ACPO points out that for fleets, there is a common law duty to report criminal behaviour, including traffic offences.

The spokesman adds: “As a result, many companies with large fleets have an agreement with employees about accessing the data held on telematics devices should a notice of intended prosecution arrive.”

It tends to be this clinical legal approach that concerns fleets and makes them shy away from considering vehicle tracking.

But Richard Flint, head of fleet for North Yorkshire Police and chairman of the performance and benchmarking group at the Association of Police Fleet Managers, insists telematics can be a vital element in the operation of a safe and efficient fleet.

Flint, whose force is carrying out research into telematics technology, says: “In terms of driver management, it is good practice.

"These systems end up paying for themselves. It will save fuel, mileage, maintenance costs and there will be accident reduction benefits too.

“This is all proven and these systems are the future. One day, all cars will be this way. It is also easier to get data out of them and cheaper to transmit live data now.”

He says companies need to make all the necessary changes before introducing any systems to make sure they can make use of the data that a telematics system may produce.

“You have to set your parameters. Companies can end up with very large amounts of data. We are seeing systems that provide a lot of detailed information, but for the manager this can be filtered down into exception reports.”

Flint says that at this point you need the right business culture, or you need to change it.

“If you are collecting this data, then you do have a duty of care to do something with it. When this technology is available, you have to use it. It makes good business and reputational sense.

“If you get a warning, then without changes a driver might say that he wasn’t told to do anything different or point out that it isn’t covered in the policy.”

Telematics companies believe fleets should not fear the role of technology.