What Is Telematics?

Telematics, fleet telematics, or vehicle telematics is the term used to define cross-industry technology systems that gather, store, and transmit data about vehicles or remote fleet assets. It does so by means of telecommunication devices installed on vehicles, GPS receivers, on-board diagnostics devices (OBDs), and telematics cloud-based software.

What Data Do Telematics Devices Collect?

Telematics devices can collect such information as:

• Fuel consumption
• Driving behavior (speeding, aggressive braking, etc.)
• Maintenance needs
• Mileage
• Route deviations
• Driver breaks
• Driving patterns
• Current and historical vehicle location
• Windshield times
• Different types of ETAs
• And much more

Fleet telematics can provide actionable intelligence that will improve your decision-making process and lead to cost and time savings. Furthermore, fleet telematics can help you uncover the hidden costs of inaction.

What Is a Telematics Device?

A telematics device is a GPS-equipped gadget, also referred to as a telematics Black Box. It can be pre-installed on vehicles or added after a vehicle purchase. Vehicle telematics boxes are connected to vehicles’ on-board diagnostics port, and, once installed, they start gathering telematics data. Furthermore, telematics equipment uses GPS tracking technology to provide accurate location data.

The collected location data helps fleet managers track and monitor their fleet assets and drivers. Telematics devices are also offering insights into vehicle faults and driving behavior.

Telematics Software

Telematics software receives and interprets data transmitted by telematics devices, breaking it down into user-friendly and customizable telematics reports. Moreover, telematics software helps fleet managers and dispatchers make sense of the raw telematics data collected by hundreds of black box telematics vehicles or assets. For example, the telematics system can alert fleet managers when drivers deviate from planned routes.

A telematics software solution can also show you idling vehicles or inactive drivers so you can improve your fleet resources allocation and identify the right time for downsizing or upscaling.