Published on March 15th, 2019 | by Bibhuranjan
07 Virtues You Should Look For in a Vehicle Tracking System
If you are a vehicle owner, purchasing and maintaining vehicles, a personal one or a business fleet, is probably one of the most expensive activities you can undertake. So it is natural that you would constantly be worried about its safety and health. A vehicle tracking system would put your fears to rest, and make you feel much more in control of your vehicle, even when you are not the one behind the wheel. Vehicle trackers have countless benefits, be it monetary or operational. And they are a good investment, especially if you are using multiple vehicles for your business needs.
Yet, when it comes to GPS vehicle trackers, choosing the right one is not as easy as it seems. There are many vendors out there in the market, each offering different features and functionalities to be a cut above the rest. Therefore, it is in your best interest that you make a highly informed decision, since whichever tool you pick is going to keep your vehicle secured. And we can help you with that. Here is a list of 7 essential must haves that you should look for while buying a vehicle tracking system in India.
Must-Have #1: It should enable location monitoring
Probably the most common requirement, when you are investing in a GPS vehicle tracking system, make sure that the platform is such that gives you the most accurate data in terms of the location of your vehicle. It is important that the vehicle tracking vendor that you choose uses the latest technology and has a reliable platform. Since exact live location tracking is not possible, go for providers that supply the updated location information after every 3-10 second intervals.
The main purpose of you jumping on the vehicle tracking system bandwagon is that you are able to maintain surveillance over your vehicle remotely. And your vehicle tracking system should deliver on the promise, helping you locate your vehicle in case it is somewhere it is not supposed to be at.
Must-Have #2: It should outline your areas of interest
This is a very crucial feature to have, regardless of whether you own a personal vehicle or a fleet. If you are a fleet owner, you may want to demarcate the areas around your warehouses and your frequent delivery spots or other destinations. So when any vehicle in your fleet leaves the warehouse, or reaches its destination, an instant notification will reach you. This will help you in staying updated with the entry and exit times of your vehicles, along with knowing that your deliveries were made in the timeframe you had decided on prior to the dispatch.
Conversely, if you own a personal vehicle, handled by you or your private driver, Geofence comes in handy to ensure that your vehicle is where it is supposed to be.
It is important that your GPS based vehicle tracking system comes with the feature for Geofencing.
Must-Have #3: It should come with a reliable customer support
Since a vehicle tracking system is not a consumable product, it requires frequent updates and maintenance endeavours. However, it is very difficult for the end user to fuss around with the device and the platform it runs on, due to lack of knowledge about the internal working of the product, and absolute lack of time to learn how.
Moreover, in the event any problem arises with the vehicle tracking system, be it of the hardware or software, you should be able to seek help from the provider for corrective measures as soon as possible.
So, when you are buying a GPS vehicle tracker, go for a provider that doles out prompt and reliable customer support.
Must-Have #4: It should allow personalised notifications
Apart from the fundamental alerts that you will get with a vehicle tracking system, you may wish to be up to speed with additional features and get notifications for the same, depending upon your requirements.
On the other hand, you may not want to be bombarded with a slew of notifications that makes your phone or your computer keep on pinging. It is possible that all you want is to be made aware about only particular features of your vehicle, and not really be interested in others.
So, your GPS vehicle tracker must come equipped with the functionality to customise your notifications and alerts, as per your priorities.
Must-Have #5: It should trigger ignition on/off alerts
One of the many functionalities of a vehicle tracking system is that it informs you whenever your vehicle is turned on or off, so that you know every time your car starts up or is turned off. This functionality is key in preventing theft, since if you get an ignition on alert at a time when you know your vehicle is supposed to be parked and idle, you can immediately come to know something is wrong and can check it out.
Ignition on/off alerts are necessary to have in your GPS based vehicle tracking system, as this alert will keep you steps ahead from possible theft of car parts or even the entire car itself.
Must-Have #6: It should report on driving patterns
Investing in an automobile is a big step, and so it is imperative that your vehicle is handled with the utmost care and vigilance. However, when you hand over the keys to someone else, for personal or business purposes, you can never come to know how they drove and treated the vehicle. It is important to know driving habits through a vehicle tracker since it can help you pinpoint why is the health of your vehicle declining, along with ensuring that your vehicle and the passengers are well taken care of and are safe.
A GPS vehicle tracker should give you all the facts and figures about past trips: over speeding, idling, abrupt acceleration, sudden deceleration, etc.
Therefore, keep this additional feature in mind when you venture out to buy a vehicle tracking system in India.
Must-Have #7: It should relay trip statistics
As a fleet owner, you cannot be with all your vehicles at the same time, inspecting their trips and health. And because of that, you can never absolutely know what happened when your vehicle was on the road, and how exactly was the trip conducted. So it makes sense to go for a vehicle tracker that keeps a log of every trip that is made by your vehicle, from the time to the distance traveled to the route taken, etc.
This keeps you updated with the knowledge that at the end of the day, your vehicle was wherever it was supposed to go the entire day, along with the fact that your vehicle is not being used for non-work purposes without your consent or knowledge.
Ready to buy a GPS vehicle tracker now? Make sure that the GPS Vehicle Tracking System you end up with has all of the aforementioned features to make your business flourish and your driving experience better.