Now that you’ve acquired your own personal fleet for your company, the next step lies in equipping it with everything it needs. You need to do this in order to meet the operating requirements. No fleet can operate until it shows they’re well equipped. However, as a new fleet owner, you might not be too sure on what you need to add. In this article, we’ll be going over the necessary technology every fleet vehicle needs to have installed before they can be used.
Table of Contents
Dash Cams
Dash cams are tiny cameras that go on the dashboard of a vehicle. Like a small car to a large delivery truck, these cameras provide a clear first person view of the driver’s venture out on the open road. For fleet managers, this makes it far easier to keep track of what they’re doing. Investing in dash cams offer a much more intuitive fleet management system while also offering an ROI.
Electronic Logging Devices
Electronic logging devices, or ELDs, are actually mandated by law to have in every vehicle. How they work is that they’re installed into the onboard diagnostics module (OBD) of a vehicle. Think of these like the motherboard of a computer. It keeps record of what the car does while also regulating it. The point of an OBD is to record this data, so that you or the fleet manager can look it over. It gives you an in-depth look into what the vehicle went through during the time it was out on the road. ELDs even record information such as when the vehicle was first turned on to how it turned at a certain interval.
Investing in ELDs for every vehicle isn’t cheap. One ELD can cost as much as $500 or more per vehicle. The cost itself depends on the type of vehicle and the manufacturer’s rate. If you have a group of 10 vehicles, you’re looking at paying around $3500 to $5000 in total. A great way to finance these are to take out a business loan to help with the costs. This allows you to get what you need without dipping into what you’ve currently saved.
GPS Tracking Systems
GPS tracking systems help fleet managers keep tabs on every vehicle that’s currently in use. Using a GPS tracking system helps vehicle management as well. How these work is that they’re connected to various satellites and use trilateration to determine the whereabouts of the vehicle. Trilateration is a process that utilizes at least three or more satellites. These satellites then broadcast the time, elevation, longitude and latitude of the designated area.
Anti-Lock Brakes
Anti-lock brakes are what you expect them to be. They’re brakes that prevent locking. In older models, the brakes had the potential to lock up. When brakes lock up, that means you have no control over stopping your vehicle. This is one of the most problematic occurrences that can occur to fleet drivers. To prevent a devastating collision, you can install anti-lock brakes. Aside from being able to fully control the brakes, there are other benefits as well. You won’t have to pay as much on the fleet insurance premiums. They also make the cars safer to drive in harsh weather conditions such as wet and icy roads.
