KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Managing vehicles can present a unique set of challenges. For example, the frequency and severity of commercial motor vehicle crashes has drastically increased in recent years.
- Telematics refers to technology that organizations can use to gather data regarding drivers, individual vehicles or an entire fleet.
- Telematics can help businesses in many industries lower costs and improve overall safety and efficiencies.
For many businesses, managing vehicles is a key element of their operations, and these logistics can present a unique set of challenges. For example, the frequency and severity of commercial motor vehicle crashes has drastically increased in recent years. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the number of fatal crashes involving large trucks and buses has gone up by 42% since 2009. Furthermore, businesses must also contend with ongoing safety issues (e.g., distracted and impaired driving), traffic violations, driver shortages, medical expenses and vehicle repair costs.2
Telematics is a broad term that refers to technology that organizations can use to gather data regarding drivers, individual vehicles or an entire fleet.
In this challenging environment, businesses with fleets are continually looking for new ways to improve safety and reduce their exposures. One solution that more and more businesses are turning to is telematics. Telematics is a broad term that refers to technology that organizations can use to gather data regarding drivers, individual vehicles or an entire fleet. Specifically, businesses that leverage telematics can track information related to a vehicle's location, driver behavior, vehicle diagnostics and similar operating metrics.3
Telematics can help businesses lower costs and improve overall safety and efficiencies. And these benefits aren't limited to the transportation industry. Any business that manages a fleet of vehicles could benefit from telematics, including those in the agriculture, manufacturing and construction sectors.
How telematics works
Put simply, a telematics solution promotes the sharing of data between a fleet of commercial vehicles and a central location. Typically, data is gathered using telematics devices - such as GPS technology, sensors, mobile applications, dashcams and vehicle engine diagnostics solutions - that are used or installed in each vehicle in a fleet.3
These devices gather helpful insights regarding driver behavior, trip information and vehicle health, storing the data temporarily before transmitting it back to a central hub where a business can analyze it using software. Telematics devices can gather a host of useful information on a business's behalf:
- The speed of a vehicle
- The location of a vehicle
- The movement patterns of a vehicle
- Instances of aggressive acceleration, hard braking and erratic cornering
- Distracted driving incidents (e.g., smartphone usage)
- Diagnostics data related to fuel efficiency and vehicle performance
Telematics solutions are incredibly versatile and can be deployed in cars, cargo vans, tractor-trailer units, buses, heavy equipment and specialized vehicles such as construction and farming equipment.
Benefits of telematics
Telematics can benefit a business's operations in many ways6: