. It was a natural phenomenon. You try taking Mother Nature to court to sue for damages. You can’t. It’s just one of those things.

Estimated wind speeds last night were around 72mph. I’ve checked the internet and found that on the Beaufort scale which rates ranks wind speeds from scale 1-12, we were hit hard.

There was no warning system to tell us otherwise. We couldn’t have slowed the wind down to be less destructive, therefore resulting in less or no damage and ultimately no insurance claims and premium hikes!

Where am I going with this story you might wonder and what relevance does this have to the transport industry? I’ll tell you.

Driving Responsibly?

I work in the world of vehicle CCTV and Telematics and recently visited a prospect who had enquired about such systems. They’d recently been sent their new annual insurance premium which had gone up an incredible £60,000 across their fleet of twenty passenger service vehicles!

When I questioned why the huge rise, they told me that one of their vehicles was written off last year after it braked hard, skidded off the road and veered off into a ditch. Fortunately, no one else was onboard the vehicle which was on its way back to the depot and the driver was lucky to have walked away with minor injuries.

After a short investigation, the incident was put down to poor driver behaviour. The driver used their mobile phone whilst speeding. The driver got fired! Could this have been prevented? Yes.

On another visit last year, this time to a haulage firm, they were faced with a similar hike in their insurance premiums due to one of their vehicles being involved in an RTA. This turned out to be a crash for cash incident with five occupants of the car involved (three of these were ‘ghost riders’ as the truck driver said there were only two passengers in the vehicle at the time). Could this have been prevented? Maybe, if you had a reliable witness.

There were 180,000 incidents involving cash for crash scams in the UK between June 2015-16.

I hear these stories all the time. But what can be done to eradicate poor driver behaviour? How can we prove who was at fault? How can we prevent drivers speeding? How can we stop insurance premiums rising against us when we’re not in the wrong? What steps can we take to stop this?

FORS can help towards safety on the roads

The aim of FORS is simple. One comprehensive scheme that encompasses all aspects of safety, fuel efficiency, economical operations and vehicle emissions. FORS is a voluntary scheme that helps improve operators’ performance in each of these areas. And it’s the safety part of the scheme we’ll concentrate on here.

The need to install additional safety equipment such as CCTV and Telematics on your vehicles is growing. For example, to meet Transport for London (TFL) requirements and to be eligible for business deals within London, as well as infrastructure plans such as Cross Rail, you must fulfil the requirements of the Fleet Operators Recognition Scheme (FORS). And having vehicle CCTV and using Telematics systems really does help towards aspects of safety.

For vehicle operators, it offers peace of mind that they are meeting their legislative requirements. Banded as Gold, Silver and Bronze accreditations, each one carries its own merits. It is an excellent way to prove to existing and potential clients your credentials as a high performing operator who adheres to high quality standards.

Bronze is entry level accreditation but gaining Silver endorsement, shows you’re dramatically improving the overall safety of operator’s fleet vehicles which in turn ensures compliance with the Standard for construction logistics

What kind of Technology can help?

Vehicle CCTV is paramount in today’s battle against fraudulent accident claims and has ultimately improved the overall claims experience in the industry. What’s more, with GPS tracking, you’re able to view footage in sync with a map showing the location and speed of the vehicle.

A major benefit of having vehicle CCTV is that it improves vehicle safety and security and encourages best practice amongst drivers.

Telematics devices are generally systems that are installed in your vehicle that records information about your driving habits, such as the number of miles you drive, your speed, and how quickly you brake. Studies have shown that a 5% decrease in average speed leads to approximately a 10% decrease in injury and 20% decrease in fatal crashes (2014, U.S Dept of Transportation).

Based on a telematics data base research in the UK, an incredible 92% of speeding incidences can be avoided by an installed telematics system.

These systems can quite often be integrated into a vehicle CCTV device, so gives you the best of both worlds.

Roads are getting more congested, in fact Motor vehicle traffic in Great Britain increased by 2.3% in the year ending June 2015 from the previous year. The provisional figure of 314.6 billion vehicle miles is the highest rolling annual total ever! (National statistics).

We need all the help we can get out there and the aforementioned systems will not only help your drivers be safer on the roads and curtail the fraudulent accident claims but will protect and enhance your reputation.

So unlike the Tornado tale mentioned earlier, which was unavoidable, WE can put at stop to poor driver behaviour and fraudulent accident claims by installing such systems mentioned above. Can you afford to be without it?

The post Can you afford to be without vehicle CCTV and Telematics? appeared first on Vehicle Security Solutions Ltd.

‘Vehicle Security Solutions are independent specialist suppliers of vehicle CCTV systems to the transport industry, bringing together a host of progressive vehicle CCTV solutions to cater for all your operational needs.’

Our vehicle CCTV solutions include mobile digital video recorders (MDVR), which are fast becoming the most popular system for fleet operators in both the PSV and Commercial vehicle markets. Installing vehicle CCTV solutions helps improve passenger and driver safety, prevents against fraudulent accident claims and can ultimately help reduce your insurance premiums.

‘On average, fleets with vehicle CCTV and driver training have experienced a 40% reduction in accidents.’

Vehicle CCTV also promotes better driving behaviours which ultimately leads to lowering your company’s carbon emissions through careful driving.

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The top portable breath alcohol tester in the UK is the Alert J5 which also comes with a Printer and is used extensively within the transport sector. Below is an in-depth overview of this alcohol testing device.

ALERT J5 BREATH ALCOHOL TESTER WITH PRINTER

The Alert J5 combines the top breath features required by law enforcement, healthcare and industrial-safety professionals into one convenient and affordable solution. The Alert J5 Breath Alcohol Tester is coupled to a Bluetooth printer to give fast and accurate record of the test result when a person blows into the device, which can be used as evidence.

Below are a few of the main elements of the Alert J5…

Convenient menu
The Alert J5 allows you to capture breath samples, print test results with the optional print function, and recall previous tests in seconds.

Evidential accuracy
The Alert J5 uses a fuel cell – the standard in law enforcement breath testers. The long-term stability of the sensor means you can count on accurate results year after year.

Optional printing
The Alert J5 has an onboard RS-232 printing capability, allowing it to print using the optional portable impact printer.

Multi-language display
Users can easily change languages without having to upgrade software. All Alert J5 alcohol testers are available with multiple language options.

Limited warranty
ACS breath alcohol testers are warranted to be free from defects in workmanship and material for one year from the date of purchase. Only qualified technicians should perform the maintenance of any breath alcohol tester.

At VSS, we also offer throw away alcohol and drug testing equipment, plus alcohol testing equipment linked to ignition. Contact us on 01562 544108 or complete the online enquiry form.

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