If the importance of having GPS inside your truck has remained elusive to any fleet out there, a recent story, courtesy of a press release from Intergis, should put that myth to bed.
Now, everyone knows GPS and associated tracking software – offered by Intergis and numerous other companies - has many benefits, from turn-by-turn navigation to vehicle and driver monitoring capabilities. With vehicle and cargo thefts remaining a major hit to carriers and our economy as a whole - some estimates put losses due to theft at as much as $25 billion a year – fleets need to take every precaution they can to mitigate those risks.
According to the Intergis release, a Cleveland-based repossession company learned first-hand how having a system in place can change the fortunes of a theft victim quickly. In this case, Monarch Recovery and the local police used the Vericom MRM system featuring an in-vehicle GPS to locate its stolen tow truck.
“Several weeks ago, our driver (and my son) went to repo a car from a garage which wasn’'t there and walked back to the tow truck,” explained Monarch Recovery CEO Tim Murdock. “As he approached, a hijacker was sitting in the cab pointing a gun, then drove off.”
The company quickly notified the police and using information from the Vericom MRM system, tracked the stolen vehicle street-by-street until police were able to make the apprehension of the suspect – in five minutes.
Monarch installed the system in a few of its trucks this year, and it quickly paid off for them.
Tracking systems not only can locate stolen vehicles, but also stolen cargo. This story from Fleet Owner Editor-in-Chief Jim Mele and Senior Editor Sean Kilcarr approached the subject from a law enforcement perspective.
The important point of the story, I think, is how difficult it is to recover stolen cargo and vehicles. The best advice, whatever company you consult with, the time is now to seriously consider a GPS and tracking system if you haven’t already done so.
