In India, transporters are forced to run vehicles quite inefficiently with poor security. Over speeding has been one of the major causes of accidents and mishaps on roads.

Installing a GPS tracking system on the vehicles, especially trucks, helps in lowering the risk of over speeding. This is because drivers become more careful about maintaining the speed limit when they are aware of the fact that they are being monitored.

It might seem like a new concept for those who used to think of GPS as a system which would only identify a location. When used as a program for safe driving and data-gathering, telematics can be highly effective to track and coach the driving behavior. GPS Truck tracking system enables the dispatcher to determine the speed of the truck by the location. Speeding can be curbed quickly with real-time speed alerts provided by the tracker. This feature notifies the manager when the trucks exceed the preset speed parameter. The driver also gets a notification/alert when the truck exceeds the speed limit. He can then control the speed and ensure a safe and secure trip.

The tracker helps in finding out which drivers generally speed through residential neighborhoods and which drivers habitually exceed the highway speed limits. Changes in driver behavior can also be measured over time. For example, the manager can set an alert when the driver plays loud music as it has the potential to cause distractions.

Using the GPS points, the tracker calculates the distance covered. The clock inside the GPS measures the time that the truck took to travel between those two points. In a split second, the GPS receiver determines the speed of the vehicle.

Some people argue that the speed returned by the GPS receiver is higher than what the speedometer shows. However, most modern GPS receivers collect speedometer readings providing an accurate measure.

The truck’s speed on its own is not an indicator that the driver is speeding. However, when combined with the location and the known speed limit which is supplied by municipalities or other regional authorities, incidents of speeding can be highlighted in the reports. The reports can be accessed from anywhere at any time. The tracker also shows important trip-related data like the GPS position of the truck, which is displayed on the map, thus making it easily traceable.

The managers can also set thresholds. Thresholds can help crop out unwanted speeding alerts. By setting speeding thresholds, such as reporting only after exceeding a specific percentage of the speed limit, or after a particular duration, managers can focus on only those incidents that essentially require their attention.

So it’s not really enough to just collect a vehicle’s speed in order to reduce over speeding. One has to apply some smarts to make the data useful.

Controlling the speed helps the truck drivers stay safe, prevent accidents, and steer clear of heavy traffic fines. Speed tracking also helps the manager to estimate the arrival time of the trucks and commercial vehicles which ultimately improves services.