Keep your fleet up and running with the Geotab Roadside Add-In

Roadside assistance might not be top-of-mind for most fleet managers, but why not? Chances are, your fleet isn’t experiencing roadside events on a very regular basis if you keep up with regular maintenance and monitor the health of your fleet vehicles closely.

However, according to Agero, they help find services for about 115 million vehicle incidents yearly in Canada and the United States combined, which averages out to about one in every two drivers. These events end up costing drivers a lot of time – about 30 million workdays are lost yearly to drivers who experience a vehicle breakdown. Roadside assistance helps streamline the needs of drivers and businesses post-breakdown and enables them to get back on the road in as little time as possible.

What is roadside assistance?

Despite there being millions of drivers on the road across North America, few people know how to change a flat tire or jumpstart a battery, let alone assess a mechanical failure. For many fleets, vehicles are just too large or have too much cargo for one driver to handle doing any kind of roadside work. It is also highly recommended that, if a driver experiences a roadside emergency on a highway or other busy street, they don’t exit the vehicle. In 2020, 17% of pedestrian deaths in the United States happened on interstates and major highways.

With a roadside assistance service, drivers are able to request help from a mechanic or towing service after experiencing a vehicle breakdown. Most roadside assistance personnel will also be able to provide flares or other high-visibility tools to help ensure that anyone in or around the car is able to stay safe during the roadside event.

Roadside assistance doesn’t just literally mean “side of the road” either. Whether a vehicle breaks down on the side of the highway, in a parking lot, at a driver’s home or outside of your business, roadside assistance will be able to come and help.

The benefits of roadside assistance

There are many benefits to fleet roadside assistance for your vehicles. With approximately $9 million USD lost yearly by drivers and businesses after experiencing a breakdown on the road, investing in a comprehensive fleet roadside assistance program can be extremely valuable to your business.

• Set it and forget it: Putting money into a roadside assistance plan monthly or quarterly can help ensure that those services are there when you need them the most. Waiting until your drivers are in a vulnerable situation to decide how to handle a roadside event only serves to waste time and money. By being proactive and investing in preventative measures, you are putting your drivers first and saving resources in the long run.
• Immediate expertise: Drivers can’t do it all. After putting in long hours on the road, filling out paperwork and making deliveries, they can’t also be expected to handle a mechanical failure. Fleet roadside assistance ensures that an experienced mechanic or towing company can help guide your driver through the appropriate next steps. This also frees up time for fleet managers that drivers would most likely be on a call with after experiencing a vehicle breakdown.
• Vehicular breakdown data: Collecting data and logging times for vehicle breakdowns helps inform your fleet and give you better insight into how and why these breakdowns are happening. It can help fleet managers plan for preventive maintenance to keep fleets healthier and on the road longer.

What does roadside assistance cover?

Although the services vary, most popular fleet roadside assistance services include:

• Towing: Normally your roadside assistance provider will offer towing services to a nearby mechanic within a certain distance of where the vehicle breakdown occurred.
• Jump-starting a battery: Service providers will jump start a battery that has died.
• Replacing a flat tire: If your vehicle has a spare, roadside assistance providers will be able to swap a flat tire. Be sure to check that your fleet vehicles are covered under flat tire services as sometimes providers won’t be able to service motorcycles or larger vehicles.
• Lockout or locksmith services: If a driver locks their keys in the car, roadside assistance will be able to provide lockout services using a long-reach tool or a pump wedge. If those methods don’t work, they will be able to call a locksmith to provide further assistance.
• Delivering fuel: If a vehicle unexpectedly runs out of fuel, a sufficient amount to get it to a gas station will be provided.
• Winching: Depending on how accessible the vehicle is and how many service vehicles need to help, roadside assistance can often help dislodge a vehicle that has gotten stuck through winching.

Travel stress-free with Geotab and Agero

The Geotab Roadside Add-In with Agero – a leading provider of driver safety services – gives drivers fast and easy access to help when they need it most. It is included in GO Plan and as a pay-per-event with Base, Regular and Pro rate plans.

Drivers can request help either through the Roadside Assistance Add-In in MyGeotab or in their Geotab Drive mobile app. By answering a few service-related questions within the Add-In, drivers can help dispatch the correct provider vehicle with the required equipment to help increase vehicle uptime and improve fleet productivity. They can then stay informed on the current status of their request with near real-time updates on service vehicle location, estimated arrival time and optional SMS alerts.

Give drivers the tools they need to succeed

Ensure that your fleets get to where they need to go. By offering your drivers roadside assistance services, you’re providing them with the tools they need to get back on the road after experiencing a breakdown.

Visit the Geotab Marketplace to learn more about our new roadside assistance solution.