Although the Christmas holiday rush might be over, vehicle fleets all across America are still looking for ways to improve their efficiency, reduce costs, and eliminate risks. GPS fleet tracking is an excellent tool for meeting this goal—assuming you’re tracking the right data.
Some key pieces of fleet data you should be tracking through your GPS solution that can help you make your fleets safer and more efficient are:
- Vehicle Speed. Fleet tracking GPS systems are a great way to monitor driver behaviors on the road—especially their average speed on key roadways. If you notice that a driver is consistently exceeding the maximum safe MPH for a given road, you can take action to bring them down to a safer speed.
- Miles Per Gallon. The number of miles a given vehicle has traveled vs its reported fuel consumption is a very important statistic to track. Low MPG can be an indication of leaky fuel lines, inefficient driving habits (excessive hard acceleration & braking), or even fuel theft/fraud by drivers.
- Total Vehicle Mileage. Wear and tear is a constant concern for any vehicle fleet. The more miles a vehicle travels; the more wear it’s exposed to. By tracking total miles traveled, you can ensure that you know when a vehicle is due for regular maintenance.
- Onboard Diagnostics Alert Codes. In addition to providing routine maintenance when a vehicle has traveled a set number of miles, it’s important to pay attention to engine alert codes. Virtually every modern car or truck in the U.S. has an onboard diagnostics system. Some GPS tracking devices can tap into that system to provide remote diagnostics and alerts.
- Trailer Temperatures. For fleets that use refrigerated trucks, tracking the internal temperature of all refrigerated compartments is a must. Knowing what the temperatures were in a cold truck were at all times is crucial for proving compliance with key standards in the food or pharmaceutical industries.
- Stop Distance. How long does it take one of your vehicles to go from 55mph to 0mph? This is an important question to answer, especially for any commercial-class vehicles in your fleet. Longer stopping distances can indicate a problem with the brakes, wheels, or driver—all of which need to work to maximize safety for your fleet and for other motorists.
- Idle Time. How much time does each vehicle in your fleet spend sitting still with the engine running? Some idle time is unavoidable—trucks may have to stop for red lights and other issues. However, excessive idle time can put a strain on your resources, eating up labor, fuel, and precious time without providing a return on your investment. Tracking how much time each vehicle spends in idle (and where) can help you identify and resolve inefficiencies in your fleet.
- Hours of Service. Even the most dedicated and determined drivers need to take the appropriate amount of time to rest and relax between shifts. Logging engine on/off times can help you make sure that your drivers aren’t violating HOS regulations.
- Mileage by State. For companies operating across multiple state lines, IFTA fuel taxes can be a real headache. They require an itemized account of where fuel was purchased, and where it was consumed. To do this accurately, you need a record of exactly where each of your vehicles have driven and how much fuel they consumed—something GPS tracking data can supply.
- Abrupt Deceleration. Every now and again, a driver’s going to have to hit the brakes hard. However, when a driver routinely pushes their braking system to the limit, there may be a problem. Identifying which drivers are abruptly decelerating more than the average number of times can help you find out if someone’s driving dangerously.
These are just a few of the pieces of fleet tracking data you might need to track if you want to enhance safety, efficiency, and compliance for your vehicle fleet.
Learn more about improving fleet operations with a GPS tracking solution now, and be ready for the new year!
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