Temecula, CA November 4th, 2013 – GPS Trackit recently introduced a new Driver Safety Alert that tracks hard turns. Driver Safety Alerts already track and report driving behaviors like rapid acceleration, hard braking, and seatbelt usage. GPS Trackit engineers have now added the ability to identify ‘hard turns’ to the alert list.
Driver Safety Alerts are used by businesses across the country to help dispatchers and managers understand how drivers are doing in the field. Businesses ranging from small-to-medium sized service companies to large transportation companies with fleets of hundreds of vehicles are able to help drivers understand the importance of safe driving behaviors.
“Drivers represent their employers to the public,” said Eddie Bermudez, GPS Trackit’s Product Development Manager. “A vehicle that is driven badly or, more to the point, dangerously, does not reflect well on that employer. These alerts notify managers and dispatchers via email or SMS text messages when their drivers are driving in a potentially aggressive manner.”
Rapid acceleration and hard braking are indicators of bad driving behaviors that also impact a vehicle’s mileage. Seat belt alerts indicate that the vehicle is moving while the driver’s seat belt is unfastened. Statistics show that wearing a seatbelt dramatically reduces deaths and injuries from collisions.
“Hard turns are another driving behavior that puts the driver and vehicle at additional risk,” continued Bermudez. “It also puts additional wear on a vehicle. We were able to utilize the accelerometer and gyroscope technologies built into the GPS tracking devices in a similar manner to the hard braking alert.”
According to the National Transportation Highway Safety Administration’s 2008 report to Congress, ‘National Motor Vehicle Causation Crash Survey’, about 36 percent of vehicles involved in collisions were turning or crossing at intersections just prior to the crashes.
“When we’re making a turn, we become more vulnerable,” added Bermudez. “Clearly in a left turn situation, you’re putting your vehicle in the path of oncoming traffic. But right turns can be hazardous as well to both pedestrians and drivers. Turn too soon and you clip the curb, which doesn’t do much for your wheel alignment. Turn too late and you could end up making a wide turn. If the device on the vehicle transmits a hard turn event, Fleet Manager checks if an alert is configured for that vehicle. If so, it sends the time, date, and location information to the email and/or text recipients.”
About GPS Trackit
Established in 1999, GPS Trackit is a leading North American supplier of GPS tracking and location-based services. Located in Southern California, GPS Trackit is dedicated to providing the most innovative, cutting-edge GPS technology backed by the best customer service in the industry today.