Are you still not tracking your fleet?

The dangers of not tracking your fleet are too many to count. Stolen or mysteriously damaged vehicles, stolen or spoiled inventory, loss of work hours, very costly missed fleet maintenance red flags...these are just for starters. The number one danger is having to combat an accusation of bad driver behavior in court. Legal troubles easily kill entire companies and, yet, and, still, there are hordes of fleet managers, safety managers, operations managers, and owners just looking to hold onto to that $20, $30, $40 per vehicle to ensure a little extra cash each month.

“Missing the forest for the trees” doesn’t even begin to describe it. The industry average cost of a robust vehicle tracking solution is $35 per month, while the average cost of a legal court battle is 431 times that at $15,114 per US Department of Transportation (linked here). And, if someone got allegedly injured (or worse) by your driver then that figure jumps 13-fold to over $195,000, plus the permanent damage to your brand and highly likely closure of your company.

Of course, saving a few bucks isn’t worth risking your entire organization. So why does the habit persist? A slowing economy and/or inflation, as tempting it is to blame them, are not the main causes. Two major reasons contribute here. First, the general passivity of the solution itself. Vehicle tracking to admins may feel a lot like insurance. Dangerous to not have it, but not very involving or useful when it’s around. Solutions that make admins interact positively with the interface and make daily, business-altering movements like improved dispatching and increased work hours stand to nullify the bad effects of passivity.

The second, and perhaps more critical, reason companies might avoid GPS tracking of fleets is to assuage driver/worker concerns of micro-management of their work hours, increasing lack of flexibility in working conditions, and the genuinely unwelcome trend of constantly comparing humans to robotic, mechanized alternatives. Since not tracking vehicles and/or assets is a serious competitive disadvantage for any company, a few points are summarized here to counter valid driver and worker concerns.

Most obviously, when companies struggle to make or save money no one’s job is secure. Making money becomes difficult when you can’t predict how fast your driver can deliver an item or when a worker can perform a job. And saving money is highly challenging when your admin staff spends all day trying to manually track everyone down instead of facilitating improved operations.

Increasing competitive pressures mean customers can be very demanding and picky. If you don’t know where Truck A is or when it might arrive the customer will go elsewhere. If you can’t see that the driver is reckless and will, therefore, be unprofessional when interacting with customers you will antagonize them needlessly. If the truck is damaged and breaks down on a critical, time-sensitive route you will not see the customer return for future business.

Lastly, technology only goes one way. Just as we will never see horse-drawn carriages or typewriters again, we will not decrease our reliance on real-time data. It is better for drivers and workers to discover and describe their own work models as they engage with the new technologies. Not all tech favors owners and managers. For example, strict FMCSA limitations on daily drivetime ensure that drivers are not prone to managerial abuse. Advanced routing systems make drivers as impressive in route management in far flung areas as they would be closer to home. And, of course, all workers are protected when easily disproved false accusations of bad roadside behavior save professional reputations and personal finances from ruin.

Bill Saqib
Co-Founder, McCord Telematics
May 3, 2023