Lorry and HGV trackers have seen a surge in demand in recent years. They are commonly associated with vehicle theft prevention, but in truth, they are gaining popularity mostly because fleet operators can track their driver’s behaviour, have a greater level of control over their fleet and provide real-time routing information to improve efficiency.
We have discussed the merits of lorry tracking with many fleet operators, and the consensus is that they are worth it. Here’s three reasons why that is the case:
1. Driver Behaviour Improvements
All fleets have a driver behaviour policy that goes some way beyond how you treat other road users. Many fleets, for example, have rules in place regarding engine start-up and shutdown, idling times and driving speed. Trackers monitor a truck’s engine and relay that data to HQ. A fleet operator can then look at this and communicate with the driver; not to ‘tell them off’, but to recommend improvements for a smoother drive.
2. Reducing fuel costs
This point ties into the point above, but it deserves a section of its own. The biggest cost of operating a fleet of lorries is fuelling them. Trackers monitor how a truck is driven, and relay that data to HQ. A fleet operator can then tell the driver to reduce their speed by a few mph to improve economy, or to minimise throttle input on an incline. Trackers also help operators to see which lorry is nearest to a job. This means that operators can assign a lorry to a job, based on how close it is, to save fuel.
3. Better customer service
This is perhaps the biggest reason why trackers are worth it for lorries. With a tracker, an accurate GPS location is given to HQ, who can have a system that allows the customer to login and see where the driver is. This helps other businesses to track their goods. This, of course, improves a customer’s perception of a business but more importantly than that, it reduces the fleet operator’s customer service overheads. Quite simply, less people will call them to find out where their deliver is because they can check for themselves.
In addition to these things, it is also important to consider the security benefits of a tracker for a lorry. These devices won’t stop somebody from stealing a lorry, but they will relay the location of that lorry to the police so that it can be recovered quickly.
