Five Safety Features Your Fleet Tracking Software MUST Have
The latest GPS-based fleet tracking solutions offer a wealth of benefits. A good fleet tracking platform can help minimize downtime, maximize miles, eliminate fuel waste, and increase profitability.
Most important: Good fleet tracking software can greatly improve safety.
Here’s a list of the top safety features your fleet tracking software must have. Safety pays, and accidents cost greatly. Given a single-trailer semi crash (without injuries) costs operators an average of $172,292 per incident, improving safety is critical to the bottom line.
The Five Key Safety Features of a Fleet Management System
Driver Behavior Tracking. GPS-based fleet tracking software should tell precise vehicle position and speed. The software must track other elements of driving behavior that might be unsafe (Hard Braking, Hard Cornering, Harsh Acceleration). The best tracking systems create overall safety scores for each driver, allowing management to address behaviors before they result in crashes.
HOS Event Alerts. Telematics software should not only alert when the day is done, but at regular points before the driver is in the HOS red zone. It should alert in advance of mandatory 30-minute breaks. In one study, the FMCSA found 13 percent of crashes involved driver fatigue.
Aggressive Driving Alerts. Hard braking, hard cornering and harsh acceleration alerts can help you head-off dangerous driver behavior before it results in a crash.
Theft Recovery. Vehicle safety isn’t just about crash avoidance. We need to consider the security of the equipment from theft or unauthorized use. A good tracking solution will provide tracking following a theft or joyride.
Maintenance Alert. The best GPS tracking solutions track maintenance schedules, and tie into the truck’s diagnostic systems to provide a picture of what’s going on under the hood. Alerts for engine, electrical, tire, or chassie issues can be tracked and managed before they become safety issues.
Bonus Feature:
Stress Reduction. Finally, a GPS tracking solution needs to do its job unobtrusively, and with as few distractions as possible. It should be easy and intuitive for both driver and dispatcher to use. The FMCSA found 6 percent of fatal crashes involved driver distraction. The tracking solution needs to be the driver’s unobtrusive helper.
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Constantly-evolving technology has delivered many great advances to fleet tracking software in recent years, and it just keeps getting better. Take the time to consider everything a fleet tracking platform can deliver keep the ten safety features listed above in mind. Improved safety is one of the greatest benefits fleet tracking software can offer.
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