Trucking companies rely on their vehicles and their drivers to remain in business. This puts safety high on the priority list as unsafe habits can damage fleet vehicles, injure drivers, and hurt the company’s reputation. Of course, implementing changes that produce measurable results can be difficult. Fleet managers can’t be with each driver every moment of the day, which is why they need to invest in GPS fleet tracking technology.

4 Safety Benefits of GPS Fleet Tracking

GPS fleet tracking technology allows trucking companies to collect telematics data on driver behaviors as well as information about their vehicles in general. Fleets can use this information to implement changes that improve safety and reduce the related costs. Some of the uses of GPS technology include:

  • Insight into driver behaviors. There are several ways that drivers influence trucking safety. GPS telematics can provide data on the most prevalent safety issues, where truckers are succeeding, and help fleets develop methods to improve safety. For example, a fleet may find their drivers follow the speed limit but have an unacceptable number of hard brakes. This tells the fleet manager that drivers follow the posted speed limit but don’t allow themselves enough following distance.
  • Learning how safety affects the bottom line. Safety has some obvious effects on budgets. For example, every fleet manager knows accidents and regulation violations are expensive. However, unwanted driver behaviors such as hard braking can eat into profits. The abrupt braking causes the tire tread to wear unevenly. This reduces gas mileage and results in more frequent tire changes. By addressing the issue, fleets can see an increase in profits.
  • Monitoring after-hours use of vehicles. Plenty of drivers use their work vehicle for personal conveyance purposes, such as returning to their home after their shift. This is an acceptable use of a commercial vehicle; however, fleet managers should keep an eye on statistic regarding after-hours use. Excessive personal use of fleet vehicles can be a major safety concern or even violate company policy and safety regulations. Fleets can also monitor their vehicles after hours to thwart would-be theft attempts as well.
  • Maintaining the company’s reputation. Safety has a huge effect on how customers view a trucking company. Most would-be clients will look up a company’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) score before signing a contract. Safety violations accumulate points, hurting a company’s score. Identifying driver behaviors that contribute to safety violations helps fleet managers to address the issues before they can hurt their reputation.

GPS fleet tracking allows trucking companies to use telematics to implement changes that improve safety, protect the company’s reputation, and increase their bottom line. To learn more about implementing GPS fleet tracking technology, contact the experts at DriverCheck.