THE Ministry of Defence police force is to introduce state-of-the-art black box technology to its fleet in a commitment to ensuring the safety of staff on the road. A supply deal with Global Telematics, maker of the vehicle tracking and fleet management system Orchid, will fit 60 vehicles with the system, although the deal could eventually stretch to the force's entire 500-strong fleet.

Vehicles can be pinpointed through satellite monitoring, while sensors are linked to a wide range of equipment, including ammunition boxes. The first vehicles fitted with the system will be area patrol units, which are most likely to go to remote locations.

Barry Smith, fleet manager for the Ministry of Defence police, said: 'This helps us meet our duty of care to our employees and adhere to health and safety regulations. Although we are not legally obliged to do this, drivers are working in extremely isolated areas and need to be monitored.

The deal follows the decision by the Metropolitan Police to fit black box data recorders to its 2,900-strong liveried fleet in a £1.3 million commitment to cutting accidents. The contract was awarded to VDO Kienzle.

Fleets are being warned they have a duty of care to their staff as the Government examines whether legislation in the workplace should extend to staff driving on business.

• THE Metropolitan Borough of Walsall is using the ICS Guard Black Box system to assist in fleet management - including vehicle performance monitoring, satellite positioning and radio frequency data downloading - on 60 of its 470-strong internal hire department.

  Drivers are authorised to drive vehicles through a tag they carry, but if an unauthorised driver tries to start a vehicle, it is immobilised.The system also records journey times, acceleration, speed, engine revs and idling time, with in-cab warnings if set limits are exceeded.