There’s a very good reason why sales of 3.5-tonne gross vehicle weight panel vans have been rocketing until recently, while the 7.5-tonne sector has virtually disappeared.

Any vehicle over the 3.5-tonne limit now has to have a tachograph fitted, with a speed limiter governing the vehicle down to 56mph.

That translates into fewer journeys per day and severely restricted hours a driver can be behind the wheel – which in turn translates to higher operating costs.

But now the legal focus is firmly fixed on panel van fleets and EU lawmakers are openly talking about tachographs and limiters for smaller panel vans.

Robin Dickeson, manager, CV issues, at the Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT), is convinced that in five years’ time or so, such laws will be in place across Europe – and, controversially, he believes that Britain’s van fleet operators have only themselves to blame.

He says: “Although there are no definite plans at the moment to require vans of 3.5 tonnes gvw and under to carry tachographs and speed limiters, it is being talked about in EU circles and I believe it is a case of when, not if.

“It could be here in five years or so.

"And there are some who believe that this should apply to all commercial vehicles.

"You can’t blame them really – the industry has brought it upon itself.

“The sight of white van man zooming down the outside lane of a motorway at 90mph is a common one.”

At present, there is no requirement for driver training – and the majority of fleets give none – and Dickeson believes there is a blatant disregard for weight limits.

The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) recorded a case recently where a 3.5-tonne double glazing van was stopped and found to be carrying 10.5 tonnes.

The driver apparently believed that he was not overloaded until he had completely filled up the van with cargo.

Dickeson adds: “This industry has stuck its head over the parapet and now the law is shooting at it.”

The impact of such legislation on the van fleet industry will be massive.

A van travelling at 56mph, as opposed to 70mph, will obviously be capable of fewer trips per day.

And while a driver of a tachographed vehicle can only spend eight hours per day behind the wheel, van drivers could technically operate round the clock, although in the event of an accident, both the driver and operator could find themselves facing prosecution under the recently-amended Health and Safety at Work Act or the Corporate Manslaughter Act.

There would also be a penalty for fleet operators in terms of time. Tachograph records have to be collated and stored for possible study by VOSA , which can be an administrative nightmare for the fleet manager.

One thing is certain – the introduction of such legislation would cause one of the biggest upheavals in the history of the van fleet industry.

Tachographs for vans would add huge costs and administrative burden for fleets

Nicky Simpson, service director, fleet management solutions at Amey, runs 875 vehicles above 3.5 tonnes gvw, as well as 1,868 below, so she is in an ideal position to judge what impact the new proposal would have.

And it all adds up to more costs and an increased administrative burden.

Simpson, current Fleet Van fleet manager of the year, business, says: “Amey fits speed limiters to its car-derived vans and above as standard so we would support this legislation on the grounds of safety and ensuring we are all working to reduce our vehicle carbon footprint.

“But I recognise that to ask for retrospective action would have a financial impact to businesses as this modification could cost up to £90 per vehicle.”

However, she says fitting tachographs to lighter vans would add costs to businesses, both directly and through being forced to build their infrastructures to cope with the administration of monitoring drivers’ hours.

The decision to fit tachographs to new vehicles between 2.8 and 3.5 tonnes would add an estimated £1,000 and any retrospective action may well cost as much as £1,600 each vehicle, she believes.

Simpson says: “There would also be the cost of two yearly checks and six-yearly inspections so a further £50 per time would need to be added to the vehicle’s budget.

“In the case of Amey, domestic and EU hours are used but where EU driver hours are used, drivers need to be in possession of a valid driver card which currently costs £38 per head and company access cards would also need to be obtained for each business.

“In turn, each location involved with the overall monitoring needs to be set up in order to be able to read the data which can cost in excess of £650 per location.

“Currently, our local transport managers carry out this task for the vehicles over 3.5 tonnes and further vehicles would require additional clerical support.”

For companies without this knowledge and facility they may have to outsource the task at a cost, says Simpson.

“For companies such as ours, already operating large vehicles and following these processes it will add to our costs and administration time but for companies without this capability, there is a huge cost impact and learning curve to be undertaken.”

‘Regulation for regulation’s sake’ is how ACFO, the car and van fleet manager organisation, described the proposal.

ACFO director Stewart Whyte says: “ACFO members who operate the larger vans that are likely to be regulated generally do not see the need for extra compliance costs, as a majority of their vans are used for base-to-site operations rather than all-day deliveries.

"Time behind the wheel is therefore less of an issue in these cases.

“There is a feeling that this is Brussels regulation for regulation’s sake, with no clear improvement in road safety likely to accrue. However, where operators are unable to select a different type of van, there will be increased costs for driver training, installation and, of course, data analysis.”

Many ACFO members operating at 3.5 tonnes gvw have already invested in telematics systems which effectively do the same job as tachographs (see story right), and, says Whyte, they also get a commercial benefit from that investment, unlike with tachographs.

He adds: “For smaller fleets, this could be an issue and if regulations are introduced it will be essential for a major information campaign designed to reach the smaller fleets who may not have access to trade news. ACFO will monitor the situation on behalf of its van-operating members and do all we can to support them with consultation and advice.”

Whatever happens in the future, Fleet News will be keeping readers up to date with the latest moves and offering advice to fleets that will be affected.

Smart fleets are one step ahead of the law

Responsible van fleet operators are already one step ahead of the law by monitoring their vehicles using cutting-edge telematics systems.

A good system will do everything that a tachograph does – and more, resulting in improved fleet efficiency, better health and safety and reduced costs.

Northgate, Britain’s largest van rental and leasing firm, has seen a huge rise in demand for vans fitted with telematics systems, as operators cotton on to the fact that they can improve their fleet efficiency.

Phil Moorhouse, Northgate’s managing director, said: “We have seen an explosion in corporate demand for our telematics technology as businesses battle to cut fleet operating costs.

"A free ongoing offer to companies to trial our Vehicle Monitoring technology for three months when they opt to rent a vehicle through our Norflex scheme has so far led to around 500 light commercial vehicles being hired by fleets equipped with the technology.

"This is in addition to the thousands of vans already on the road benefiting from our telematics solution.

“Vehicle Monitoring allows vehicles to be tracked by satellite while they are out on the road with the promise of helping companies make drivers safer on the road and cut costs in a range of areas – including fuel bills and overtime claims.”

Case study: Telecoms fleet saves £20,000

Telecommunications company BJ Communications has installed Northgate’s Vehicle Monitoring into 14 vehicles, with director Mark Tarsey calculating that the move has so far saved the company £20,000.

Norfolk-based BJ Communications, whose clients include Cable and Wireless, Norwich Union and Great Yarmouth Borough Council, says its has:

  • Reduced fuel consumption by 10%.
  • Cut overtime claims by 10%.
  • Recorded productivity improvements of 15%.
  • Trimmed personal vehicle use by 15%.

Tarsey said: “The system has enabled us to control many aspects of spending and unauthorised vehicle usage.

"As Vehicle Monitoring is web-based, all I need is a computer with an internet connection to obtain information about our vehicles.

“I can follow the movements of the fleet, including the speed vehicles are driven at. Bad practices such as driver idling can be identified and dealt with.

“Overtime claims have reduced.

"Time sheets can now be compared to the vehicle activity report which highlights exactly what hours have been worked.”