Understanding the world of telematics

To begin with, what is vehicle telematics?

Telematics is a form of sophisticated technology that creates data from a vehicle tracking device installed into fleet. Data collected can be very refined, covering live tracking with updates (multiple users), driver timesheets, vehicle updates using GPS/GPRS, vehicle route replay, geofencing, speeding and driver behaviour, management and KPI information, export to sat nav and ERP systems, route planning and optimisation tools, and vehicle journey recorders (accident cameras).

Telematics is modernised and can connect to smartphones, tablets, and other screen devices for rich driver integration features including navigation, messaging, workflow and maintenance.

Benefits of vehicle telematics

Taking advantage of vehicle telematics can bring huge benefits to organisations and their fleet managers. 

• Increased efficiency, as telematics allows for real-time vehicle monitoring and location history via GPS, helping fleet managers decide the most efficient routes, minimise fuel expenditure, and speed up deliveries and arrival times. Even minimising by just a matter of minutes from each driver's daily service hours has been proven to improve overall fleet utilisation.
• Improve driver safety. Safety on the road is a priority within fleet management. Monitoring driver behaviour encourages drivers to align with both company and regulatory standards. The tracked data can include seat belt usage, mobile phone usage, speeding, excessive idling, sudden acceleration and hard braking. Some telematics systems don’t actually allow the vehicle to move until a seatbelt is used! Alongside this, further security systems (e.g. alarm systems, geofencing, to name a few) are all features that guarantee fleet safety, thus reducing accidents and harm to both vehicles and the driver.
• 5G Integration. By utilising 5G management, networks will speed up and capacity will increase, thus creating easier V2X communication. 5G allows tracking to become further revolutionised, enhanced analytics, innovative tracking, and data on a fleet management level. 5G is the catalyst for further fleet invention, and focusing on 5G in vehicle tracking will support and achieve real-time information updates.
• Reduce climate impact by utilising more efficient routes on the road, which helps reduce air pollution due to decreased emissions. Carbon dioxide is one of the largest drivers of global warming. Telematics can help calculate routes with fewer miles and identify driver habits (for example, idling and harsh acceleration) that contribute to increased emissions therefore using telematics to use the most emission-friendly routes can assist tackle climate change. Every little change helps in this crisis!
• Remote management. Since COVID-19 struck, remote management has become essential due to the increase in homeworking and flexibility in the workplace. Innovative and distance monitoring is essential. Emerging technology has allowed managers to manage their fleet and drivers via computers and mobile apps, making it easier to monitor vehicle status, assets, and real-time events from any location. The flexible working culture is here to stay, meaning management must also be flexible.
• Corporate reassurance. The use of journey recorders (vehicle cameras) can reassure organisations if an accident occurs. Footage from accidents provides clear evidence of the cause of the accident, helping to omit fraudulent insurance claims. Moreover, journey recorders help reduce bad driver habits when on the road. Bad driving habits not only increase vehicle wear and tear and increase fuel costs, but can also damage company reputation.

If you have any questions or would like to know more about our Vehicle Telematics and Journey Recorders DPS and how YPO can help, please get in touch with the team!

The Emergency Services Show 2022

We’re excited to be exhibiting at The Emergency Services Show on 21 & 22 September. Come and visit us on stand J12 to find out more about our vehicle telematics DPS offering and how it could benefit you. The Emergency Services Show is the UK’s leading annual showcase of the blue light sector, featuring 450+ exhibitors, live demonstrations, unique learning opportunities and unrivalled networking. Register here!