Under-utilization and below-par adoption of smart-tech applications, compared with on-board real-time monitoring in developed markets, are consistently flagged as impediments to digital progress of the road freight industry in Southern and South Africa.
At a recent Transport Forum gathering hosted by Ctrlfleet in Kempton Park, Ctrack head of sales, Allen Harrington, said although the local transport industry had come a long way in terms of telematics, “fear of the unknown” is holding back digitization.
This apparent reluctance to adopt the latest innovations in 21st-century technology, especially against the backdrop of artificial intelligence and the internet of things, filters all the way down from operators to drivers.
This Monday, a driver trainer with Daimler Truck Southern Africa (DTSA), John Thembu (*), said there appeared to be a lack of awareness among drivers about the advantages of innovations currently catapulting the industry forwarder elsewhere, but not necessarily to its fullest extent locally.
Himself a seasoned long-distance driver who used to work the North-South Corridor (NSC) connecting the Port of Durban with the Copperbelt in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dlamini said there were misconceptions that had not been addressed.
Most important of these, he stressed, was the fear of redundancy at the hands of runaway technological development.
He said a lot of drivers simply do not know enough about technology that is increasingly becoming an intrinsic part of the transport trade.
“Things are changing so fast and drivers, I think, don’t know how it’s going to affect them.”
In many instances, it boiled down to safety and security – drivers not knowing that telematics could enhance their safety in certain circumstances, he said.
He himself can vouch for the precarious situations drivers often find themselves in on routes such as the NSC, notorious for congestion and corruption when borders fail to work as they should – a commonplace occurrence on the Corridor.
Lack of awareness about the advantages of telematics also extended to under-utilization where adoption was not necessarily an issue, said DTSA vice-president for Customer Service, Parts and Value Chain, Ziyad Gaba.
Speaking on the first day of a smart-truck experience week at Gerotek Test Facilities in Pretoria West, he said new-generation trucks by Daimler came standard with a system called Fleetboard, offering users all the proverbial bells and whistles.
“But you'd be surprised at how many customers are not utilizing the system to its fullest capability.
“Not too long ago, we had one of our large customers evaluating their driver performance. We had to spend some time with them to interpret reports and look at the best way to get the best out of their drivers.”
He said the exercise included aspects such as fuel consumption and decision-making.
“We realized that, although the information (of data gathering) has been out there for a while and it's been readily accepted that telematics is an important part of the market, not all customers are utilizing the information available to them.”
Global research findings released earlier this year by platform provider 3Dtracking reveals that, in Africa, the adoption rate of telematics in trucking remains relatively low compared with more mature markets.
However, it also confirmed what Harrington said, that the sector was experiencing significant growth and interest.
The Cypriot company said market penetration was still limited, primarily because many operators in struggling economies were reluctant to invest due to:
- High costs of installation and data consumption.
- Limited and inconsistent cellular network coverage, especially outside major urban areas.
- Price sensitivity among small to medium-sized fleets, which dominate many African markets.
Despite these challenges, there is a growing awareness of the value of advanced telematics, including GPS tracking, driver behaviour monitoring, fuel optimisation, and cargo security, especially in key markets like South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and Morocco.
3Dtracking found that South Africa was one of the most mature telematics markets on the continent, with relatively high adoption. Reports place South Africa's fleet telematics penetration at about 26%-30% and growing annually by around 10-12%.
In the broader African context:
- Adoption rates across Africa overall hover around 20-25%, expected to increase as network infrastructure improves and more affordable, feature-rich telematics solutions emerge.
- Technologies such as video telematics and wireless sensor integrations cater for diverse needs like agriculture, logistics, and mining.
- Regulatory frameworks and government initiatives are also pushing telematics adoption in some countries through mandates on vehicle tracking and speed controls.
* DTSA requested that this source not be named.
– The ‘Daimler Truck Experience – For All Who Keep Africa Moving’, runs until the end of the week, September 12.
