Cybit launches Duty of Care module ahead of new laws in April

  • Corporate Manslaughter Act coming into effect in 2008 will require significant changes within business fleets
  • Fleetstar Module designed to assist Duty of Care requirements
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Cybit, the UK's leading online Telematics Service Provider, has launched a new Duty of Care module for its Fleetstar-Online telematics solution. It has been specifically designed to help organisations with vehicle fleets deal with the important new compliance burden, which will fall upon all businesses from April 2008 following the implementation of The Corporate Manslaughter Act.

The new Duty of Care module allows fleet managers and company directors to log core data to demonstrate their compliance and promote a safe working environment for all mobile employees. It allows them to easily monitor excessive journey times, speeds, driver license validity, vehicle service history and driver training qualifications all from a single source of information and linked with real-time live positioning information.

It is estimated that one third of road accidents involve a company vehicle, or a driver employed on company business. The new Corporate Manslaughter Act aims to reduce the number of these accidents by placing a Duty of Care on the employer that requires them to eliminate conditions that can cause accidents, which include fatigue, lack of qualification and speeding. Cybit’s solution provides real-time management of each vehicle to help protect employees. The Fleetstar Duty of Care system can even immobilise any vehicle should the driver not possess sufficient qualifications to drive it.

"Fleet managers and board level directors will have to comply with very strict government regulations on employee care as of April," commented Richard Horsman, Cybit's Chief Executive Officer. "There has always been a duty to provide employees with safe working environments, and many organisations have done that well, but now there is a requirement to prove it as well as enhance it. This is why we have launched the new Duty of Care module, so that organisations can both improve their Duty of Care provision and record vehicle information to review driving practices and show compliance.

"Because there are now more legal implications around road accidents involving employees on company business, there will inevitably be some changes to the way investigations are carried out. There will be a new prosecution process, with police and Crown prosecutors working more in coordination with the Health and Safety Executive. Because of these new procedures, companies finding themselves dealing with an at-work accident will undoubtedly have to provide a much stouter defence, that relies on hard evidence," continued Richard Horsman.

About Cybit:
Cybit is a global force in Telematics, operating within three core sectors: Internet-based vehicle Telematics solutions; Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ) Management; and Private Mobile Radio (PMR) based asset tracking and precise positioning solutions.   

In the vehicle Telematics sector, Cybit is one of Europe's leading Telematics Service Providers (TSPs). Around 1,500 business to business clients use its fleet and asset management solutions to manage more than 40,000 assets primarily in the public sector, service industries and logistics and distribution markets. Solutions include in-vehicle technologies, work flow management and internet-based monitoring and reporting software. The company also provides consulting services to advise on operational and legal issues such as duty of care and working hours.

Cybit is also a global leader in the field of EEZ fisheries management, tracking many thousands of fishing vessels on a daily basis. The company provides vessel monitoring and catch management solutions for many of the world's major fishing nations. As well as the UK and Irish Governments, Cybit helps to manage valuable fishing stocks for emerging nations such as Ghana, Namibia and Mozambique.

Cybit's Precise Positioning business provides asset-tracking and highly accurate positioning solutions for both maritime and land-based applications including exploration and mining. Its precise positioning solutions are in constant use in the location and exploitation of oil, gas and mineral reserves around the globe.

Additional information is available at www.cybitholdings.com, www.cybit.co.uk, www.amatics.com, www.cybitpositioningsolutions.co.uk and www.bluefinger.com

Contact information:
Duncan Burford
IBA - PR for Cybit
Tel: 01780 721 433
Email: dburford@iba-europe.com

Graham Gordon
Marketing Manager, Cybit
Tel: 01480 389100
Email: ggordon@cybit.co.uk

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