Emergency services are faced with various challenges that affect response times and running costs. Learn how fleet vehicle tracking can make a difference.
There are more than 8,000 emergency service fleet vehicles in London alone, without accounting for the rest of the UK. Whether emergency service fleets are governmental, private, or voluntary, they help save lives while facing unique challenges. Reliable fleet vehicle tracking systems can play a critical role in overcoming these challenges and in enhancing operations.
Emergency Service Fleet Challenges
Emergency services are often seen as first responders in that they are usually the first to respond to various emergencies. The three main types of emergency services in the UK include medical services, police, and firefighters.
All three aim to respond quickly, efficiently, and effectively. However, considering the challenges they face, this isn’t always the case. The most common challenges include:
- Improving response times and coordination
- Rising fuel costs
- Optimisation of routes for emergency responses
- Navigating obstacles during natural disasters
- Bad driving behaviours
- Poor fleet efficiency
- Enhancing vehicle maintenance routines
Failure to overcome these challenges can cost lives and can place more strain on services that have already been negatively impacted by funding cuts.
Vehicle Tracking Helps Overcome Challenges
Advanced vehicle tracking systems such as those from Crystal Ball can help emergency service fleets overcome these common challenges. These GPS tracking systems can be used in conjunction with 4G dash cams and other emergency management tools and communication systems for greater effectiveness.
Being able to see where every vehicle is at any given time allows fleet managers to dispatch or direct available vehicles faster for improved response times. Managers can also generate reports and examine historical vehicle journeys to analyse fuel consumption, miles driven, and journey times. This data enables them to optimise routes for reduced fuel consumption and greater efficiency.
GPS vehicle tracking and the analytics that tracking systems provide can be particularly helpful during emergency conditions, such as natural disasters like flooding. Fleet managers can check vehicle locations, availability, speed, and distances and use this information to adjust routes to ensure that first responders can bypass no-go routes to reach their destinations.
Vehicle tracking systems monitor and score driving behaviours based on key performance indicators such as harsh acceleration and speeding. This enables emergency service fleet managers to hold drivers accountable and implement relevant defensive driving training, which can result in improved driving, reduced fuel costs, and less wear and tear on vehicles.
These systems also enable fleet managers to improve and stick to vehicle maintenance schedules. Managers can store repair and maintenance information, MOT dates, and other important information in the vehicle tracking system and configure alerts to ensure that all vehicles are maintained appropriately.
Vehicle Tracking Systems for Emergency Services
Vehicle tracking systems are about more than tracking emergency service fleet vehicles via GPS. They can help make a quantifiable difference to response times, coordination, fuel consumption, vehicle maintenance, and driver behaviour. Choose Crystal Ball for reliable vehicle tracking systems for emergency service fleets.
