Category: Vehicle Tracking Systems

312 posts
High Gas Prices Cause IRS to Increase Mileage Deduction Rates

Gas prices have caused the IRS to make an unusual mid-year hike to the standard mileage rate used to deduct the cost of business-related driving. The mileage hike, linked to rising fuel prices, will begin July 1 and increases to 55.5 cents a mile. The current reimbursement rate is 51 cents a mile.

“This year’s increased gas prices are having a major impact on individual Americans. The IRS is adjusting the standard mileage rates to better reflect the recent increase in gas prices,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman in a press release. “We are taking this step so the reimbursement rate will be fair to taxpayers.”

The standard mileage deduction is limited to companies using four or fewer vehicles. For larger companies ineligible to take the deduction, the IRS standard mileage figure is widely used as a benchmark in setting reimbursement rates for employees’ driving expenses.

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New Law Protects Privacy Rights – Ends Warrantless GPS Tracking

In today’s world, technological innovations are created at a light speed pace, which – generally speaking – is a good thing. But Smartphone technology and other mobile devices are developed  so quickly and intelligently that lawmakers have struggled to keep up with the implications of modern technology. This has become a big problem for society. […]

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Easy Ways Drivers Can Save Money on Gas

Even though gas prices have been coming down over the past few weeks, gas prices are still very high when compared to the the past few years. In many states, gas prices are still averaging over $4 per gallon. According to a recent article from Popular Mechanics, there are several things drivers can do to save money on fuel. Here are some driving tips from the Yahoo Autos article combined with a few tips from FieldLogix.

Driving Tip No. 1: Invest in a More Fuel Efficient Vehicle

Next time you go shopping for a new (or used) car, consider fuel economy when making your purchase decision. One great car for fuel efficiency is the Ford (NYSE:F)Focus SFE. It gets 28 mpg in the city and a whopping 40 mpg on the highway. With its sculpted flanks and radical windshield slope, the Focus looks like a 21st-century small car. The SFE model is tricked out for fuel economy. The 2.0-liter engine features direct fuel injection—good for a 10 percent efficiency gain, Ford says—and is coupled to an automated twin-clutch six-speed gearbox that drives low-rolling-resistance tires. Ford also includes stuff like Sync, LED interior lighting, Millennium Falcon instrumentation and with a $20,780 as-tested price, the Focus becomes impossible to ignore.

Driving Tip No. 2: Coast to a Stop

We all know brakes are necessary, but they’re incredibly wasteful. Accelerating until the last moment then braking hard to stop is less efficient than slowly coasting to a red light. Whenever possible, anticipate that a light will turn red and ease off the gas. Generally, the less you have to brake, the better your fuel economy.

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Costa Rican Legislators Want GPS Tracking Systems Out of Their Cars

GPS tracking systems are currently installed in the “official” vehicles of legislators in Costa Rica. This week 29 of the 55 Legislators announced that they want the GPS tracking systems removed from their cars.
According to Mendoza and the Legislature’s executive director, Antonio Ayala, they have seen a significant fuel savings in travel and legislative budget since the installation of the tracking system. Maybe this is where the problem lies, legislators cannot anymore “fudge” their travel expenses and can be located – at least their vehicles – at any given time, the Costa Rica News reported.

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Gas Prices Expected to Continue Decreasing

Gas prices have continued to decrease this week. Many experts are expecting prices to continue fluctuating with an overall downward trend.

Drivers and businesses affected by gas prices have been pleasantly surprised because gas prices typically rise during the month of May. The current peak national average price for this year was $3.98 on May 5th, 2011.

In mid-May, Neil Gamson, an analyst for the Energy Information Administration, said “It is possible we have reached our peak.” However, that could change if the violence in the Middle East gets worse or if there is a bad hurricane season.

Currently the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.78, down 3 cents from last week and 18 cents from one month ago according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. Although this month’s decreases are good news, prices are still up over $1.00 from one year ago. Diesel fuel is currently averaging $4.00 per gallon, down 16 cents from one month ago.

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Ford’s New Smart Car Technology Means Less Accidents and Traffic

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a leader in bringing innovative safety and driver technology in mainstream vehicles. This week, Ford demonstrated how far they’ve come in car-to-car communication technology. Ford also showed what the future of driving may look like with talking vehicles that can warn of hazards and traffic ahead. Ford is one of the first automakers to build prototype vehicles demonstrating this exciting new technology.

With vehicle-to-vehicle communication, intelligent cars talk to each other wirelessly, warning drivers of potential dangers. Utilizing advanced wi-fi technology and GPS, intelligent vehicles will help drivers identify and respond to potential dangers as well as identify conveniences while on the road. With this technology cars will be able to send messages to other cars about where they are and where they’re headed.

If there is an accident or any other potential driving hazard coming up, vehicles will be able to instantly receive information about the upcoming dangers, giving drivers more notice and time to respond. The new technology is called a DVI system – which stands for Driver Vehicle Information. This technology provides either audible or visual cues to alert drivers of what potential dangers coming ahead.

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AT&T Launches New Fleet Tracking Solutions To Help With CSA Compliance

AT&T (NYSE: T) recently announced the launch of three new dispatch management and mobile transportation applications from Complete Innovations and Xata Corporation (NASDAQ: XATA). Designed to streamline operations, optimize fleet and mobile workforce performance and facilitate fleet manager’s adherence with the CSA 2010 initiative, these new features will enhance AT&T’s portfolio of fleet tracking solutions.

Businesses that use these new fleet tracking features can get valuable insight into fuel consumption, vehicle maintenance needs, asset location and more, while drivers can find destinations more easily to deliver products on time. Over the last several years, the number of companies using fleet management solutions has grown substantially, fueled by advanced technologies such as powerful smartphones, GPS location services and machine-to-machine solutions. Frost & Sullivan industry analysts noted in a 2010 report that the subscriber base for Field Asset Management has increased from 1.4 million subscribers in 2008 to 2.4 million in 2010.

Xata Turnpike from AT&T helps private and for-hire fleets and owner-operators to comply with CSA 2010, a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative intended to reduce commercial motor vehicle-related accidents. Xata Turnpike makes it easy for businesses to abide by hours of service (HOS) and International Fuel Tax (IFTA) reporting requirements, while simultaneously helping them to optimize their fleets’ performances. Users can install Xata Turnpike from AT&T in just minutes and then run the application on their existing mobile devices.

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Gas Prices Continue to Decline

Gas prices are currently averaging $3.78 per gallon of regular unleaded fuel in the US, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. One week ago, gasoline prices were averaging 4 cents more than today at $3.82 a gallon.

Gas prices in Los Angeles County continued to decline over the Memorial Day weekend, decreasing a half-cent Monday to $4.06 per gallon. The average price, which has fallen nearly 23 cents since the streak of decreases began May 7, is 7.2 cents less than it was last week and nearly 20 cents lower than it was last month; however, it’s still $1.042 higher than it was last year at this time, according to the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. Before the 24-day streak of decreases, the average price rose 43 times in 45 days.

Most analysts are saying that the recent decreases in gas prices are due to two reasons. First, gas prices are tied to oil prices which have been declining over the past several weeks. A barrel of benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange has fallen 11.7 percent to $100.59 from its two-year high of $113.93 on April 29.

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GPS Fleet Tracking Lowers Fuel Costs By 20% Says Network Fleet

Network Fleet, a leading GPS fleet tracking system, recently published a paper titled, “Don’t Sit Idle While Fuel Costs Rise,” that shows how fleets can use GPS fleet tracking and engine diagnostics to lower fuel costs by as much as 20%.

The Network Fleet paper offers specific actions managers can take to analyze fleet operations and reduce costs. Fleets that begin using a GPS fleet tracking system report a quick, positive ROI primarily due to significant savings in fuel and other operating costs.

The paper uses several different fleets as an example, such as the Eastern Municipal Water District of Riverside, CA. Using the Network Fleet GPS fleet tracking system, the water district managed to reduce fuel costs by $79,000 in the first six months.

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Fleet Tracking System Saves Company Hundreds Each Month

One of the UK’s largest providers of port-a-potties, Toilets+, recently installed a GPS-based fleet tracking system in all 32 of the company’s vehicles. The real-time fleet tracking system is saving Toilets+ as much as £400 ($650 USD) per month in fuel costs, cutting engine-idling times throughout its entire fleet.

According to Toilets+ managing director, Mick Bowman, “Through the fleet tracking system, we discovered some staff were reaching a site and leaving their vehicle’s engine running, often for very long periods. Now drivers are required to switch off and remove the ignition key on arrival….We also use the fleet tracking service to check drivers’ start and finish times to aid the monthly payroll.”

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Gas Prices Driving Businesses to Fleet Tracking

Fleet tracking system sales appear to be increasing this year, mostly due to this year’s recent surges in gas prices. When gas prices top $4 per gallon, companies start looking for ways to save money. Managers start paying attention to how their employees are driving, and for ways to increase operating efficiencies.

Small changes can have a big impact on a large scale, and the cost savings can really start add up. Many are surprised to find out that a fleet tracking system can help them to see immediate results and cut costs across the board. In today’s challenging economic climate, profit margins are slim and companies must implement as many cost-saving initiatives as possible.

In order to remain competitive, companies have to look very closely at every penny spent. Because a fleet tracking system can provide an ROI in less than six months and immediately reduce fuel consumption, plus produce ecological benefits, companies both large and small are utilizing them to create profitable, sustainable fleets.

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High Gas Prices Affecting Businesses Large and Small

For many businesses, this year’s increases in gas prices are taking its toll on profitability. Corporate giants such as Walmart all the way down to family owned flower shops are dealing with the consequences of $4 a gallon gasoline.

Today’s high gas prices are also especially hard for those who rely on commercial vehicles as a large part of their business. For these companies, even a small increase in gas costs can be detrimental. Many are absorbing the costs and carrying on business as usual, hoping that the reports saying gas prices will drop again this summer are true. Other companies have been forced to raise prices.

Companies that rely on house calls or deliveries have been affected more than most. Pizza delivery, flower delivery, plumbers, HVAC – anything you can think of that has to be there in person to complete a transaction.

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Fleet Management Biggest Concern is Volatile Gas Prices

Recent increases in gas prices over the past 6 – 12 months are taking its toll on the fleet management industry. According to a recent survey conducted by GE Capital Fleet Services, 29% of respondents said the recent surge in fuel prices is their number one concern, up 12 percent from one year ago. The other two major concerns for fleet management was driver safety and cost savings.

Concern for driver safety increased in 2011 to 28 percent from 21 percent in 2010, while cost savings fell as a priority but remained important at 23 percent, down from 36 percent in 2010. cost savings are now a bigger focus for executive management according to fleet managers. Sixty-four percent of those surveyed indicated that executive management’s main focus for fleets is cost savings, up from 48 percent in 2010.

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Teletrac Fleet Tracking System Chosen by Isuzu Trucks

Teletrac, an industry leading fleet tracking system, recently announced that it has been selected by Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc., distributor of America’s best-selling low-cab-forward trucks, for its 2011 and 2012 model year N-Series customers.

“Safety is no longer just a cost center and compliance issue,” said Teletrac executive vice president, Drew Hamilton. “For many fleets, it’s now a strategic business priority to help trim costs and boost efficiency. For this reason, Teletrac captures the industry’s widest range of safety-related vehicle and driver data, making this information more useful and actionable in real time — to help fleet managers increase bottom-line safety performance, and improve fleet operations overall, ” said Hamilton.

Teletrack’s fleet tracking system is called Fleet Director. Fleet Director locates, tracks and monitors the position and operation of fleet vehicles. This gives fleet management greater visibility into operations to deliver cost saving efficiencies such as lower fuel consumption, real-time tracking of vehicles from the desktop, automatic route guidance, and detailed reporting for advanced decision support and efficient regulatory compliance.

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FieldLogix Launches Fuel Efficiency Driver Training

FieldLogix, an industry leading GPS fleet tracking system, recently launched an online Fuel Efficiency Driver Training Program. Training that targets fuel efficiency can help drivers recognize and change driving habits that waste fuel. Even highly experienced truck drivers can boost their skills and enhance driving performance through fuel efficiency driver training programs.

A few simple changes in driving techniques can produce sizable fuel savings of 5 percent or more, according to the EPA. Fleets that improve fuel economy by at least 5 percent through driver training and monitoring programs can save more than $1,200 per truck each year in fuel costs and eliminate 8 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per truck each year.

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GPS Fleet Tracking System Saves Alzheimer Patient’s Life

Many people are aware that a GPS fleet tracking system can help companies save money on fuel, increase productivity and improve the bottom line. Some fleet tracking systems even help companies go green by reducing vehicle emissions. But a recent story proves that fleet GPS systems can also provide a myriad of other benefits – including saving a father’s life.

A woman in Louisiana, Joyce Rawls, was concerned about her father because his mental facilities were deteriorating due to Alzheimer’s disease. Anyone who has seen someone they love suffer from Alzheimer’s knows how painful and difficult this must be. The woman decided to purchase a GPS fleet tracking system and had it installed in her father’s vehicle in 2008. Turns out this decision may have saved her father’s life.

The fleet tracking device was installed in her father’s truck for two years before they needed to use it to find him. Then, in April of 2010, her father left the house and either forgot where he was going or forgot how to get back home.
According to a recent press release from TrackNet, the woman said, “My mom called and said that he had not made it back home,” Ms. Rawls reports. “I immediately knew something was wrong and pulled him up on the computer, with our tracking system.” She found her father’s truck in Shreveport, LA, over 30 miles south of his home in Plain Dealing, La. Ms. Rawls immediately called the police in Shreveport, La. and they were curious as to how she knew her father was there. “When I told the police about the tracking unit in my father’s truck and that he has Alzheimer’s, they were very impressed and said it was a smart idea.”

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Soccer Star Caught After High Speed Chase in Stolen Car

Well known soccer star Jaba Mahlangu aka “Pule” was busted this weekend in a stolen car. After the vehicle was reported stolen,vehicle tracking company Netstar was immediately notified. The NetStar vehicle tracking system was able to help police find and recover the stolen vehicle. The suspects apparently had no idea the car was equipped with a GPS tracking system.

The stolen vehicle was not easy for police to recover. The driver of the vehicle was trying to lose the police and drove at very high speeds in an attempt to get away. Using the GPS signal from the vehicle tracking system along with the help of an overhead flight squad, law enforcement finally was able to catch the driver and recover the stolen car.

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Gas Prices Drop Eleven Cents in Past Week

For the thousands of drivers getting ready to hit the road for the upcoming Memorial weekend holiday, there is finally good news about gas prices. The current average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gas in the US is currently $3.85, eleven cents less than one week ago. Prices are only one cent higher than they were averaging a month ago, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

Diesel fuel prices are also on the decline. Diesel fuel is currently averaging $4.06 a gallon, seven cents less than one month ago. The decrease in diesel fuel prices effects the whole economy because prices of items people consume everyday from food to toilet paper are affected by gas prices.

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