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Know your needs before deploying telematics

 Whether you purchase an in-cab telematics system or one using mobile devices, it's important to understand what data it will provide and whether that data will match your needs. ( Photo: PeopleNet )
Whether you purchase an in-cab telematics system or one using mobile devices, it’s important to understand what data it will provide and whether that data will match your needs. ( Photo: PeopleNet )

Buying the right system and utilizing its full capabilities offers the best return

The upcoming electronic logging device (ELD) rule is a great example of the type of mandated technological change coming to the trucking industry, and yet it serves as a great reminder of the importance to perform due diligence before adopting such technologies.

That due diligence, Chris Hayes, 2VP, Risk Control, Transportation, Travelers, tells FreightWaves, could potentially lead to an overall boost in fleet and driver efficiency. Or, it may just lead to better hours-of-service compliance. Whichever approach a fleet takes, he says, it’s important to first understand what you expect from a telematics solution.


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“It depends on what you are using that device for,” Hayes, 2VP, Risk Control, Transportation, Travelers explains. “If you are capturing data on the vehicle, you are really capturing driver behavior data that you can use to coach drivers or to reward drivers.”


Roughly 3 million drivers will be affected by the ELD regulation, which mandates the devices inside truck cabs as of Dec. 18, 2017, to track driving hours and hours-of-service compliance. Many fleets, especially larger ones, already employ ELDs, but many in the industry still do not have the devices.

What kind of success any fleet has with ELDs, like all telematics systems, will vary based on the fleet’s needs, the type of system it adopts, and what it chooses to do with the data telematics systems capture.

In the case of ELDs, companies could choose to equip drivers with smartphone-based systems that simply record driving hours. Or, they may choose more robust systems that connect directly into the vehicle’s engine and collect thousands of data points.

“There are some that are directly tied into the vehicle and there are some that run off GPS devices or accelerators,” Hayes notes. “As we move towards electronic logging, the question is are you going to invest money into just capturing what is required or are you going to invest [in something more]?”

Brian Straight

Brian Straight leads FreightWaves' Modern Shipper brand as Managing Editor. A journalism graduate of the University of Rhode Island, he has covered everything from a presidential election, to professional sports and Little League baseball, and for more than 10 years has covered trucking and logistics. Before joining FreightWaves, he was previously responsible for the editorial quality and production of Fleet Owner magazine and fleetowner.com. Brian lives in Connecticut with his wife and two kids and spends his time coaching his son’s baseball team, golfing with his daughter, and pursuing his never-ending quest to become a professional bowler. You can reach him at [email protected].