They stated that they have taken the opportunity to renew the contract and add more vehicles to the tracking they already have in order to make certain that their mobile units are performing the best they can. They have a contactless interface which links to the vehicle’s on-board system. The system monitors all vehicles and provides detailed reports using Business Analyser Optimark.

Travis Perkins representative stated they are able to see how the driving is affecting efficiency and how they can change their management to ensure driver safety. The system will show the driving behaviour that may need to change whether it is a seat belt not being worn or heavy braking. They can also see acceleration, speeding, and excessive idling that may occur.

With the new investment the company is hoping to offer a driver programme in which drivers are rewarded for changing their habits. They feel this is a key tool to finding the best driver in their fleet, as well as recognising the driver’s hard work.

Real time tracking is a solution that Travis Perkins feels is necessary to any fleet business and certainly their own. They have also worked to include a PDA system management system to better help at the depot.

Travis Perkins is one of the largest builder merchants and home retailer brands in the UK with plenty of choices to choose from. The company also includes 1,800 outlets nationwide, which their vehicles deliver to.

They stated they see about 6,500 day gains, meaning that fleet vehicles are able to avoid congestion on highways with their fleet system. There is also a 12 per cent fuel cost improvement and 10 per cent reduction in vehicle running costs.

Scott Michael of Citroen stated that 50,000 Citroen LCVs have the devices. Many fleet operators have decided to try the Citroen vehicles because of the vehicle tracking and have thus decided to recommend it to others. It is a practical demonstration of how well the vehicles and tracking work together. The financial benefits and added safety and operational options also make it appeal to business consumers. There is every chance that TrafficMaster will try to pair up with another manufacturer of cars to provide their system.

The diesel trucks are fitted with tracking devices that provide data about fuel usage and driving behaviour to GeoManager. It is the software that reports on fuel and driver behaviour trends. In the first 16 weeks of the trial DHL learned several things about their drivers such as driving fast, braking harshly, and accelerating harshly.

The trial actually started in Europe with DHL in 2009. At the time they wanted to improve DHL driving behaviour and fuel usage by at least 5%. The devices were and are supplied by Trimble, a UK company. The company offers devices and customised systems to ensure that DHL and anyone else have what they need to find savings. Singapore was chosen as a secondary trial due to the urban location and issues they already have with their deliveries.

CEVA has also invested in 56 vehicles and 11 double deck trailers that will help to support the UK automotive network. All of these vehicles have tracking systems on them too.

CEVA is not the only company to make some top contracts in the last few months. TrafficMaster is another company making great strides in vehicle tracking. A lot of individuals and fleet companies are recognising the help vehicle tracking can supply. These companies are working to install at least a basic system to prevent against thefts, help protect their drivers, and for many other reasons. With many thefts of late in certain UK areas it is helpful to have vehicle tracking ensuring safe return of vehicles and other large and expensive equipment.

Mopar just announced a new type of tracking called EVTS or Electronic Vehicle Tracking System. It is a new innovation that offers multiple mobile to mobile technologies, which helps to improve consumer services.

The company stated EVTS will alert the owner of a vehicle being driven too fast or away from the location it should be in. For fleets this is perfect because they can alert the police if the vehicle has been stolen a lot sooner than before and get the vehicle back. It also helps to provide better road safety by curbing bad driver behaviours.

Smedley, the director of Connected World Magazine stated Mopar EVTS provides instant tracking for stolen vehicles and removes excessive speeds from the road. It also provides text alerts for any excessive speed driving to the owner.

For those who go with the silver plan it will include a security fence. It is also called geofencing by other companies. This type of fence sets up parameters for where the driver can go. If the vehicle goes outside of these borders the management company or owner is alerted.

For personal drivers this can mean learning about children driving outside where they are supposed to be. For fleet companies they can track if their driver may be using company time for personal runs or even theft. All in all it is just another option for fleet tracking. The fact that Mopar now offers it can help for those who have Mopar systems and want the improvement.

Isotrak states that vehicle tracking can save millions of pounds per year when a company is willing to manage their workforce with the system. Costs are saved on service, it improves services, improves driver behaviour to save money, and provides better safety. There is very little that isn’t good about fleet tracking.

Most companies are still holding out, according to Isotrak, because of the costs of the fleet tracking. They believe it is too much to spend on a product, but do not consider the technological solutions and savings that can be found.

In order to make it clear, Isotrak says, they will offer seminars to represent the most important aspects of fleet tracking, as well as to show the product developments that are ongoing right now. Vehicle tracking is not sitting back and letting the technology on the market now remain. They are continually improving services. It means that over time the services have already become less expensive and better for consumers.

It is not a question of affordability at the beginning. There are plenty of ways to purchase fleet tracking systems to make it affordable. Instead, companies have to look at the overall savings of the system. Instead of spending resources to track down a stolen vehicle or to help a driver in distress, they can save with tracking that makes everything happen sooner and with better service.

By tracking the support vehicle, supporters can see exactly where the cyclists are up to on their journey at all times via Google Earth. It’s a great way to get extra support for their cause as it gets donators involved and builds enthusiasm. This in turn helps the fundraisers pull more money in for their efforts.

The Meningitis charity ride starts from Leeds city centre and goes down to Newhaven where they will catch a ferry to Dieppe. From Dieppe they will ride down to Epernay in the North East of France.

Sponsors will now be able to keep a track of this exciting charity ride across part of the UK and North East France and all thanks to GPS vehicle tracking. RAM get some good publicity and the feeling of well being from helping a charity and the charity receive increased revenue from the event.

Thieves these days often put the vehicle on a trailer and drive away with the vehicle that way. The only problem with this is that many of the more expensive and desirable cars that thieves like to steal have anti theft tracking attached to them and are often recovered very promptly.

Many vehicles are stolen by first stealing the keys and then simply getting in and driving the car away. In fact 20% of all home burglaries are simply carried out in order to steal car keys.

The only security feature that not all cars have now is anti theft vehicle tracking and this would help to stop both of the above methods of car theft. This is why insurance companies often insist on anti theft tracking being installed before they insure cars that are statistically at a high risk of being stolen.

The Masternaut brand will be used for the new merged organisation. With these two companies merged they have around 10,000 customers served by a team of 500 employees.

The whole deal has been financed by an American private equity firm called Francisco Partners. Francisco Partners also own Cybit and have done so since 2009 when they bought them out.

With these two large GPS tracking companies becoming one giant firm they should be able to develop new technology much master and also grow the number of assets they track at a much greater pace. How it will benefit existing customers of Cybit and Masternaut remains to be seen.

Quite a few of the larger telematics firms have merged over the past few years and it is not necessarily a good thing for customers. The less companies there are providing vehicle tracking, means the less competition. Less competition is never a good thing for customers. This of course may never become a problem, but it is certainly something to watch out for.

The contactless CANbus connector enables the CANbus unit to connect with the vehicle tracking system without having to be wired into the vehicles electronics. The big advantage of this is that it means you do not risk voiding the vehicle manufacturer’s warrantee.

Masternaut have called this new device the Engine Management Unit and it is to be sold in conjunction with their GreenerFleet solution.

CANbus for those who are not aware is a feature of vehicle tracking that collects information on the vehicles fuel consumption, how it is being driven and also information on how the vehicles maintenance and safety.

CANbus technology is not installed on the cheaper tracking systems as it is expensive to fit. Often haulage companies are keen on CANbus integration. HGVs use a lot of fuel and the extra cost of CANbus integration is often paid for many times over in the fuel that can be saved. With cars the fuel consumption is not so high and therefore the added expense is often not worth while.