GPS Tracking

When traveling in a new place for the first time, many tourists opt to utilize the services of tour bus companies that provide a heightened level of insight in all aspects of the recreation and tourism sector (e.g. the best roads to navigate, the most popular tourist destinations, and unknown places of interest depending on the hobbies of each particular touring group).  In central Washington, many people around the nation flock to this western state’s scenic nature preserves, sporting events, and historic sites in the summertime, and rely on the safe and responsible driving behavior of tour bus operators to ensure a pleasurable experience.  Unfortunately, a group of tourists were fatally let down on Saturday when a bus travelling on Interstate 90 in central Washington rolled over, killing two passengers and injuring 21 others.  With the widespread applicability of GPS tracking technology in the tourist service sector, a bus tracking device could very well have prevented this tragedy from occurring.

The Washington State Patrol released a report shortly after the incident.  As the bus driver attempted to change lanes to avoid a disabled pickup truck on the right shoulder of the highway, he failed to notice a passenger car in his left blind spot.  At the last possible moment the driver realized his proximity to the car, and out of reflex both parties swerved to avoid a collision.  This instant high-velocity shift in momentum caused both vehicles to overturn and the bus actually ended up striking the stalled pickup truck.  Managers in charge of the bus tracking operations at the touring company have been intent on finding ways to eliminate this terrible incident from happening again, and utilizing the adaptive intuition of GPS tracking technology can provide a reliable solution.

There are many current projects underway that intend to incorporate current GPS tracking data transmissions obtained from cell towers, mobile devices, and automobiles in order to create what’s being dubbed an intelligent transportation system.  If this technology was used in the bus tracking operations of this touring company, the driver would have known about the location of the passenger car well before it was too late.  In addition to monitoring vehicle operations from individual vehicles on the road, bus tracking managers can communicate with drivers and set up notifications to provide unparalleled levels of insight into all road events.  With so many lives in their hands, bus drivers can’t afford to let incidents such as these continue, and by implementing a sound GPS tracking system into their bus tracking operations, tourism managers can ensure that tourists and drivers alike will stay safe on their journey.

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In 2008, at the depths of the gas price wars, companies big and small made serious efforts to reduce fuel consumption, while delivering goods and services more efficiently.

One solution became great material for news magazines and late night talk show hosts:

Avoid Left Turns.

The study was apparently well-documented and the intent, quite serious. When the general public stopped laughing long enough to give it some consideration, “Avoid Left Turns” actually began to make a bit of sense.

Drivers spend an inordinate amount of time idling at stop lights, waiting for traffic to clear, before maneuvering a sweeping left turn. Right turns are shorter. They’re easier accomplished and hence you wait less. And then there’s the safety factor: Right lanes are safer, because the driver is not crossing an opposing lane of traffic.

Why else would bureaucrats in the upper echelon of the U.S. Government see fit to pass the “Right on Red” rule? Because Right is Safe; Left is Waste.

All this silliness was quite taken to heart by the corporate world. Companies which adopted “Avoid Left” policies include the United Parcel Service. They use a software tracking system to plan their routes in a loop, with as few left turns as possible. Little changes can add up fast over a year’s time. UPS reportedly saved 3 million gallons of gas in a year after adopting “Avoid Left Turns.”

Of course today, a much more exact, and proven method of cutting mileage and fuel dependency is GPS tracking technology. A GPS tracking system shows and records everywhere a vehicle goes. Satellites send out signals and the GPS tracking receiver “reads” them to determine its position. This happens every few minutes; in some cases every few seconds.

The vehicle tracking system also records the vehicle’s direction and speed. Every stop is noted. (more…)

GPS tracking systems can do wonders in improving the workplace environment. That is why company owners are quickly becoming fans of GPS tracking technology, making it part of their strategic game plans.

Managers committed to the bottom line are eager to find ways to get more productivity out of their employees. One area of wastefulness is when those employees are on the road.

It’s a fact that employees, as simple human creatures, are wasteful with their time – at least occasionally. Consider the office setting. Employees fill up empty spaces of time with unproductive activities, like personal emails, instant messaging, or using the Internet to catch up on celebrity gossip, plan a vacation or to shop.

The same is true when workers are “out in the field,” except that bosses can’t easily discover undesirable behaviors. He can’t see them working, so the boss might wonder:

• Are my top salesmen really getting to those calls as soon as they can?
• How can he run up so much mileage in a service district of that size?
• When did she find time to buy all that food that’s in the office fridge?

GPS tracking helps bosses track their employees when they are outside the office. GPS tracking can be done in one of two ways:

• Cell phone tracking
• Vehicle tracking systems

Cell phones are widely used in companies. They are often issued by and paid for by the employer so that there is a comfortable level of communication between the office, the worker and their clients or customers. (more…)

Unable to break old habits, some drivers still rely on radio reports to warn them that their normally-smooth ride to work is going to hit a snarl ahead. That was the only option a generation ago, but GPS tracking technology has forever changed the way we learn of traffic news. The GPS tracking application on your cell phone or on-board vehicle tracking and navigation system is much more up-to-date and accurate.

GPS tracking and live traffic reports are hot topics among users of vehicle tracking systems, who drive daily at great distances, and want to avoid gridlock at all costs.

Traffic reporting by vehicle tracking is customized for each vehicle, because of course it involves GPS tracking and navigation. A television or radio traffic update reports travel status in a general area.

GPS tracking satellites find you – or more accurately the vehicle tracking receiver in your car – and location is pinpointed on an interactive map. Traffic status is determined by reports from the field and the progress of a particular vehicle is based on vehicle tracking speed and direction.

Up until now, one of the biggest shortcomings of real-time traffic data on a wireless/GPS tracking system is the updating of traffic status. Drivers complain that they are already stuck in traffic when they get an alert. This was because the vehicle tracking reporting system didn’t get enough information fast enough to accurately tell drivers what’s ahead. (more…)