New data protection rules are driving interest in fleet management software, with employers keen to use it to promote compliance, reports FleetCheck,

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force on May 25, requires businesses to comply with a new set of rules designed to safeguard personal data.

Peter Golding, managing director at FleetCheck, said: “Perhaps half the new enquiries we have had this year include a conversation about GDPR.

“Employers are clearly concerned about its implications for fleet and want to manage the situation.”

He stated that GDPR placed a high level of responsibility on businesses that operated vehicles in terms of how they need to look after the data of drivers.

“Often, information that is needed by fleets to ensure they are operating in a safe and efficient manner is not just basic personal data such as addresses but more sensitive,” explained Golding.

“They could include, for example, information about criminal driving offences, medication they are taking and more.”

Golding said that FleetCheck had been working on GDPR compliance for more than a year and, with the date of implementation now passed, was confident that the vast majority of its clients had been given the information needed to ensure they were meeting requirements.

“The problem with an issue like GDPR is that you will never be absolutely sure that you are compliant until your systems are tested in court, which is a situation you don’t want to find yourself in, of course,” he said.

“However, we have been working closely with our customer base on this subject for some time and are confident that the advice and practical help that we have provided has been of a very high quality.”
 

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