From the outside, fleet management seems like a simple and rosy walk in the park. Unfortunately, this is not the case, fleet management is a complex process that requires a lot of complex internal work to ensure that the fleet runs like clockwork.

Employees and assets are managed by fleet controllers. This includes ensuring that drivers are well trained and rested to complete tasks effectively, and that vehicles are road-fit – that's where fleet compliance comes in.

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

What is fleet compliance and who is a fleet controller?

Before diving 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 established rules and standards that apply to fleets – from almost anything with wheels to the people who operate them.

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

Fleet compliance and safety management

An essential part of fleet compliance management is safety management. Safety management refers to the application of a set of principles, frameworks, processes, and measures to help prevent accidents, injuries, and other disastrous consequences resulting from the use of a service or product. Effective safety management ensures fleet compliance and vice versa.

Both safety management and fleet compliance 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 continuously update and review their fleet safety strategies, 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 the safety and productivity of your business. It also gives businesses 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 causedOne of the main causes of accidents, especially in long-distance, bus, taxi and fleet operations. Driver fatigue can happen anywhere, at any time, in any situation. Fortunately, HOS limits the number of hours a driver can operate a vehicle without resting. 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 driversStandard service hours:：
   

   – Cargo drivers are limited to 11 hours of driving and leaving work for 10 consecutive hours
   – Drivers are limited to 10 hours and leave work for 8 consecutive hours
   – Other restrictions include: 14-hour limit, 30-minute driving break, and sleeper rule
   
   Compliance with the prescribed HOS restrictions will reduce the incidence of accidents, injuries and deaths associated with the operation of commercial motor vehicles. Effective management of HOS flats will also improve driver safety by keeping tired drivers off the road.
   The goal is to keep the driver alert, awake and focused!

2. Fleet maintenanceRegardless of the industry, companies have a responsibility to provide a safe working environment (including vehicle safety). Fleet controllers need to ensure that fleet operations adhere to safety standards when work is done.
   
   Ensuring your fleet compliance efforts, including maintaining safety and road-worthy vehicles, are almost as important as monitoring drivers' service hours. Fleet maintenance refers to the process of ensuring that fleet vehicles are serviced, repaired, safe, and airworthy. Fleet vehicles are on the road every day, which can lead to damage, which means vehicles need regular repairs. Otherwise, daily or regular use of the vehicle without maintenance will result in vehicle failure or downtime, bringing business operations and driver productivity to a standstill.
   
   TO HELP AVOID BREAKDOWNS, THE U.S. FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION (FMCS) REQUIRES ALL DRIVERS TO COMPLETE A DRIVER VEHICLE INSPECTION REPORT (DVIR) AS A PRE- AND POST-TRIP INSPECTION. THESE VEHICLE INSPECTIONS ARE PREVENTIVE ROAD SAFETY MEASURES THAT KEEP VEHICLES SAFE AND ROADWORTHY. DVIR INCLUDES BASIC CHECKS TO ENSURE FLEET COMPLIANCE:
   

   – Lamps and reflectors
   – Tires, rims and wheels
   – Horn
   – Rearview and side mirrors
   – Windshield wipers
   – Steering mechanism
   – Braking system
   – Fifth round and connection points
   – Safety and emergency equipment
   – Wear and repair records
   
   You can already imagine how time-consuming and frustrating it is to fill out DVIR manually. As a solution, fleet management as well as software and telematics companies allow electronic driver vehicle inspection reports (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 working hours and fleet maintenance, fleet compliance includes:
   COMPLIANCE, SECURITY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY (CSA) SCORES. CSA SCORES RANGE FROM 0 (BEST) TO 100 (WORST) AND ARE CALCULATED BASED ON SEVEN BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS AND SECURITY IMPROVEMENT CATEGORIES (BASIC):
   

   – Unsafe driving
   – Vehicle maintenance
   – Collision indicator – The frequency or intensity of the collision
   – Compliance with service hours requirements
   – Controlled substances or alcohol
   – Hazardous materials compliance
   
   CSA is operated by FMCSA 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 CSA scores close to 100 will be
   Discontinuation of service and possible penalties for fleet operations. While this law is U.S. law, it can apply to fleet compliance for businesses around the world. 

4. Driver qualificationsIt is the responsibility of fleet controllers to ensure that all drivers of vehicles are licensed and receive relevant training and expertise that comply with legal requirements. Similarly, drivers need to ensure that fleet controllers are informed of any changes to their licenses so that fleet controllers can ensure smooth renewal of licenses.
   
   Fleet controllers can ensure compliance by conducting pre-employment screenings. This allows fleet controllers to understand the history of potential drivers 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 taxesFuel tax refers to the excise tax levied on the sale of fuel. Fleet controllers track where fuel taxes for commercial vehicles go. Fuel monitoring is considered an important aspect of fleet management as it can help fleet controllers determinefuelof consumption, whether for personal or commercial 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:

    

   – Mileage
   – Purchased fuel
   – Place of purchase
   – The vehicle operator or fleet compliance manager submits these records to the local IFTA office on a quarterly basis. Then, based on the number and location of miles driven, the IFTA office allocates fuel taxes to each state and province.
   
   Most fleet companies rely on telematics to help comply with fuel taxes. Through telematics, fleet management software can provide fuel consumption insights to fleet controllers.

5 Benefits of Fleet Compliance

Making fleet compliance a core component of fleet operations and performing these operations correctly and accurately can lead to:

1. Organized paperwork and reduced management: With the help of fleet management software, fleet controllers can effectively ensure compliance by electronically keeping insurance, permits, and any other regulatory contracts up to date. This way, all fleet files can be kept organized and updated, filesNo misplacement or wasting time searching through piles of paperwork.
   
2. Minimize traffic violations: Compliance with driver's licenses and qualifications and fleet maintenance prevent traffic violations by ensuring that drivers are well-trained and vehicles are road-fit。 In addition, drivers adhere to agreed company route plans and work schedules to help minimize risk and fuel costs.
   
3. Improve driver safety and efficiency:Fleet compliance enables drivers to complete tasks within set safety standards. Fleet controllers can be clear about safety and productivity standards – how drivers should load vehicles, operate vehicles, optimize routes and how much time they should spend on the road. Drivers who adhere to established standards will receive appropriate training, adequate rest, full participation, and compliance with road rules and company safety standards, thereby reducing safety risks.
   
4. Reduce legal costs: Fleet related litigation and settlements can cost significant money or lead to damage to a company's reputation and lower sales. Whatever the case, businesses 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 prove to your customers that your business cares about ensuring the safety of your drivers and their assets. While lawsuits or traffic violations can damage a company's reputation, a compliance track record will prove that your business is a trustworthy operation.

Easily achieve fleet compliance and security controls with Cartrack

Although fleet controllers and fleet owners want to be everywhere at the same time, they can't always ensure fleet compliance. Unless they use fleet management software that makes fleet compliance simple, simple, and less demanding.

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

Fleet controllers can ensure that fleets comply with Cartrack's fleet tracking software features:

• Reports: With Cartrack, you can choose from over 40 standard reports, including mileage, driver scorecard, speeding, and productivity reports. Cartrack's GPS tracking device monitors driver behavior and tracks vehicles. This data is acquired by the fleet management system and can be accessed by the fleet controller via the Internet at any time.

Some of the reports that fleet controllers can access include:

• Driver reports:Fleet controllers can use these reports to inform drivers where they can improve their drivers. The report focuses on the driver's road performance and captures records through GPS vehicle tracking, which includes events such as sharp acceleration, braking, cornering, or speeding.
  
• Driver Scorecard: This monthly report shows how safe drivers are on the road by monitoring high-risk behavior. With this, fleet controllers can improve driver behavior by training drivers when needed.
  
• Diary:Historically, drivers had to manually record trip details to distinguish between business and private journeys in order to claim tax deductions. Cartrack's logging feature simplifies this process. This feature automatically records all vehicle trips and classifies them as personal or business. This ensures that the tax compliant log is ensured by distinguishing between business and private journeys submitted for SARS.
  
• Vision: Cartrack's artificial intelligence and live streaming camera technology keep drivers safe with the following features: 
• Forward collision warning
  
• Distracted or drowsy driving detection
  
• Yawning and cell phone use 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 efficiently manage drivers, fleets, and associated operating costs. Key benefits include management:

• Vehicle services
  
• All-inclusive vehicle maintenance 
• Vehicle mileage 
• Validity of the driver's license 
• Asset depreciation 
• Fines and notices 
• Breakdown of each vehicle 
• Driver's license 
• Gas card fraud 
• Fuel fraud detection

Easily achieve fleet compliance with Cartrack fleet management solutions

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

Take full control of your fleet and contact us today.