Story after story of people being misrouted by navigation on phones has popped up throughout the media in recent years.
Preinstalled GPS navigation in cell phones can be extremely convenient, or awfully unreliable.
For Fleets, Unreliable Phone Navigation Wastes Money and Time for Businesses
Last November, an Anza Valley resident decided to have heating installed in her home in preparation for the coming, icy winter.
The heating company best suited to the resident’s needs is based out of Temecula, roughly 45 minutes from Anza Valley.
An installation professional was sent out on a Tuesday morning to set up the heating for the new client. The driver entered the Anza address into his phone navigation, and he was off.
The directions provided to the driver, instead of sending him by the most direct route, sent him by the surrounding winding mountain pass, which took the driver an extra hour to trek.
By the time the driver had arrived at the home, he was nearly an hour late, and had used almost an entire extra gallon of gas than he would have taking the direct route.
If the heating company had invested in GPS navigation for the fleet, the business would have saved that time and money, and would’ve provided better customer service.
Many individuals have complained about phone navigation giving them faulty directions, causing them to become lost.
Some people claim that the navigation misleads them so often that they are late to business endeavors, and are forced to stop at gas stations to ask for directions regularly.
In Victoria, Australia police issued bulletins warning tourists not to use their phone GPS while navigating a poorly mapped national park.
On multiple occasions travelers became lost and stranded due to bad phone directions.
“Local Police have been called to assist distressed motorists who have become stranded within the Murray-Sunset National Park after following directions on their phone. Tests on the mapping system by police confirm the mapping systems lists Mildura in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park, approximately 70km away from the actual location of Mildura. Some of the motorists located by police have been stranded for up to 24 hours without food or water and have walked long distances through dangerous terrain to get phone reception.”- gigaom.com/
In January of 2009, a woman living in Utah used her phone to obtain walking directions through Park City.
The directions sent her down Deer Valley Drive, which happened to be a highway without sidewalks.
The woman was hit by a car and badly injured.
Today phone maps applications have been updated with disclaimers stating that directions may not always be 100% accurate, to help avoid issues like this in the future.
Many people don’t have these terrible problems with the automatic GPS navigation on their phones, but businesses can’t take the chance.
Poor Navigation for Fleets Compromises the Stability and Well Being of the Business.
With a GPS navigating system for fleet vehicles, drivers:
- Operate efficiently with good directions.
- Drive safer with larger screens and user interfaces.
- Provide great customer service by arriving on time to appointments.
There are many other perks to using GPS in fleets vs. phone navigation.
Instead of a driver having to use his/her cellphone while operating a vehicle to stay in touch with the fleet manager, software is available with the GPS system to help fleet managers keep track of their employees.
Managers can monitor seat belt use, speed, engine idling, track the vehicle in real time, plus much more.
Cell phone navigation evolves with all of technology, though for now, one thing is for certain: GPS for fleets is a better investment for businesses in the long run.
