Vehicle operators could avoid costly and detrimental downtime situations by using latest security tech to protect their vehicles.
HH Driveright, a specialist in security, training and compliance solutions, says that in today’s fast-moving delivery environments, drivers are coming under growing pressure to cut corners, including leaving vans unlocked or even with the keys still in.
But thieves are becoming ever-more aware of this, and with such a buoyant market for used vehicles and parts derived from breaking them down, it is a huge risk to take, especially when it can disrupt operations and bring significant financial losses.
In such a scenario, where a driver has left the van unlocked or with keys in the ignition, the insurer has every right to refute the claim. Rather than being able to replace a van through its insurance policy, the fleet business will be left shouldering the vehicle’s replacement cost. But van downtime along the way can also bring costs of between £35,000 and £50,000, according to the company’s estimates.
It’s spotlighting how the HH Driveright GM2020 solution can help with this. The device automatically, or manually, immobilises a van that’s been left unlocked, if the driver has not returned to it within 10 seconds. An audible alert is first provided, to allow the driver to respond. Should the van be immobilised, it can be remobilised within 60 seconds, via multiple platforms.
“The ‘van down’ scenario, as we call it, is one no fleet wants to face, if they have no means to recoup the cost through their insurance policy,” said HH Driveright’s managing director, Rebecca Hall.
“Good key practice is a hard lesson to learn, if a financial blow of £35,000 to £50,000 is suffered. It is even more galling for fleets to have to pick up such a tab, when a very simple means of preventing drivers from leaving the keys in the ignition exists, at a cost of just £10.25 per month, plus initial fitting fee.”
