Yes, a “towed vehicle locator”. What happens when one of your vehicles is out of order for a short period of time? Especially when you have no idea of when it will be, again, available to you?
Well, the answer is simple. Your day includes frustration, rearrangements and even cancellations in delivering your services. As you may have already figured out, of course, we’re talking about the — inevitable — unexpected towing, since your fleet vehicles are out roaming the streets and parking wherever available, especially during rush hour. In that case, having a “towed vehicle locator” sounds like a helping hand, right?
But first of all, let’s see when and why towing might take place among your fleet vehicles.
Cases you might end up with a towed vehicle
A possible reason you might and up with a towed vehicle may be because your drivers, who are reasonably in a hurry for their timely deliveries, may not always be mindful of conforming to rules. They might briefly park their vehicle some place they shouldn’t.
Parking in front of someone else’s property
As soon as you park in front of someone else’s property, they might decide to call the authorities for removal of your vehicle. Yes, they might call the police on you. And that means that an official paper trail will also be heading your way. A situation that won’t make for the best part of your track record.
An alternative option for them is to call a tow company. They will be more than happy to remove your vehicle and then, of course, charge you to get it back. In other words, extra costs incurred for your business — and for no reason. That could be avoided with a towed vehicle locator; one that sends you a notification the moment the vehicle is being lifted.
Let’s briefly go through how these companies benefit from your oversights and what can you do about it.
Parking somewhere that causes traffic congestion
“The wrong place” might not be just someone else’s property. Even so, parking your vehicles in places that cause traffic congestion is also something your drivers should avoid. If, for example, they park the vehicle right on a street corner, chances are your fleet vehicle will be towed, right away. Especially if they are making it difficult for buses and longer vehicles to pass through. And such a predicament comes complete with all the frustration, mentioned above (official paper trails etc.).
And won’t even dare think about the case of unsafe driving. In any case, defying the law on purpose or due to negligence is not a good thing.
Beware of predatory and illegal towing
We’d like to call for your attention on a crucial aspect of towing. One that is not actually (only) your drivers’ fault to blame for the consequences (such as extra costs etc).
In some cases though — and we hope that this won’t happen with any of your vehicles — you might “break the law” and park in areas you shouldn’t. There may still be an option for you to move your vehicle within a specified time frame, without penalty. The law may not be that strict with illegal parking But there are towing services out there that make a profit by towing vehicles that have illegally parked in areas they shouldn’t. They may remove your vehicle right away. And then — as if fuel costs weren’t enough to keep you up at night — they will force you to pay to get it back. And now the good part of the story: in case you act in time and defend your rights, you might save yourself a great deal of trouble.
So, parking for a while in a place you’re not allowed or ending up overstaying your welcome at a place that is not appropriate for parking, should be avoided in any case. Make sure you help your drivers brush up on what they should already know before getting out (i.e. parking related rules and regulations). And stress out that by no means should they break the law, since such behavior incurs costs to your business.
Educate your drivers
While you’re on training mode, you might as well throw in a session for safer driving in the winter or how to try and prevent a visit to the repair shop any time soon. It’s far better to educate your drivers than letting them bring you to a point where you lose your temper with their general conduct. Raised tones are bad for driver retention. After all, you do want to avoid the most common fallacies in the book of fleet owners, don’t you?
Veturilo: a towed vehicle locator and then some
Although Veturilo is not a towed vehicle locator per se, it helps you in a couple of different ways:
- You get notified the moment your vehicle is being towed
- It acts as towed vehicle locator
Here’s how:
Act in time with instant notifications on your phone
Act in time. Know your rights. For example, you may check online resources, consult an organization such as consumer action (regarding consumer’s rights etc.), inform all your drivers in advance on how to behave in a relevant situation. Once you get a notification on your phone — among other notifications, of course — you can have them go to where they parked the vehicle and prevent the towing service from removing it. What better way to“defend” your property?
A towed vehicle locator on your mobile phone
You might be able to locate your vehicle within two hours after it’s been towed. The good news is that with Veturilo you know exactly where your vehicles are, at any given time. So, apart from preventing towing — thanks to the feature aforementioned — you are also able to trace back the last known location your vehicle. That’s in order to initiate your recovery procedure and get it back as soon as possible.
Save your business the trouble and extra costs of towing, with a towed vehicle locator
Say one of your vehicles is pulled out of duty due to a driver’s poor handling of rush hour. You, as a fleet manager, need to try your best and make things right — if possible. That’s so your customers won’t be affected by the drawback. Customers probably won’t show any tolerance with delays and cancellations. Neither will the police or any annoyed citizens, with any misconduct. So, why not prevent such predicaments in any way you possibly can? The choice is yours! Oh, and you might need to find out what makes for a better driver, altogether! The choice is yours.