Vehicle tracking systems note the mileage, speed, direction and stops of a vehicle using GPS satellite signals. The information can be printed out in a vehicle tracking report or viewed over an animated or satellite map on a remote computer. These vehicle tracking reports can be viewed in real time, or recorded in memory for later viewing.

Used in a municipal setting, vehicle tracking devices will let supervisors know if workers are where they should be during their shifts.

Vehicle tracking solutions help municipalities in the following ways:

·         Cut excessive fuel consumption by reducing repeat trips, overlapping routes, speeding, and excessive idling.

·         Save payroll costs by eliminating personal errands on work time, excessive breaks, inaccurate logging of time.

·         Reduce insurance costs by proving safe driving records, and/or having a vehicle tracking system with theft recovery (real-time vehicle tracking).

·         Extend life expectancy of vehicles by keeping better routine maintenance schedules (oil changes, belt checks, tire rotation, etc.)

·         Run services more efficiently, for example snowplowing, street sweeping or police patrols.

·         Defend an employee or prove innocence with a vehicle tracking report, noting speed, location and time, to conflict with a complaint or criminal charge or moving violation.

·         Show evidence against an employee at a disciplinary hearing.

People may not treat someone else’s asset with as much care as their own. The scratch on the car, the ding in the truck bed is not so tragic when the vehicle belongs to someone else. A vehicle’s lifespan can be shortened as a result of reckless driving or negligence. Vehicle tracking can extend the life of a vehicle.

In a municipality, city property is not the ownership of an individual, or a business man or a corporation. City property belongs to the people and taxpayers. City employees and elected officials are obligated to be responsible and accountable with city funds and property.

In a vehicle tracking system, a geo-fencing feature could be activated exactly at the city’s boundary to ensure that municipal vehicles do not leave the jurisdiction they serve.

Employees can remotely clock in or out to the vehicle tracking system, using a cell phone or laptop.

The township of North Brunswick, New Jersey, (population of 38,000) is considering installing GPS tracking systems in municipal vehicles. The township has 150 vehicles and officials want to equip 50 vehicles with vehicle tracking in the first phase of the project.

Vehicle tracking systems are reasonably cost effective, but they can be pricey when used in a fleet arrangement. North Brunswick is considering a quote of $17,500 to set up the system and about $15,000 annually in service fees for real-time vehicle tracking.

Industry-wide, municipalities that install vehicle tracking systems usually experience a great Return on Investment (ROI). A Connecticut town about the same size as North Brunswick put in a real-time vehicle tracking system last year. The cost was $21,000 and annual fees are about $18,000. The first year of the vehicle tracking system, town officials noticed a $32,000 savings in labor costs, vehicle repair bills and paperwork.

One of the biggest challenges for municipalities is getting employees to support and cooperate with a vehicle tracking program. An individual will naturally resist a vehicle tracking program that captures and documents activities of their personal lives, such as where they worship, where they dine or drink or who they visit.

Some town officials who have witnessed great benefits from instituting vehicle tracking systems, recommend disabling vehicle tracking devices once employees clock out for the day. Another municipality launched an incentive program. Each employee got a $750 monthly bonus when he or she agreed to vehicle tracking and consistently completed assignments on time. As an example: City trash pickup improved over a period of six months from 50 percent on-time to 95 percent on-time.

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3. GPS Tracking in the Workplace Largely Unregulated

GPS is a location system that is based on the transmissions of 24 satellites orbiting the earth. People use ground-based receivers to capture the radio signals. That data makes it possible to accurately pinpoint the geographic location of a receiver, usually within a few feet.

Originally developed as a military application by the U.S. Department of Defense, GPS tracking is now used in a wide variety of consumer products and is in general use around the world. It is used today to: help catch criminals, teach smart driving habits, cut vehicle fuel and maintenance costs, and protect one’s assets from theft; to name only a few. It seems that every few months or so, someone has thought of a new and inventive way to introduce GPS tracking into our lives, to make it either safer or more convenient.

Many types of people have not only become familiar with GPS tracking, they’ve come to rely on it. Following are some of the top users.

#1 Concerned parents:

After a teen receives his or her driver’s license, the next few years can be worrisome for parents. Distractions from cell phones, peer passengers and iPods can be as damaging to a teen’s driving record as drugs and alcohol. The chances of being cited for a moving violation or being involved in an accident are higher for people in their teens and 20s than any other age group.

Parents, who not only care for, but are legally responsible for their children, are searching for ways to give them freedom without relinquishing control. For many parents, vehicle tracking devices are a way to act on their concern about their teen’s safety, establish expectations about their driving, and ultimately gain peace of mind.

GPS tracking devices let parents check if their teens are speeding, where their teens are driving, and how long they stay at a particular destination. Most people would agree that parents are justified in taking this proactive stance, particularly since the adult usually owns the car and pays the car insurance. Teens could gradually earn more freedoms as the GPS data proves they are trustworthy and safe drivers.

Insurance companies like the idea as well. Some national vehicle insurance companies are now offering discounted premiums to clients who have vehicle tracking systems installed in their vehicles.

#2 Law enforcement:

Police departments have long recognized the benefits of vehicle tracking systems, not only for their own internal purposes, but to monitor suspects and investigate criminal activities.

When placed in squads and other critical response vehicles, GPS tracking units help dispatchers know minute-by-minute where their department vehicles are located, without having to contact the driver. They can have direct connection to laptop computers. And the data is a real time-saver in the incident reporting process.

An important use of vehicle tracking devices from the crime reduction/prevention perspective is for surveillance. GPS tracking units, when covertly mounted on a suspect’s vehicle, can be a police officer’s eyes and ears when not present. Its data, incredibly accurate by time and location, can serve as strong evidence in a court of law.

Laws differ from state to state regarding where and how an officer can place a GPS tracking device on a vehicle. An investigator likely has the right to install a unit on the exterior of a car, truck or van if it is parked in a public place and there is suspicion of illegal action or activity. If agents need to go inside the vehicle to install a GPS tracking device, a warrant usually is needed.

Related posts:

1. GPS Tracking in the Workplace Largely Unregulated
2. Vehicle Tracking