Fleetr, a Jooycar company, is the leader in small fleet management and insurance solutions. We have built an AI-powered platform that provides actionable insights to fleet owners with our GPS tracker. We are proud to serve nearly 40,000 connected vehicles via our OBD II device with affordable and easy solutions across several countries. We believe in the power of telematics and big data to address the pressing needs of the small fleet owner and are working tirelessly to reduce costs, improve efficiency and increase safety.
The use of GPS fleet management to boost the productivity of your transportation team and to ensure complete transparency in the whole process is nothing new. More and more businesses have been moved by the prospects of enjoying more control over their fleets and have thus incorporated fleet tracing technology in their vehicles.
However, in many cases, Fleet managers may hold back on the opportunity of drastically improving the operational capability of their fleets simply because their drivers are not on board with being monitored. While fleet tracking is much more than monitoring, it is only natural for your workers to be reluctant.
The idea is fairly new, and it is normal to be intimated.
But what if we told you that you can keep your drivers safe through GPS fleet tracking?
No, we’re not just saying so.
This article will show you exactly how managers can ensure the safety of both their drivers and vehicles through GPS vehicle tracking.
GPS Fleet Tracking Data & Driver Safety
Without any delay, let’s jump into how fleet tracking can keep drivers safe:
Tracking Driver Behavior More Effectively
GPS fleet tracking is much more than simply following your fleet vehicles (trucks, cars, bikes, etc.) on a map screen but instead, it is a management tool. This means that you can monitor every single activity and pattern via your fleet management app.
If your drivers are speeding, driving aggressively, hard pressing against the brakes, accelerating fast, not slowing down for turns, taking unsafe passages, and so on, you’ll know so immediately. There should be zero tolerance for unsafe driving behavior because you don’t want to get embroiled in the legal tussle of a traffic accident lawsuit.
But there’s so much more to it.
In case of an accident, your driver’s life will also be under threat, and so will their financial stability. The last thing someone wants is to be involved in an accident, especially ones that they’ve caused or made worse through their actions or inaction.
Thus the first area where fleet tracking apps help keep your divers safe (physically, emotionally, and financially) is to preempt accident risks. Don’t kid yourself, unsafe driving behavior is not a minor thing, it is as serious as things get.
Many states in the USA have not seen a single week, for the past decades, with a traffic accident fatality!
And the leading causes of road accidents include distracted driving and recklessness on the road, so be very careful here, for everyone’s sake.
Reducing Time Spent On The Road
No, this is not simply for cutting down fuel costs or scaling down the time requirements for your business operations (although it does both), but also a matter of ensuring the safety of your drivers.
Anyone familiar with the statistics of big numbers and probability will know that the odds of being in a driving accident are directly related to the time spent on the roads. The lesser the road time, the lesser the chance of a driver error leading to an accident.
Cutting down road time also ensures that your drivers are well-rested and not burdened enough, thus eliminating the chances of drowsy driving or absence of mind. Both of these are also among the top reasons for traffic accidents and can happen due to prolonged durations spent on the road.
Better Maintenance Regularity
Maintenance issues have time and again caused accidents or at least made them much worse than they would’ve been otherwise. Timely maintenance is a basic requirement for running fleet operations, however, it is not possible to know everything at a time – at least, it wasn’t until recently.
Since the world of transportation is so fast-paced, it is not usually very practical to check for issues every day or even every week. However, you don’t have to, GPS fleet management software do much more than tracking fleets, as mentioned earlier, they can also help you check on the on-board diagnostic reports.,
This way, you’ll know ahead of time if any maintenance troubles need your attention.
Things may start as small and insignificant, but they may swell up to become huge nuisances later on, and perhaps even threats to driver safety. It is not always driver behavior that endangers your fleet, it can be the vehicles themselves too and fleet tracking apps can help here.
Your drivers will surely appreciate better maintenance efforts on your part!
Emergency Support For Drivers
While the point of having a fleet management system is to avoid emergencies, to begin with, that’s not to say that these systems can’t help you deal with such situations. Everyone can face a bad day but having help in such peril is always welcome, for everyone.
If your drivers are ever caught in trouble, you’ll know so and be able to act immediately. Depending on the nature of the problem, managers might be able to assist them from their end or send someone to help them in the field, either way, they won’t have to forsake your workers.
Why would a driver say no to a GPS fleet tracking system when they know that it will help them when the time comes?
Discussing Poor Driver Behavior & Encouraging Safe Driving Practices
The biggest leadership strength in fleet managers is being able to discuss problems with the team and coming up with a solution. A GPS fleet tracking software will offer you all the neutral and untouched data you need to make informed decisions about your transportation protocol.
If you see a recurrent pattern of recklessness or negligence on part of a driver, you must discuss the matter with them before it is too late.
Negligent driving and speeding can cause severe accidents which not only put the lives of the people involved in danger but also create huge financial troubles and drain for all involved, including the company.
Be honest with your workers and let them know that you’re gravely concerned about such negligence and that you will not tolerate this behavior. If some drivers continue to ignore safe practices despite your best efforts, it is best to let them go than to risk it.
On the other side of the spectrum, you can appreciate safe driving behavior and encourage everyone to act responsibly on the road via incentives. Monthly prizes and bonuses for good work are all excellent motivational tools that you can employ for fostering a safer driving protocol.
This way, you ensure the physical, emotional, and financial safety of all involved, including the drivers at the forefront of it all.
Fleetr Is The Simplest & Most User-Friendly Fleet Tracking Solution For Your Business
Now that you’ve understood how telematics and GPS tracking technology can help you better ensure the safety of your drivers, all the while ensuring their complete safety, let’s move onto the more practical side of things: you probably need to get a fleet tracking system now.
What shall it be?
We’ll list a couple of features and if you’re nodding along, then know that you’ve found the right option for your business.
You need something that works well with smaller fleets as well, is cost-effective, does not include any hidden charges, provides a free tracker device, does not bind you with legal contracts and commitments, and does not demand any technical skills to operate.
If that is the case, then Fleetr will be perfect for you.
Contact us today and join the thousands of fleet businesses that have made an impact through our innovative approach to fleet tracking!
