How to Maintain Vehicle Safety With Fleet Management Software?

In India alone, 24.3% of accidents occur due to careless or rash driving. Moreover, there have been at least 36,177 reported cases of motor vehicle theft in the country in the last year.

If these stats are not enough, issues such as driver abduction, consignment theft, and fuel pilferage are also major concerns that need to be obviated with proper aid from a fleet management software. If you are a fleet manager, there is no way so many safety concerns do not drive your thoughts. However, you can be the driver of your fleet’s safety with the help of the right tools, supervision, and vehicle safety measures. With the right GPS tracking software, you can maintain your fleet to be much safer than without technical aid. Wondering how? We’ll explain exactly that in this blog!

What Exactly is Vehicle and Fleet Safety?

The words vehicle and fleet safety seem simple to decipher, right? They denote maintaining that vehicles are safe both in transit and while they are parked in a designated space.

However, fleet and vehicle safety management is much more than just keeping vehicles from getting stolen or colliding.

Vehicle and fleet safety includes keeping the well-being of all three important assets intact. These assets are

• The vehicle itself
• Consignment in that vehicle
• The driver driving your vehicle

All three aspects of asset safety for fleet managers can be further divided into several different paths. From driver behaviour management and fuel management to parking mode and engine diagnostics, there is a lot to consider!

Can You Maintain Fleet Safety Without Live Vehicle Tracking?

Sure, you might be able to maintain some level of safety with manual vehicle tracking. You can have small tools such as SOS switches or speed dials. However, maintaining real-time and bullet-proof safety without live vehicle tracking software might just be difficult.

Tracking software gives you a live preview of your in-transit fleet. Not just that, you can even watch which vehicle is parked, down for maintenance and stopped mid-route out of nowhere. You can watch which routes, waypoints your fleet is travelling to. And if you find they are not travelling to scheduled routes and paths, you can promptly enquire drivers and take action. The best thing is, that live tracking software offers alerts on deviated routes, geofences crossed, and much more.

Without live vehicle tracking, crucial things such as knowing right away when your vehicle is in danger is not possible. Neither is recovering vehicles, drivers, or consignment in case of theft, injury, or harm.

Moreover, silent thefts or engine wear and tear cannot be tracked without software-aid.

So, yes, you can have some level of vehicle safety without a fleet management software system in your arsenal. However, it’s safe to say that you should be prepared for disappointment as several things in your fleet go unnoticed and profits remain flatlining.

How Does GPS Tracking Software Aid Vehicle and Fleet Safety?

As mentioned earlier, fleet safety management is not as simple as making sure your vehicles are not being stolen. It covers safeguarding several things on and off the road, and fleet management software systems are well-equipped to provide 360o protection.

Here we are explaining how vehicle tracking software ensures safety for drivers and consignments.

1. Safety for Drivers 

Your drivers are incredibly important for managing a healthy fleet. After all, they are the ones driving your fleet, safeguarding consignment, and maintaining a healthy engine function. However, they are prone to the danger of vehicle hijacking or emerging threats. Here is how fleet management software can protect them:

• Real-time Tracking: Drivers can rest assured that wherever they are, they are always under protection. Even if managers are sitting in their office, through live vehicle tracking, drivers feel secure knowing that their managers are aware of their whereabouts in case of emergencies.
• SOS Alarms: SOS alarms or panic buttons are the best way to help drivers be safe. By simply integrating hardware with software, you can ensure that whenever drivers need you, they can press the SOS button and you’ll be instantly notified on your GPS tracking software.
• Door Locks: Door locks keep drivers safe when they are driving through sensitive areas or if they’re resting inside the vehicle. In the lock mode, if any door in your vehicle is attempted, you’ll know.

2. Safety for Consignment and Fuel

Tracking consignment and fuel can be simple, but preventing them from theft or damage? Not so much. Here are a few things you can do in your fleet to ensure that your consignment and fuel always stay safe.

• eLocks: eLocks or electronic locks can be integrated with the software to ensure that the consignment is safely locked away in waiting or transit. These locks are locked by passwords through the software. Therefore, if anyone tries to break containers to get into the consignment, you’ll get an instant notification.
• Safe Driving Measures: Rash driving can put fragile consignment under threat. You can check which drivers are resorting to such driving through vehicle management software and avoid assigning them sensitive consignments.
• Fuel Level Monitors: Fuel pilferage is a common problem in fleets and there is only one way to avoid it – fuel monitoring. With the help of fuel level monitors, you can check the amount of fuel in the vehicle’s tank at any given time. Therefore, if there is a sudden fall, the software will detect drainage and send an alert to you.

3. Safety Features Against Theft

The number one threat that vehicles have to face against safety is theft. Regardless of how huge the vehicles in question are, they can be prone to theft if their safety is not taken seriously. 

• Real-time Tracking: Real-time tracking is the best way of safeguarding your vehicle. It allows you to have a clear view of where your vehicle is in real time. Even if your vehicles happen to be in suspicious hands, you can always track them down and retrieve them as soon as possible.
• Geofences: You can define allowed or restricted areas for your vehicles. This way, in case the vehicles leave the confined areas defined for them or go into unsafe territory, you’ll be notified.
• Parking alarm: Parking mode comes in handy when the vehicles do not even have drivers in them. You can turn on the parking mode from your fleet management software and get notifications if the vehicle moves. Generally, this movement would either be due to attempted theft or towing. Either way, you should know.
• Immobilization: If you receive an SOS alarm, eLock notification, see the vehicle going off the path, or have suspicions about your vehicle’s movements, you can immobilise it. This feature cuts off the connection between the engine and the battery, making the vehicle stop right where it is.

4. Safety Measures Against Accidents 

Other than theft, accidents are a huge issue today. You need some measures against road accidents, and here they are: 

• Video Telematics: Through video telematics, you can constantly look at the driver, the road, and even your vehicle. Through AI, you can detect distracted driving behaviour such as smoking, drowsiness, etc, and you’ll be notified. Moreover, the software might even be able to predict a collision and alert the driver of the same.
• Driver Behavior Management: Risky driving such as harsh cornering, acceleration, braking, and overspeeding is dangerous. With the help of fleet management software, you can tell which drivers resort to such practices. Therefore, you get a better idea of which drivers are fit to stay and which ones need to be trained. 
• Safe Route Planning: With fleet management software’s route planning systems, you can eliminate the routes that are most prone to theft or other issues. You can fix routes not only according to cost efficiency, but also safety. 

5. Safety For Engine and Battery

The vehicle’s engine and battery’s safety protect the vehicle from wear and tear. Wear and tear can lead to poor performance and possibly fatal threats from a poor engine. Here is how fleet management software saves you from this problem:

• Engine Maintenance Reports: Fleet management software offers engine maintenance reports to give you a fair idea of how your engine is performing. In case there is any heating or fatigue issue, you’ll know immediately to prevent serious issues.
• Battery Disconnection Alarm: Battery theft is a huge problem. This is why GPS tracking software offers battery disconnect alarms. With these alerts, you can say no to battery theft!
• Access Management: You might not want everyone to have complete access and keep some things for yourself. Having access management in your fleet management software ensures fleet safety as people see information and have control over only the things you want them to see and control.

Up for Running Safe and On-Schedule Fleet?

While maintaining vehicle safety might not cause direct benefits to your fleet it is certainly a thing that will make or break your business. After all, if your consignment, assets, or employees are frequently robbed or harmed, you will hardly make any profits.

Maintaining vehicle safety with fleet management software systems might need extra expenses and a learning curve. However, once you adopt the right fleet management practices, these costs will quickly pay off.

So, what are you waiting for? Try your demo for TrackoBit, India’s fastest-growing telematics software now!

FAQs on Vehicle Safety With Fleet Management Software

• What is Fleet Safety?

  Fleet safety is a program that defines the procedures and policies to improve driver behaviour, reduce risks and costs in the fleet and meet compliance regulations.

• How does fleet management software ensure vehicle safety?

  Fleet management software like TrackoBit offers a range of practical solutions like - real-time tracking, 50+ prompt alerts on irregular driving patterns and unfamiliar routes, and video-led surveillance of in-cabin and on-road driving data. All these help with proactive oversight on the transit vehicles and consignments and ensure no vehicle is ever misplaced.