Are Smart Fleets Finding Their Place On Our Roads?

As technology evolves, our vehicles continue to adapt along with the latest advances in electronics, transforming the transportation landscape into a smarter, more connected environment.

Currently, there are two evolutions of technological integrations happening in the automotive industry, and they take the form of autonomous vehicles, versus smarter designed vehicles.

The autonomous, self-driving vehicle is not a completely new concept. Some of its conceptual elements, such as cruise control, have been in function for decades. And the latest prototypes from Google and QNX have features that sense the outside environment and navigate the vehicle without human input. However, these vehicles are a long way from hitting the mainstream as government policy, insurance and practical requirements of the vehicle cloud its fast market spread.

Smarter vehicles, on the other hand, use available technology from smartphones and popular apps to make driving easier and more enjoyable. By integrating our everyday gadgets into our cars, vehicles are better connected and sophisticated with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Many smart vehicles already offer ADAS features such as lane drifting warnings to maintain safety, collision detection systems to protect against momentary lapses in human awareness, and 360-degree camera views to check for blind spots.   

For businesses with a fleet of vehicles, there is GPS tracking software that converts numerous vehicles into “smart” machines, empowering fleets to be efficient, safe and productive. The software is versatile and enables even the most low-tech units to be upgraded with the latest high-tech capabilities.

Lane guidance and navigation tools are available with an advanced GPS tracking system that incorporates maps and turn-by-turn, voice guided routing that helps drivers stay in their lane, stay on track and on time. With a variety of map views, this feature can help drivers see where they are going while considering speed limits and road restrictions including, road conditions and weight and height guidelines.

Safety tools are much more advanced with a GPS tracking solution. Collision avoidance features are offered in mainstream smart cars. Whereas safety analytics system in GPS tracking software offers metrics into driver behavior, monitoring and recording in real-time driver habits such as speeding, stop sign violations, and even harsh braking. With this information, fleet managers can better train and coach their drivers to improve their performance, and keep the roads safe.

Whether operating a fleet of vehicles, or single passenger cars, by incorporating the latest technology in your units, vehicles can be transformed into smarter, safer, more connected machines than ever before. 

*About the author: Sid Nair is a member of Teletrac's marketing team. He is the Senior Director of Marketing and Product Management, and serves as an expert in GPS tracking software and hardware for the transportation sector around the globe.