The sinkhole disaster in Godstone, Surrey has caused long diversions and delays to thousands of drivers across the South East. This has had a particularly large effect on businesses, and ultimately the satisfaction of their customers, who are receiving deliveries behind schedule due to the traffic and rerouting. A business can, however, minimise delays by reducing stops and monitoring detours for home delivery services. Route planning and optimisation tools can help ensure that delays are minimised.

It has been reported that two sections of Godstone High Street have caved in since Monday night, with 30 homes evacuated. Additionally, this means that road closures and diversions around the high street will be in place for weeks and maybe months. Route planning and optimisation software supports businesses by generating routes and navigating around the closures by taking into account factors like vehicle specifications, delivery requirements, detour distance and most importantly, in this case, acts of God. By incorporating this technology, drivers will receive precise routes from the outset and can minimise unnecessary detours, ultimately saving the business time and fuel.

Using select commercial mapping technologies, fleet managers can update the road network with closures and push this information directly to vehicles, helping mitigate vehicle damage while supporting driver safety and efficiency.

However, despite thorough planning, it’s likely that unforeseen circumstances will arise on the surrounding roads due to road closures. To further mitigate these challenges, businesses should invest in real-time tracking and monitoring systems that will provide fleet managers with invaluable visibility into the location and status of each vehicle. This enables proactive intervention in the event of deviations or unplanned stops, with alerts generated based on predefined thresholds.

These alerts, delivered through visual or auditory means to drivers or notifications to fleet managers, allow you to take immediate action to rectify any out-of-route events. By combining accurate route planning with real-time tracking, fleet managers can swiftly respond to deviations, optimise resource utilisation and enhance their operational efficiency.