Fleet telematic systems are used by businesses nation-wide to track their company cars, trucks, and trailers. Vehicles are one of the largest expenses in a mobile business. Knowing where those cars, trucks, and trailers are at all times gives an additional layer of security on a company’s assets. In terms of expenses, how these vehicles are driven is just as important as knowing where they are.
We all like to imagine ourselves as “good” drivers, but this simply isn’t always the case. Even though many drivers are responsible, nobody is perfect and there’s always room for improvement. Especially when it comes to long-term driving habits and how the car is treated. Speeding, hard acceleration, hard braking, idling, and long driving routes can all lead to unnecessary strain on a vehicle. When a fleet vehicle has undergone this strain for thousands of miles, company expenses rise to keep these vehicles up and running properly.
Speeding is not only a safety concern, but also causes a higher consumption of fuel and lowers a vehicle’s average MPG. Refueling becomes more frequent and in combination with “jack rabbit” hard accelerations and hard braking, components begin to wear much faster than normal. Tires and brakes have to be replaced sooner than scheduled. Each time a vehicle reaches high RPMs (due to fast accelerations and speeding) the lifespan of the engine’s internals and oil is shortened.
Idling for excessive periods of time can waste plenty of money on fuel. Per the US Department of Energy one hour of idling can waste nearly a gallon of fuel. The monthly impact on fuel costs can be drastic even with a handful of fleet vehicles idling excessively for a few hours a week. Retrospectively, it also does nothing to help create or maintain a positive eco-friendly image for any business.
Taking long routes is not only fuel inefficient, but also time inefficient as well. Increasing fuel costs and reducing the productivity of any mobile business. Routes that may be frequently taken are not always the quickest, and it’s hard for any driver to know the best possible route each time he or she is trying to reach a destination. In any instance, time is usually of the essence and so is customer satisfaction.
That’s where the bread and butter of GPS fleet tracking comes in with advanced driving metrics and custom vehicle reporting. All driving habits and route utilization is able to be monitored in real time. Long-term driving habits dating back to a period of 1-year are instantly accessible. Custom reports can be generated on-the-fly allowing any fleet manager to see areas of improvement in driving habits. Saving money on fuel and maintenance while keeping productivity high and customers happy.
