GPS fleet tracking offers many potential benefits to firefighters as they fight fires of all shapes and sizes. Some of the benefits are more obvious than other, but all of them work together to help firefighters save lives and properties from devastating flames.

Create More Accurate Images of Forest and Wildfires

Forest and wildfires are often particularly devastating because of the inability to know exactly where the flames are reaching. The traditional method has been to use flyovers to create a sketched map of the flames. The problem with this method is multi-faceted. First, sketches aren’t exactly pinpoint accurate. Second, smoke obscures things and helicopters above are often unable to get a clear picture of where the fire actually is.

Enter GPS fleet tracking. Trackers on the ground are used by satellites in order to create an accurate image. This allows firefighters to see the exact size and location of the fire so they can create accurate plans to combat the fire. This can save lives of firefighters and help create more accurate evacuation routes for area residents – saving the lives more civilians too.

Reduce Dispatch Response and Travel Time

When it comes to fighting fires and saving lives, seconds matter. GPS assisted dispatch helps to reduce the amount of time it takes to notify the proper station(s) so that help can start rolling out faster. The GPS fleet tracking ability to locate the fastest routes and bypass traffic, can greatly reduce the travel time for responding trucks. Read the rest of this entry »

A man in Michigan City was arrested for being connected with a suspected chop shop after a stolen snowplow truck was tracked down by police through its GPS tracking device.

Thomas Lambert, who is 48, is being charged with 3 counts of Level 6 felony theft in LaPorte Circuit Court. Mike Kellems, LaPorte County police Capt. says more charges could be coming against Lambert. The truck was reported stolen from a Hammond snow removal company right before Thanksgiving. Lambert had said he purchased the truck, according to court documents.

The plow’s satellite GPS tracking device led investigators directly to Lambert’s home, and once they received a search warrant, they found evidence of the stolen plow as well as a fuel transfer tank, a pump, and a salt spreader all cut off of the truck, according to court documents.

Thirty other vehicles were found by the investigators while they were searching for the stolen plow, and many were stripped right to the frame. Read the rest of this entry »

Fleet business owners have enough concerns in their daily operations than having to worry about their fleet vehicles breaking down. This is why fleet preventative maintenance is essential so you will be able to detect smaller issues before they turn out to be huge problems.

Fleet managers, for the most part, do fairly well in making sure their vehicles run at peak performance. However, when they take a lackadaisical approach to the maintenance of their fleet vehicles, it can cost their business thousands of dollars. Therefore, it’s imperative that fleet managers stay on top of and ensure their business preventative maintenance program is in place and working effectively.

Common Mistakes

Here are three common mistakes fleet managers make with respect to fleet maintenance.

1. Not Setting the Standard

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A new study conducted using GPS tracking shows that teenagers are only getting a fraction of the exercise they need,

The GPS study was performed to track teenagers throughout the day and examined how much physical activity they were getting while at school. The study, which was published in the journal Pediatrics, revealed that on average, a teenager gets about 39.4 minutes of exercise each day and about 23 minutes of that is at school.

One of the authors of the study is Jordan A. Carlson, who is a research assistant professor at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO. He wasn’t surprised by the results, stating that teenagers are known for being difficult to get active. Even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends adolescents get 60 minutes of physical activity every day, less than one in 10 are actually achieving this.

Researchers wanted to not only find out how much exercise teenagers were getting on any given day, but also where the most exercise was being carried out. They were hoping they could use this information, such as whether more exercise was occurring at home, school, or other locations, and further improve the amount and quality of exercise teenagers were getting. The researchers thought maybe they could provide environments teenagers enjoyed being more physically active. Read the rest of this entry »

An artist known for his original message created with GPS tracking technology asking his girlfriend to marry him does it again with a peace on earth message.

Yassan is not new to using GPS tracking devices in a novel way. He is known as a GPS artist and displays his work all over the world. In fact, he holds a Guinness Book of World Records award for previous work. His most recent project was creating an international piece of artwork in the name of peace.

Yassan was able to create the international image by working with Japan Airlines Co., Ltd, as well as some of the other airlines belonging to the oneworld alliance. He was able to span 65,700 miles. The message began in Tokyo, Japan and ended up in Mexico. The message spanned 24 cities and six continents, and is one of the largest holiday messages ever done, especially with the help of GPS technology. Read the rest of this entry »