After you’ve sent the purchase order for a new vehicle, what happens next? How does your fleet or novated lease driver find out about the vehicle’s safety features? Could you explain it?
One thing is certain, if the employee has skipped the ‘test drive’ process of a retail buyer, they will not have been exposed to any of the technology and safety features that are available in the latest generation of fleet cars, which makes mums and dads better informed than professional drivers.
In 2020 the cars in your fleet will be delivered (or should be) with AEB, radar cruise control, LKA and more. The four year old vehicle being replaced was completely different. The active and passive safety features were limited to ABS and airbags which have been around for 10 years and most drivers never knew they were there.
And since cost was a major driver for fleets since the GFC, it’s unlikely you were paying for extra safety when buying fleet cars in 2016/17. So 2020 will be the year your drivers are introduced to vehicles with Level 2 autonomous safety features.
One way to educate drivers about new vehicles (at no charge to your organisation) is the retail buyer test drive. Dealers are trained to explain new vehicles in a very specific way. After they cover the basic vehicle design and operation, they will focus on safety because it’s a big seller these days. Then comes the test drive.
A test drive is the best (and cheapest) way to let your employees experience the joy and pleasure of a new car. Factory trained sales people will be run them through everything they need to know because they are trying to sell them the car. Not even a professional driver trainer will deliver it with the same level of enthusiasm.
Don’t believe me? Give it a go yourself this weekend.
To help you understand how big this issue will be in 2020, the table below compares a previous generation Toyota Corolla to the latest (and safest) version.
That’s a long list of extra stuff. Good luck explaining it!
| Age | Vehicle Safety Features**
(Toyota Corolla) |
| 2014 – 2019 | 5 star ANCAP, ABS, Dual front airbags, Side airbags, Driver knee airbag, ESC, Traction control, Cruise control |
| 2019 Corolla | 5 star ANCAP, ABS, Dual front airbags, side airbags, Driver knee airbag, ESC, Traction control, Active cruise control, AEB, Active high beam control, Active cornering enhancement, Bluetooth, Collision warning with auto brake, daytime running lights, Forward collision warning, Lane departure warning, Lane keeping assist, Pedestrian recognition, Reversing camera, Voice recognition system |
* * Source was Carsguide website
