Drivers are the core of your fleet and keep the cogs of your company in motion. And a fleet without reliable drivers certainly will never be able to function in the best and most efficient way possible.
However, most of the time, drivers find themselves tackling many challenges alone while on the road, and some assistance from your part can go a long way into helping them.
The driver needs to look into numerous activities apart from just driving, which includes updating driver logs, checking the vitals of the vehicle, and taking care of assets.
If you can take a small part of this burden off their shoulders, they can focus on the real tasks at hand – driving and delivering.
Hence, it is necessary to build two-way communication with your drivers to inform them about important decisions, their next shipping location, and even advise them on their travel and routes.
Instead of archaic solutions, AI on the road can handle much of the communication and alert drivers if you use the right tools and fleet management systems.
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Modern-Day Safe And Efficient Driver Messaging Techniques
Your drivers take up the tedious task of delivering valuable goods and services for your clients and customers. Any distractions, even if for only a split second, can lead to traumatic accidents.
As a fleet management company, you want to reach out to your drivers in the most effective way, and without any accidents.
The communication systems of yesteryear that involved sending keys to the truck dashboard and analyzing them, or asking for their exact location via text or phone call, are no longer in place.
Technology has turned the tide, and today, you can actively keep your drivers aware of situations that they cannot yet perceive minus the risk of distractions.
To make sure that the journey is smooth and efficient, you can make use of the following driver messaging solutions:
1. Dash Cams
One of the most underrated means of driver messaging is through dash cams. These cameras help you to keep track of the driver activities and to monitor their activities while driving.
If you have reason to believe that a driver isn’t performing up to the mark, you can monitor them via dual-facing and windshield cameras, thus giving you a comprehensive idea of their behavior.
Sometimes, clients may falsely accuse the driver of stealing goods or not making a delivery. In such cases, you can use the dash cam footage as proof for legal purposes.
With wireless dash cams, your fleet’s whereabouts can be recorded to give you an insight into what happens to your vehicles when the driver isn’t around.
Some dash cams are Artificial Intelligence enabled and equipped with audio that guides you whenever you are about to make a mistake. The AI is so advanced that it understands if the fleet operator is distracted and accordingly sends alerts.
These high-utility devices can also check the surroundings for high-risk incidents and alert fleet truckers long before they realize the impending danger, thus saving their lives.
2. IoT Devices And Sensors
While your fleet driver is operating the vehicle, they do not have the time to look at every detail of the car. They need to keep their eyes on the road. However, if they do so, they will ignore important issues.
Additionally, the fleet drivers may also not be vigilant of the assets they are carrying, which may damage or delay the consignment.
An asset tracking IoT device can work wonders and help you retrieve stolen items from the vehicle. Hence, your drivers can focus on driving, ensuring safety on the road.
IoT sensors ensure that every part of the vehicle is in perfect working condition, from the brakes to the engine and the fuel levels. Hence, it prevents accidents in the driver’s seat due to faulty equipment.
Some IoT devices can block your engine while in emergencies and also protect the items from falling off the vehicle with door sensors that alert the driver whenever the trailer door is open.
Additionally, temperature sensors also help drivers adjust their driving speed and make sure that any frozen goods are safe and intact.
3. Telematics And ELD
There are many times when you wonder about the driver’s location and whereabouts. However, it is unsafe to call and keep asking them about their location as they might get distracted.
The solution is to install a telematics device that gives you your fleet’s location in real-time. These tools give real-time data about your vehicles through a fleet tracking app.
Telematics devices help you connect with your fleet drivers, update them about road conditions ahead, and send them better routes.
Today, vehicle telematics gives you complete visibility of your fleet movement, speed, and location in real-time. It generates data about the vehicles that can be used for further analysis and performance metrics later.
Telematics devices are directly connected to the internet, and you can get pertinent data about your vehicles from any corner of the world.
Since it comes with a hotspot attachment, you can also have real-time access to the data and a two-way communication at all times.
Telematics is also used in conjunction with ELD to make it easier for you to update logs. The ELD devices can alert drivers about the hours of service left for the day and prompt them to take breaks.
Telematics apps track your vehicles, provide insights about them, and analyze data. They also give key updates on environment and road conditions, allowing managers to quickly inform drivers and reroute the vehicles.
Conclusion
Most fleet managers find it challenging to manage their fleet, primarily because they struggle to collaborate with the drivers, who are the main operating task force.
However, by using the right tools, drivers can work more efficiently and safely through notifications, intended to correct wrong or undesirable behaviors or prevent problems.
They no longer have to make risky split-second decisions – fleet managers can now guide them to success and safety at every step of the way.
Thus, as the world is evolving, and fleet management leans toward technology-based solutions, you need to update yourself and protect the backbone of your company – your drivers.
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