How telematics can help your fleet comply with 20mph speed limits

8 November 2023

Topics: Risk Management

Wales, a country known as much for its rural, picturesque roads as it is for breath-taking scenery, recently took significant action in the name of road safety. In a bid to reduce accidents and save lives, Wales has switched its default 30 mph speed limits to 20 mph. This lower limit aims to make the roads safer for everyone, especially in towns and villages with active pedestrians and cyclists.

And Wales isn’t alone in this. Across England, many towns and cities, including a third of the boroughs in London, have a 20mph speed limit. And Scotland is hoping to lower their speed limits similarly by 2025.

But for fleet managers and business owners who often operate on strict timetables, adapting to these new speed limits can be a challenge. Technology is here to help. Vehicle tracking systems can be the answer to ensuring your fleet adheres to these changes, and any that might come in the future, whilst optimising productivity and efficiency.

The benefits of vehicle tracking for speed compliance

Telematics gives you a wealth of reports and tools, all containing information that can help you monitor speeding for every individual driver in your fleet. This is especially important if your drivers are operating in areas where speed limits have been lowered for safety reasons.

With vehicle tracking, you’ll see benefits from:

Live tracking: You’ll get a complete picture of your vehicles’ speed, location, and routes, allowing you to monitor your fleet’s compliance with the new speed limits at a glance. To aid with this, Quartix has recently added a new colour-coded speed category to our live tracking map, for vehicles travelling 20mph and below.

Driver behaviour monitoring: For drivers used to higher speed limits, adapting to the new limits can be a challenge. By identifying and addressing excessive speeding in restricted areas, you can encourage your drivers to adhere to the new speed limits and improve overall safety.
Geofencing: With geofencing capabilities, you can set virtual boundaries around areas with 20 mph speed limits. When a vehicle enters or exits these zones, the system triggers alerts, so you know automatically where your vehicles are and what speeds they should be taking.
Reporting and Analytics: Telematics systems offer detailed reports and analytics, allowing you to assess your fleet’s performance and compliance with speed limits over time. This data can be invaluable for making informed decisions and implementing driver training programs.

Listen to Sean Maher, Head of Sales, discuss the Safe Speed Database.

Safe speed data

Quartix goes even further in presenting a profile of your fleet’s speeding by offering UK customers relative speed data, through our unique Safe Speed Database.

Every day, Quartix trackers collect millions of data points that represent speeds taken by drivers in relation to sections of the UK road network. This means that for all the roads in the UK, our system can calculate what is the average speed drivers are taking—and often, especially on rural roads, it’s significantly less than the posted speed.

For example, in Wales, the speed limit on roads outside the boundaries of a town or village, is 60mph. However, most people will drive at speeds lower than the legal limit, for safety’s sake. Quartix’s Safe Speed Database identifies that and incorporates it into our reports, so that you can see if your drivers are driving both legally and safely. And since the algorithm that powers this one-of-a-kind feature also has the ability to adapt to changing road speed patterns, the speed that is considered safe in a 20mph area is already reflected in the database.

When this data is partnered with Quartix’s daily driver scores that take into account excess speeding over the posted limits, you can see when your drivers speed, understand by how much and determine what action should be taken.

Find out more about our Safe Speed Database

Read how important it is for young drivers that vehicle tracking data reflects current speed limits.

Benefits beyond compliance

While ensuring compliance with the new 20 mph speed limits is crucial, telematics systems offer benefits that go beyond this immediate need:

Safety: Telematics can help reduce accidents and promote safer driving practices, protecting your drivers and other road users.
Optimisation: Vehicle tracking can also help optimise routes to avoid congested areas, reducing the temptation to speed to meet tight schedules.
Cost Savings: By reducing speeding, you can lower fuel consumption, maintenance costs, and, in some cases, even insurance premiums.
Environmental Impact: Reduced fuel consumption and emissions contribute to a greener and more sustainable fleet.

The introduction of new 20 mph speed limits across the UK is a commendable initiative to enhance road safety and protect vulnerable road users. For fleet managers and business owners, adapting to these changes can be made by utilising vehicle tracking reports and features. Vehicle tracking features can help your fleet adhere to these new rules while also bringing a range of benefits that positively impact your business.