Vehicles are not exactly known for being friendly to the environment. In fact, they are known to leave giant carbon footprints for many years. Cars need fuel in order to run so they are adding their carbon emissions to those of others. Moreover, for companies that own a fleet of vehicles, the prices of gas and car maintenance is always a problem. Fortunately, there is a way to reduce vehicle fuel consumption in the form of vehicle telematics.
Vehicle telematics is also known as vehicle tracking, a system that uses the combined technology of the Global Position System (GPS), computers and wireless communication to send, receive and store vehicle information in a big network. This innovation has plenty of applications such as getting live traffic updates, listening to satellite radio and Internet browsing.
The main function of vehicle telematics is to track vehicles. Aside from the location of each vehicle, other information such as average speed, estimated time of arrival and fuel consumption are also gathered. The data given by the system can be analyzed to come up with ideas on how to increase productivity, improve efficiency and save on fuel costs.
Vehicle telematics can be helpful in determining which routes are best to take when driving to a location. Drivers can take these routes and the fleet owners can monitor if their employees are compliant with their instructions. The general rule of thumb is, the shorter the route, the lower the fuel consumption. Because drivers can receive live traffic updates, they can also inform their superiors if the route has heavy traffic. They can come up with alternative routes even before they reach the road they are about to take.
Vehicle telematics are also the key to anti-idling programs implemented by some fleet companies. This type of fuel-saving program encourages the driver to turn the engine off when the car is not moving. Unnecessary idling is said to be a big culprit when it comes to high fuel costs and high emissions. Drivers who sit inside their idle vehicles think that turning the engine on and off can damage it; others want to keep their air conditioning or heating system running. In today's world faced with environmental challenges and problems, this practice is frowned upon.
Telematics can also help reduce and eventually eliminate unauthorized vehicle usage. Some sneaky drivers use the company cars for their personal use and it used to be a major problem for fleet managers. With this technology, this is no longer an issue because they are able to track the whereabouts of the vehicles in their fleet. Preventing unauthorized use can also help reduce fuel costs and carbon emissions.
Moreover, vehicle telematics can help improve driver behavior. Problems such as speeding and sudden breaking will be a thing of the past. Fleet owners can impose a speed limit for their drivers to save gas and lessen carbon emissions. Furthermore, the best thing about this is fleet owners will know if their drivers follow the rules.