How Businesses Can Better Protect Vehicle Fleets

Research shows that businesses with fleets of vehicles experience at least one theft per year, averaging losses of £16,000 either due to the vehicle theft itself, or the equipment stored in the vehicle or trailer. Businesses with more than 100 vehicles experience on average three thefts per year, costing upwards of £50,000. ONS data on vehicle-related theft show that it continues to rise at rate of roughly 7% year-on-year.

Alarmingly, the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), which keeps records on assets being moved in regions across the EMEA showed the UK had the highest value of cargo losses in 2020. One of the largest cargo thefts was worth €8,788,000 and that was recorded as a “violent theft of computers and laptops from a truck in Nuneaton, UK” on 9^th March, 2020. Later that month, two trailers filled with £13,000 worth of toilet rolls were stolen from Walsall, UK. In Dumfries and Galloway, a theft of an unloaded trailer cost €64,557, (around £57,500) which goes to show that the losses from the trailer theft can, in some instances, far exceed the cost of the cargo it’s loaded with.

Vehicle Trackers Can Help to Protect Vehicle Fleets, Cargo, and Drivers

The vast majority of vehicle fleets are not equipped with the technology available to assist in recovery by tracking the vehicles location. Moreover, in addition to theft protection, a number of technological solutions for vehicle fleets provide businesses with a high level of data that can be used to lower operational costs substantially.

As an example, the ScorpionTrack Fleet technology can be used to track stolen vehicles, but rather than only provide businesses with a theft recovery device, it’s designed to give fleet managers intelligent data that can be used to increase cost efficiency…

• Geo-Fencing for Virtual Security Perimeters

Wherever you store your company vehicles, machinery (powered or unpowered assets) trailers and equipment in a fenced yard or open ground, virtual fences can be set up to send a notification when any of your equipment moves beyond the virtual perimeter set within your fleet tracking software. This can be used to protect vehicles and trailers on-site by sending an alert notification that a trailer or vehicle is being moved off the site.

• Real-Time Asset Tracking

Tracking stolen property benefits hugely from real-time tracking but for managing your fleet with devices plugged into the OBD port, telematics data can be also be viewed showing the speed the vehicle’s traveling at, driver behaviour, location data, and the journey history can be recorded, too. Historical journey data can then be used to optimise route planning, helping to drive down fuel costs.

• Remote Immobilisation for Faster Asset Recovery

Fleet tracking solutions can be customised to suit business requirements, including fitting truck cabs and other company vehicles with remote immobilisers. With this technology, fleet managers can remotely shut-down vehicles. Once activated, it doesn’t automatically shut the engine off, but instead, disables everything the next time the vehicle comes to a stop. For any vehicle that usually has high value cargo on-board, being able to remotely disable the vehicle can help recover stolen goods faster, before thieves get a chance to off-load them.

Find out how Infiniti Tracking can help protect your businesses most valuable assets with fleet tracking solutions by calling us on: 0141 266 0082