Fleet management refers to the management of a company's transportation fleet and includes commercial motor vehicles such as cars, vans and trucks, as well as rail cars. An effective fleet management programme is ideally one that reduces costs through effective utilisation of assets, while at the same time contributing to environment and road safety.

The Traffic Safety Expo 2012, taking place from 16th-18th October, 2012 at the Oman International Exhibition Centre, organised by Oman International Trade and Exhibitions (OITE), in coordination with the Royal Oman Police (ROP) will highlight the latest products, services and solutions, dedicated to making Oman Roads a better place to drive on. 

Fleet management is characterised by three basic features namely the use of GPS based or GLONASS or a cellular triangulation platform to track vehicles, recording vehicle details such as mileage, fuel consumption via fleet management systems connected to vehicle's onboard computers and monitoring driver behaviour.

An effective fleet management programme must include the certain key elements: company guidelines must be provided regarding the expectations of the company in relation to fleet safety measures and responsibility of individuals in this respect ; drivers must receive adequate training in matters of road safety, loading and storing of equipment and must be licensed and declared fit to drive ; vehicles must be fitted with safety features depending on the nature of their transport with regular vehicular inspections and maintenance carried out ; risk assessments dealing with driver safety, vehicle safety and journey management must be undertaken on a routine basis and journeys involving road transportation must be planned taking into account required breaks and use of safe transportation routes.

"The role of the fleet manager by the nature of management of company vehicles requires him to ensure safety of the vehicle, the driver and that of the general public, thus upholding the reputation of the company he works for and his role as a fleet manager. The very nature of operating a vehicle brings with a certain element of risk. Irrespective of the fact that the driver may be vigilant, accidents may still take place. At the most fleet managers can ensure that the desired safety features are well in place and their drivers are trained in matters of road safety," says Mr. Alawi Almurazza, a representative from Traffic Safety Expo 2012, OITE.

The premier event for road safety, Traffic Safety Expo 2012 will see senior government officials, senior police, representatives, fire and rescue safety officers, local authorities, industry, executives, engineers, fleet managers and other road safety related professionals gather under one roof to meet and encourage visitors to take up the initiative towards road safety in Oman.