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You Can Improve Asset Management With Truck GPS Tracking

January 1st, 2010 by Todd Cavanaugh

Managing a fleet of trucks for any business is a complex job. It involves so much more than simply loading cargo or parts onto the truck and dispatching it promptly to the right destination(s) so it will arrive on schedule. There are also such concerns as the safety of the cargo, the reliability of the drivers, maintaining the trucks and even fuel use and cost. If you own or manage a fleet of trucks, you can save money with truck GPS monitoring.

Today, most everybody knows about GPS technology. We know that some device or some part of a cell phone sends out a signal that bounces off a distant satellite and provides to monitoring computers the precise location of the device. When connected with global mapping data and topographical images, truck GPS devices can show you in a single view where all of your trucks are at any given moment. They can also zoom in to show you the lay of the land and the surrounding streets, businesses, etc.

With truck GPS routing systems, the same GPS technology is used to map out the best route for each truck. You might define the best route as the most direct, the fastest, or even the route that supports maximum fuel efficiency. Once the truck is on the road, the system can identify traffic jams, accidents and other situations the driver should avoid. It can then calculate a new route and communicate it instantly to the driver.

A good truck GPS tracking system also offers certain protections in the event of an attempted theft or hi-jacking. With geofencing technology you can define parameters of the region within which the truck should be operating. If it is taken outside of those parameters, you receive an alert. If the truck is actually stolen, you will be alerted and you can use the system to disable the truck or call attention to it with very narrow geofencing, disabling the starter, locking doors and triggering horn blasts. Finding the truck is as simple as looking at your map and calling police.

The cost for installing a truck GPS tracking and routing system is surprisingly small. The units placed in the trucks cost less than $300 each. Many companies with these systems indicate that they pay for the entire system and its installation with money saved through first-year fuel economies alone. From the minute you install the system, it will start building historical data on each truck. This data will help you with driving history, servicing, fuel efficiency and much more information on a daily basis.

Your truck GPS tracking system will provide all the information you need to manage an entire fleet of trucks efficiently and cost effectively. You can work with drivers to correct any bad habits that create excessive wear and tear on the truck or that waste large amounts of fuel.

The U.S. Department of Energy conducted a recent study of fuel efficiency and other maintenance costs for vehicles driven in particular ways and at specific speeds. A few of their most significant findings relevant to truck GPS tracking are:

- If you increase your highway driving speed from 50 mph to 60, you need more than 70% more horsepower; increasing to 70 mph takes about 160% more.

- Every time you increase your speed by 1 mph over 50 mph you start using one and one-half percent more fuel. So if you have drivers cruising at 60 mph they are burning 15% more fuel than they should be.

- Drivers who cruise at 70 mph double the wear and tear on tires over those who cruise at 50 mph.

- Driving at 70 mph also pushes cost to maintain the vehicle up by 3/4.

Many other studies have revealed a connection between various unsafe driving behaviors and increased fuel use. Leaving a vehicle idling either in traffic or while inside a building burns a huge amount of fuel. Flooring the accelerator when pulling away from a stop light causes a huge drain on the fuel tank. And racing up to an intersection and slamming on brakes is hard on the brakes, the engine, the transmission, and fuel use. A truck GPS system can, however, help you identify and correct these problems and save money on fuel.

The bottom line is this: you can save money with truck GPS monitoring and fleet management. This is a state-of-the-art tool to help you maintain the vehicles, protect cargo, improve productivity and efficiency and save a bundle on fuel costs while also getting a longer life from the trucks. And your truck GPS tracking system will make your job a breeze.

To learn more about truck GPS, claim your free report "7 Ways Your Company Can Save Thousands of Dollars With GPS Fleet Tracking." A number of companies have substantially increased their revenue and decreased their costs by implementinga GPS tracking system for their fleet. To calculate the ROI for your company in under 30 seconds, see the truck tracking ROI calculator.

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