Businesses should embrace data to prevent breakdowns, says the AA

The AA is urging business owners and fleet managers to utilise the data behind connected car technology to keep their fleets breakdown-free for longer.

As connected car technology products grow in usage across the UK’s fleets, data generation has become a key part of the business owner or fleet manager’s role. Yet just 33% of managers use connected car data to improve safety and efficiency across their fleets, according to the AA’s own research.

What's more, 2017 saw the number of connected car-based insurance policies, which use data to calculate insurance costs, rise by 30% to nearly one million throughout the UK, across consumers and businesses.

“We’re keen to help businesses and fleet managers to make best use of the available connected car technology benefits,” says Stuart Thomas, director of AA Fleet and SME services. “The AA’s Fleet Intelligence system generates invaluable data that can deliver huge improvements in risk management and efficiency. A recent Fleet Intelligence review, which analysed fleet-wide connected car data, revealed that an astonishing 36% of fleet breakdowns could have been prevented.

“The data identified the top avoidable faults that drivers experienced as those incurred by coil, turbo and DPF (diesel particulate filter) issues. Our system also shows the average number of days that passed between fault development and breakdown, as well as identifying the total percentage of same day breakdowns. Not only does this highly valuable data have the potential to decrease levels of downtime, it also allows fleet managers to prioritise employee safety by allowing them to swiftly respond to dangerous faults which arise, providing the data generated is regularly analysed. We urge managers to get in touch to find out how we can help them to make the most of this opportunity.”