Keep Your Eyes on the Road
Know where your drivers are—and how they got there.
Are your fleet drivers a little too fleet? Or are they sneaking
off for an hour at the local brewpub? Find out the truth with
high-tech data-collecting devices that can tell you the location of
company cars, verify accident reports, or show you who's
speeding in your company vehicles.
One device, a crash-sensing and diagnostic module (SDM), is
built in to the electrical systems of every General Motors car and
truck. During the first five seconds of air bag deployment, it
captures information regarding engine rpm, when the brakes were
applied, whether the driver was wearing a seat belt and how fast
the car was going.
Simple SDMs have been on General Motors' and various other
makers' cars and trucks since 1973, but today's systems are
upgraded to record more data. SDM data-tracking devices not only
give employers more control over their vehicles by revealing how
drivers are using company cars and keeping them honest when filling
out accident reports, but also provide auto manufacturers with
feedback that can lead to improved vehicle safety design.
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You can also buy aftermarket data-tracking devices for
installation under the hood. At Road Inc. offers a wallet-sized,
wireless device called the Internet Location Manager (iLM). The
tamper-proof product allows fleet managers to use a log-on password
from a PC or a cell phone to track current locations of company
vans and cars, reroute deliveries, discover where drivers make
stops, and see how fast they're traveling at any given moment.
Cost: $500 to $600 plus monthly online service charges.
Editor and consultant Jill Amadio has been reporting on the
automotive industry for 24 years.
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