The heart of all vehicle monitoring systems is the transponder. This is the device that uses the versatile global positioning technology known as GPS in order to determine its precise position at any given time. The position may be expressed as map coordinates and superimposed on a display as in the popular satellite navigation devices or relayed, along with other data to a monitoring station. In the latter case vehicle monitoring systems provide the necessary data to enable owners and operators to manage their vehicles efficiently.
One clear advantage offered by vehicle monitoring systems is that, when the position of a vehicle at any time can be checked, it provides the necessary information for police or security officers to recover a vehicle quickly in the event that it may be hijacked or stolen. Where vehicle monitoring systems are employed to oversee large fleets of vehicles, however, the greatest benefits arise from the ability of owners to manage their fleets more efficiently by improved logistics and maintenance that invariably leads to reduced running costs and better profitability.
Vehicle monitoring systems begin their functioning by determining the position of the vehicles in which they are installed. Using the high speed broadband communications of today's vehicle monitoring systems, the positions of every vehicle in a fleet may be continuously known in real time, making logistics far simpler. Other collected along with time and coordinates can be used to derive additional information of value to fleet managers.
Sophisticated software used in vehicle monitoring systems can record numerous parameters for each vehicle in the fleet so that information such as when it may next be due for servicing is at the fleet manager's fingertips without the need to check through log books and service records. The same vehicle monitoring systems also reveal something about driver behaviour such as whether they are taking the breaks required by law or perhaps habitually exceeding speed restrictions that could lead to undue wear on a vehicle.
