Vehicle GPS Tracking System in Dallas Garbage Trucks Pays Off

GPS tracking systems were installed in the City of Dallas’ garbage trucks at the end of 2009. At that point in time, some people were not convinced that the GPS tracking system would be worth the hefty price tag of $700,000. Several City Councilmembers voted against the deal over concerns echoed by the sanitation drivers union and a rejected GPS bidder. “There’s no proof that it’s going to work,” said union spokesperson Elisa Gonzalez. ”

But the majority of City administrators believed that by monitoring sanitation workers and improving the fleet management efforts of garbage trucks, they would be able to reduce overtime and increase overall efficiency and performance of waste removal teams. And turns out, they were right.

Dallas City Officials recently announced that the tracking system (in the first 12 months of use) has saved the city $677,000 – almost paying for itself. That means the GPS tracking system is saving the City of Dallas a little over $56,000 month. Now that is an amazing ROI!

GPS Tracking System Used to Recover Stolen Money From Bank

A GPS tracking system was used to recover a bag stuffed full of stolen hundred dollar bills from a recent bank robbery (Bank of America) in Buffalo, NY. The bag full of money was hidden inside a garbage can, but thanks to the GPS tracking system, police were able to quickly recover the money. The police will not disclose how the GPS tracking system got inside the bag full of money, but they did confirm that the GPS tracking system was placed inside the bag of money during the robbery by someone at the bank. Buffalo City Officials said that the GPS tracking device is so small or so well concealed that a robber might need to go through each bill or stack of bills to find it. How cool is that?

Baby Jesus Statues Protected With GPS Tracking System

Real-time GPS tracking systems are being installed in Nativity scene Baby Jesus statues across the US to protect them from being stolen. In the past, dozens of churches across the US have reported vandalism and theft of items in their holiday displays, but this year people are fighting back. This winter people are using GPS tracking to recover the stolen Bay Jesus dolls and bring the perpetrators to justice. I’m not sure what kind of a person goes around stealing items from Nativity scenes, such as Baby Jesus dolls, but unfortunately it happens.

Inmates Released and Monitored with GPS Tracking System

GPS tracking technology lets officers monitor convicts without actually keeping them incarcerated. Providing housing, security, food, health care, plus administrative costs etc. to prisoners is an expensive financial burden for most states in the US. Due to the high costs, some states are using a GPS system to track nonviolent prisoners as an alternative to keeping them locked up.

This type of GPS tracking allows authorities to monitor the criminals at all times without the responsibility of keeping them incarcerated. While the GPS tracking system make it easier for states to track offenders, the use of such systems does have its downsides.

Fleet GPS Tracking Helps Keep Roads Clear and Safe This Winter

There has been record snow fall in many parts of the US this winter. Right now in California, there is record rainfall which means accidents, landslides, flooding, etc. Driving in winter can be quite a challenge. Harsh winter driving conditions are especially challenging for those responsible for keeping the roads clear and safe. Municipalities and snow removal companies are working long and hard to clear away the water, ice and white blankets of snow that inevitably slow down drivers during the busy holiday season.

The equipment and vehicles used to remove snow are now equipped with GPS fleet tracking devices. With the help of the fleet tracking system, the roads can be cleared much quicker. The GPS tracking can show the exact location of the road cleaning equipment in real-time. The system can monitor the position of the equipment from anywhere with an internet connection, allowing managers to visually dispatch their fleet without having to be on site.

Google Maps Now Gives Users 3-D Interactive GPS System

Google Maps has just released two great new features for the Android – GPS System 3D interaction, offline reliability.

Offline Reliability

Mobile Internet connections are never 100% reliable but this is a huge step toward greater offline reliability. These new updates provide a solution to one of the biggest limitations with a mobile GPS system – being able to access and use your navigation GPS system while you are offline, so you can find your way even if you lose your connection. Most GPS system users have all had those frustrating moments when you get stranded without a map – like when you’re driving in the mountains and the cel coverage is limited or anywhere else with an unreliable Internet connection.

According to Google’s blog post, “dynamically drawing maps requires 100 times less data to get maps across all zoom levels, so now we’re able to proactively cache (or store) large areas on your device based on where you use Maps the most. This way, you can rely on having fast, robust maps available to you where you’re most likely to need them.”

Low-Cost Green Fleet Strategies for Medium-Sized Trucks

3 Easy Ways Fleets Can Reduce Vehicle Emissions and Cut Fuel Costs:

The upfront costs to invest in a fleet of hybrid vehicles is quite expensive. But there are other great ways to create a green fleet and save money.

1. Driver Efficiency Initiatives:

Train and educate your drivers. Your drivers can control fuel consumption each time they fire up their engines. Proper training can improve fuel efficiency, fuel economy and reduce vehicle emissions. There is a quick ROI on driver training because fuel consumption can immediately be reduce by at least a few percent.

Hard acceleration, speeding and idling are the biggest causes of wasted fuel. Use data gathered from a fleet tracking system to monitor and improve driver behavior. Develop a driver training course for drivers and reward participation.

GPS Fleet Management – Drive Smart, Drive Green, Drive Profits

FieldLogix is a green GPS fleet management solution designed to reduce fleet fuel consumption and improve productivity. FieldLogix has ranked among the 100 Fastest Growing Companies in San Diego for the past two years.“Wireless fleet management systems can put a spotlight on a driver’s habits that consume excessive fuel and emit unnecessary pollution. The most frequent of these activities include excessive speeding, idling and sudden acceleration and stops. Tracking these types of activities is essential to achieving a fuel-efficient green fleet,” said Yukon Palmer, CEO of FieldLogix. “We have dozens of case studies showing that with the right tools and strategy, you can reduce the average fleet vehicle’s operating costs by over $8,064 and reduce 2 metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution per vehicle annually with modern telematics technology and proper driver education.”

Telematics Technology Helping U.S. Farmers Become More Efficient

Thanks to telematics technology, U.S. farmers now have the option to collect and manage information from their field equipment. Modern telematics-based management systems can record data from farm equipment operating in a field, and then transfers the data to the Internet in real-time. Users can access the real-time tracking data from anywhere on the internet – from an office computer, cell phone, or a laptop. Today, most agricultural equipment companies like John Deere are in the process of developing telematics systems.

GPS Tracking Effective Solution to Manage Mobile Employees

GPS tracking is being used by more and more businesses as a way to manage mobile workers and mobile assets, according to a recent Fox News Report. “More and more companies are paying for GPS tracking service to monitor where their fleet vehicles are at every moment of the day in real-time.” A fleet tracking system usually is hardwired into the vehicle underneath the dash. It provides detailed information on every place the vehicle went, how long it was there, what route it took to get there.

Fleet management can take the data gathered from the fleet tracking system and use it to improve fleet operations, especially improving driver behavior which is a big factor in cutting costs. A well managed fleet monitors driver efficiency because good drivers don’t waste money on gas, and are able to make more deliveries per day resulting in better customer service. If workers know that they are being watched, they won’t be able to get away with taking long lunch breaks or leaving work early.

Best GPS for Golfers – Garmin Approach G5 Handheld GPS

Garmin GPS Device Golf Approach G5The Garmin GPS Approach G5 is an excellent handheld GPS device for someone who wants to improve their golf game. The Garmin GPS system does basically everything but hit the ball. Don’t just take my word for it, the Garmin Approach G5 has excellent reviews on Amazon.com (94 reviews with a 4 star average). The best GPS unit comes with a very valuable 10,000-plus course database. It also includes lifetime free online course additions and updates. There’s no subscription or setup fees, and Approach is compliant with USGA rules.

Can Employers Track Workers Vehicle with GPS Without Their Knowledge?

GPS Tracking and Privacy Rights

Do you think employers should have the right to track worker whereabouts with a GPS tracking device without their knowledge? What if the employer suspects the employee is falsifying time-sheets? What if the employer is the State of New York and is being funded by tax dollars? These are some of the issues at the core of a new lawsuit brought forth by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) on behalf of a former Department of Labor (DOL) , Michael Cunningham.

Mr. Cunningham was fired in August of 2010 from his $115,000 per year DOL Supervisor job based on information gained from a GPS tracking system that had been placed on his BMW. The GPS tracking device was placed on his vehicle because his managers suspected that he was falsifying his time-sheets – trying to get paid for hours he didn’t actually work. Based on the GPS tracking system data, the NY Labor Dept. fired Mr. Cunningham.

Vehicle Tracking Telematics Systems Can Save Your Fleet Money

vehicle tracking gps systemVehicle Tracking Telematics-enabled GPS Systems of today (2010) offer much more than just real-time GPS location-based data. The most important thing for fleet management is saving money. Considering today’s tough economic times, it’s important to run a business as efficiently as possible. Vehicle Tracking can help you reduce operating expenses while increasing the number of service calls you complete each day. As telematics technology has matured, fleets are now starting to understand the value of the data you can get from telematics and are moving away from just location-based information.

Fleet managers can use telematics-enabled vehicle tracking fleet GPS systems to reduce a fleet’s operating costs in several different ways. Many fleets save money from being able to record accurate time sheets, stopping unnecessary journeys and recognizing and stopping drivers taking long routes.

GPS Tracking By Law Enforcement Without A Warrant – Is it Legal?

Several important court battles over the use of GPS tracking by law enforcement without a warrant have been going on during the last year. The courts have returned different opinions recently.

1) In November 2010, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, in a five to four split, upheld a lower court’s ruling that law enforcement agencies need to obtain a warrant to use the “global positioning system” (GPS) to track a suspect.

The federal appellate court denied a Department of Justice request for reconsideration of a three-judge panel’s ruling that warrantless GPS tracking violated the defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights as well as the defendant’s “reasonable expectation of privacy.”

The case involved a D.C. area nightclub owner who was busted for drug possession after police attached a GPS tracking device to his vehicle. Local authorities had monitored Antoine Jones for a month without a warrant before they nabbed him. In a divided decision the court ruled to re-establish Jones’ 4th amendment rights as precedent over what is essentially probable cause, most likely because there didn’t seem to be probable cause for much of the time spent monitoring the suspect.

School Bus Tracking System Allows Parents to Track Kids

Starting in January 2011, GPS tracking devices will be installed eight school buses in Columbia Elementary , Madison County, AL. The gps tracking devices will be used as part of a pilot program for a new bus tracking system. The new bus tracking system will enable parents to track the location of the bus their child is riding in real-time.

Bobby Jackson, Administrator of Transportation for Columbia Elementary, said that as soon as students are enrolled in the program, students will use their fingerprints to check in and off school buses. “Parents will know their child is on the bus and where the bus is, but not anyone else,” he said.

How to Prevent Theft of Fleet Vehicles

Yesterday CJ Driscolls & Associates released a study of the Latin American GPS Vehicle Tracking Systems Market. The study concluded that today over four million Latin American vehicles are equipped with a subscription-based vehicle tracking solution. By 2014, the Latin American GPS Vehicle Tracking Systems market will expand to nearly nine million units in service, which is more than double the current amount of GPS vehicle tracking devices. Yearly hardware and service revenues are expected to grow to nearly US $3 billion.

The CJ Driscolls Study provides valuable information about the market for GPS fleet management, consumer stolen vehicle recovery and telematics solutions in each Latin American country (as well as Central America and Mexico). The study also provides an overview and data on the addressable market size, market penetration and trends, and projected market growth.

Longest Operating GPS System Satellite Reaches 20th Year in Orbit

Global positioning system GPS Block IIA-10 (SVN-23) was launched in November 1990, according to the U.S. Air Force. The global positioning system satellite was the first in the series of GPS IIA satellites to be launched with a design life of 7.5 years. To date, the satellite has operated longer than any other satellite and is predicted to last another 12 to 18 months. The GPS satellite has certainly done its job of providing services to the world.

GPS Tracking Technology Used to Catch Car Jacking Suspect

This week a quick thinking car jacking victim used GPS tracking technology and his laptop computer to lead police to the suspect, according to the North Jersey police.

Stalin Guzman, 24, of Paterson, New Jersey, was walking to his car when he saw a man on the street. They made eye contact and the suspect allegedly pulled a silver-plated gun and demanded that Guzman step away from the car. He allegedly made that same demand several times before cocking the gun’s hammer, according to Lt. Ronald Humphrey.

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