It’s that time of year once again: time for kids to head back to school. As excited parents celebrate a little added freedom after a long, hot summer, business owners and fleet managers decry a new spike in traffic during the early morning and mid-afternoon hours.
Can fleet tracking be the solution?
With school back in session, well-prepared fleet managers are ready with adjusted route plans to help their mobile workforce avoid high-congestion areas around school hours. Here are some things you can do with Rhino’s fleet tracking application to protect your operations now that school has begun:
- Watch for School Zones
Often routes taking back roads or through neighborhoods can be faster during rush hour in the summer. Once school’s in session, however, those routes become perilous. Not only does the traffic increase significantly in the morning and mid-afternoon, but the police presence and odds of getting flagged for speeding increase as well. If you know there are such routes that some of your drivers take, you can tell your crews to avoid those roads and setup geofences around the area to alert you when your drivers go that way. - Keeping Track During Work Hours
Now that school has started, you may be concerned that some of your employees will take off early to go pick up their kids without letting you know. That is completely understandable. While you don’t want your employees to be worried about how they’re going to get their kids to and from school, you also need to know that when they’re on the clock, they’re actual out where they need to be. You can’t afford to have customers left waiting because your scheduled crew is making personal stops. Tracking allows you to check on your vehicles any time during the day, so if a customer calls wondering where your worker is, you can quickly see if their vehicle is where it is supposed to be. - Tracking Hours of Operation
Back to school also means extracurriculars and after-school activities starting up. That means you may want to make sure your employees with access to company cars, trucks, and vans aren’t using your vehicles – and gas – to make personal trips outside of working hours. With Rhino’s system, you are able to set fixed hours of operation for each vehicle with a tracking device, meaning you will get an alert anytime one of your vehicles moves outside of your chosen hours. - Watch the Speeding
Keeping an eye on your drivers’ vehicle speeds is always a good idea, but it becomes even more important when school zones are involved and those speeding fines spike. Using the “Posted Speed Limit” report, you can see how many times each of your vehicles exceeded the posted speed limit, and by how much. This way, you can take preventative action through training and individual warnings before you have a big ticket to pay.
Tracking your vehicles provides many benefits beyond simply knowing where they are. With Rhino Fleet Tracking, you get access to our powerful reports and alerts so that you can make your tracking data work for you. Give us a call at 800-293-0420 or fill out a quick form to learn more and get started today.
