Opinion: Placing fleet managers in pole position for the AV rollout

By Simon Staton, client management director at Venson Automotive Solutions

The need to encourage fleet professionals to future-proof the sector by staying abreast of the self-driving revolution has shifted up a gear, as the Government’s Automated Vehicles (AV) Act entered the statute books.

Thinking back just two years, when Prince Charles succeeded the Queen to become King, Birmingham hosted the Commonwealth Games and Sam Ryder came second in Eurovision, it feels like the blink of an eye. Yet in another two years, AVs could be on British roads.

While this might worry some road users, including fleet drivers, the AV Act has been ‘framed with a view to securing that authorised automated vehicles will achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or higher than, that of careful and competent human drivers.' 

It is now the responsibility of the fleet manager to keep track of Connected Autonomous Mobility (CAM) developments, and to educate, inform and reassure their fleet users to help make sure they are AV ready when the time comes.

There’s no denying that CAM will significantly impact businesses. Only through horizon-scanning, adaptation, and the development of the fleet management role will UK organisations be able to reap its benefits.

First-hand experience, learning and continuous professional development (CPD) on CAM is fundamentally important to the ability of the fleet function to steer a steady course as the AV era advances.

Whether that’s keeping a watchful eye on UK self-driving regulations, understanding the impact of CAM on the Highway Code, or learning how to leverage the connectivity that already enables remote diagnostics, to empower prognostics—the ability to fix things before they go wrong—it is up to us as a sector to stay one step ahead.

There is so much to keep on top of and comprehend, although the AV Act is in the statute books, there’s a whole raft of secondary legislation yet to be pushed through, which the House of Lords will ‘build piece by piece’. 

Already the Act is introducing what feels, to some, like a totally new language and innovative driver concepts which will have a direct impact on fleets. These concepts range from an ‘Authorised Self-Driving Entity’ (ASDE) – the manufacturer or developer that puts the vehicle forward for authorisation and takes responsibility for its actions, to ‘No User-in-Charge’ (NUIC) and User-in-Charge (NIC) functions.

To obtain a NUIC operator licence fleet managers with responsibility for passenger service and freight companies will need to meet certain requirements, including being ‘of good repute’, and having ‘appropriate financial standing’.

Fleet managers will also need to play an important role in backing the rollout of AVs. Some might argue that fleet managers supporting AVs is akin to turkeys voting for Christmas but, whether a vehicle has a driver or not, it is still part of a fleet. 

The AV Act and introduction of self-driving vehicles to our roads does not take away people’s ability to choose to drive themselves. 

Even if fleet drivers stay in control behind the wheel, they may need convincing that AVs deserve their place on the road. So fleet managers need to start feeding positive messaging to their drivers. 

The fact that human error is the causal factor in 90-95% of all road traffic accidents, means fleet managers can bring the safety element of CAM front and centre as driverless cars will not have a human in charge.

Alongside this, they can also promote the promise of an improved environment for vulnerable road users, decreased traffic volumes, improved safety and more shared mobility.

There has been much talk about the dawn of fully autonomous vehicles. However, many of the vehicles we drive today already encompass this technology.

Safe self-driving will change the world for the better, and fleet operators have the chance to be in pole position, taking on new responsibilities and reaping the commercial benefits. For this to happen, we must keep pace with the developing legislation and technology, to help steer the changing role of the fleet manager.

To learn more about how driverless cars promise to transform fleet operations, fleet managers can read the free Venson white paper -  The Journey Towards Full Driving Automation.