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Cybit solutions to support new mobile phone legislation
- Fleetstar-Online and Cybitfleet telematics solutions to support full hands free operation - in line with new Government legislation
- Ensures UK fleet operators can continue to meet their duty of care requirements for employees on the road
Cybit, the UK's fastest growing provider of fleet management and telematics solutions, has announced that its Fleetstar-Online and Cybitfleet telematics solutions can support new Government legislation forbidding the use of handheld mobile phones while driving. The legislation, which comes into effect in less than two weeks time on 1 December 2003, is set to dramatically change the way that drivers use their mobile phones. Cybit believes it will have serious implications for the significant number of UK fleet operators who typically rely on their drivers using standard mobile phones to provide regular updates on their current position and status.
The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) amendment no. 4, 2003, will make it an offence to use a handheld mobile while driving. The term 'driving' also includes time spent stationary - for example at a red traffic light. Once the law takes effect, the penalty for offenders will be a £30 fine, although the Government is looking to double this and make the offence endorseable, or a fine on conviction of up to £1,000 - increased to £2,500 for drivers of goods vehicles. According to the Department for Transport, fleet management operators would be liable if they required their employees to use a handheld phone while driving, and would also be liable if they failed to forbid employees to use such phones on company business.
"With less than two weeks to go until the new legislation comes into effect, UK companies - and fleet operators in particular - will need to move quickly if they are to ensure that their drivers are fully aware of the law change," commented John Wisdom, Sales and Marketing Director for Cybit. "Fleet operators clearly now have a duty of care to ensure their vehicles are fully compliant with the new regulations - especially with the significant fines they potentially face. To address this we've ensured that our Fleetstar-Online and Cybitfleet telematics solutions can be supplied in compliance with the spirit of the Government's new legislation."
To meet the new legislative requirements, Cybit can provide its Fleetstar-Online telematics solution with two-way communications to support a fully integrated voice and telematics approach. A simple push of a button opens up a voice link to the driver's control centre and permits the vehicle to receive incoming calls. This facility can be provided for Fleetstar-Online either with or without Trafficmaster's Smartnav traffic information system. Cybit can also provide a hands-free communications capability for its Cybitfleet GPRS-based telematics solution.
Fleetstar-Online provides companies employing a mobile workforce with cost-effective ASP-based fleet management capabilities and a rapid return on investment. Fleet vehicles are fitted with a small electronic in-vehicle-unit (IVU) which is tracked by GPS in real-time and data transmitted to Cybit's online control centre to be accessed by users over the Internet with a standard web browser. Fleetstar-Online's 'anytime, anywhere' fleet management tools include real-time location-based tracking of vehicles, up-to-the-minute traffic information, route planning and scheduling, historical reporting and analysis, journey replay, exception reporting and SMS capabilities.
The Cybitfleet GPRS-based solution offers users an always-on Internet connection with its online vehicle tracking and fleet management portal, cybitfleet.com, enabling them to transmit data more regularly at pre-determined cost. Cybit's GPRS-based solutions are targeted at companies that need regular updates on the position of their workforce, such as delivery companies, couriers and taxi operators and for mobile workers that send and receive large packets of data on the road such as sales representatives and service engineers.