Does anyone know the legal side of trackers uses on units. I wont say who I work for but a while back we had trackers fitted to the units. I thought that these were fitted to find and trace stolen vehicles but our boss is using it to look where we are and then bollock us if he can find a different route thats only marginally shorter whether he knows the roads or not. At one of our depots they even have a flat screen tv big enough for the average lounge displaying this all the time so they can chase the drivers surely this is illegal but I and several other drivers have been on vosas website and cant find anything either way. I have nothing to hide and dont care as I`l go which way I want but when we start been told to go a certain way because its 3 miles shorter and it all saves fuel I think its taking the ■■■■ slightly.
ignore the tracker ignore the boss you know best
i do a bit for Argos MP
theres a couple of jobs that drivers get told go
the long way its quicker
worked for a couple of firms who got trackers installed and went power crazy with them, best way, if the boss gives you a rollikin for goin wrong road then tell him next you see me on wrong route then call me and tell me to go the route you want, then just pray that there is a low bridge you cant get under and then have fun when you call him too tell him lol
I think your boss may be the problem not the tracker! We’ve had them since I started here, and they tell the office everything about the truck and what its doing as well as where it is but we only get grief (and then only a memo with the pay slip) for idling too long, otherwise they leave us to do our jobs. Think they are great myself, no more endless phone calls asking where I am and when I’m gonna be there.
snare a rabbit. take the tracker out. now attach it to the rabbit. wait for the call.
Its strange how companies can always afford these things, but, too broke to pay for other more useful things. Also, as I’ve said before they have a screen telling them where you are and you are in the truck and don’t know where you are. 
Why is there not a screen in the truck as well, sat nav like ? That might be useful. "oh, we’re not spying on you, we just like to know where you are " 
all our 59’s have fleetboard fitted – big brother is most certainly watching us ,tells how long brakes applied over a journey ,total distance the exhuast brake has been used mpg rpm idle time etc - - scary stuff, also got the big tellys up in traffic orafice unfortunately not for the pen pushers to watch daytime telly on
I had one fitted to a truck I drove for an old boss … Truck was kept away from the yard and I was called back to have a “mpg calculater fitted” 
This was on an old L reg Cargo. I asked the fitter what this “mpg calculater” did and it was more a case of what it would’nt do ignition on off blah de blah. I used to park up on side of Motorway and phone would go… Yeh traffics a nightmare I also had a car off him to travel to where we kept the truck and lo and behold this had the same “mpg calculater” fitted aswell.
We’re on tracker and we’re harrased with the bleedin things. Everytime i start my engine up i’m asked how i’m getting on. Trackonix or road eye i think. Both of them have a selling point something along the lines of …helps to improve vehicle schedules and improve driver management. Something i’ll point out if and when i have to sign my next infringement or asked a stupid…how come ? question.
a crowd i worked for had them in all there units and yes the 40" tv in the transport office never any problems with them i remember my first day and i had to do a pick up, i was running late and this place was in the middle of no were one of the line mgrs called asking me how was i getting on and needed me back asap i told him i was just leaving the yard he stayed on the phone got a lock on my position and gave me directions on how to get back onto the motorway.
Also when i worked for Fedex in Stanstead they had them as well nothing to do with spying on the drivers it alerted the lads in the office how far the trucks were away from the airport which in turn they could give the lads in flt ops an eta as some of the trucks would go directly airside reverse upto the loader and the containers roll of straight onto the plane.
We have trackers issued to each of the Class 1 drivers at FedEx in Edmonton, they are a bit behind the times here lol. If they want to know where we are, the Tracker rings, and we get the guys in the office asking where we are 
The job i did before FedEx was supposed to have had a tracker fitted in the truck i was driving. But I dont think it actually did, As i used to drive the truck on a weekend to go and get my groceries (I was parking the truck at home, and didnt have a car of my own at the time 
).
Find it and stick a magnet on it, then let them find you.
we have trackers, and i once got a call from the TM asking why i was leaving the keys in the ignition 
and they also found something else out with the trackers. one of our drivers day in day out is using the handbrake to come to a stop at 7mph every time they come to a stop 
The quarry I mainly work from has them fitted to all contract vehicles and regular subbies (like me). Even if you aren’t working for them, they know where you are. 
Telematics is a planet-saving wonder tool that saves every firm millions, I thought everyone knew this? Basically, the routing of vehicles has been taken away from the individual weighbridges and passed over to a call centre that routes all traffic aided by some exciting new software .
They save money by sacking the weighbridgemen…oh no, they don’t, he gets the same money but all the hassle of scheduling taken off him! So they must save money by…er…efficient running.
However, if the computer is bugged or doesn’t show any intelligence or the people running it don’t notice what its doing you get a situation like this; (I’ve not put in names otherwise I might get into trouble, it’ll be too obvious )
I tip in ‘A’. Telematics unit says go to the tar plant at ‘B’. Seems odd, there is a quarry at ‘C’ about 4miles away thats busy. I ring the call centre to find out whats occuring.
Me; “is this right?”
Call centre; “Yes, can you go to ‘B’ tar plant please (30m away), we’re desperate for a truck in there?”
Me; “its quite a long way, isn’t anyone closer?”
Call centre; “no.”
Off I go, get about 10miles away. Coming the other way is the same type of truck as me, running empty.
Shout on the CB “where have you tipped?”
Lad says “I’ve been up to ‘B’, near the tar plant. I asked em for a load but theres nothing going out of there. Where you goin?”
Me (banging head on steering wheel)
Telematics in action…
Tracker or no tracker, what you need is manners, a good memory, and a smattering of return-sarcasm 
Sadly, we have one particular planner/traffic clerk with absolutely no manners, the memory of an elephant, and bucket loads of sarcasm. You know the type - always right, his way is always the best way and he has the interpersonal skills (I remember when that was called man-management) of a stunned slug.
Him “Some old tat about why I’d be on the M1 rather than the A1”
Me “There’s a Mondeo overtaking me at the moment”
Him “Eh ■■?”
Me “What colour is it ?”
Him How the zb would I know that ?"
Me “Well, when your tracker can tell you that, then I’ll take notice of it - and you. Now - you’re distracting me. Should we carry on this conversation ?”
Him . . . . Click
I do so love playing them at their own game.
i wa told the other day by another driver theyd got a NAME and SHAME board at there depot now , if they check there iso-track thingy and find they were having breaks etc they shouldnt be having there name gets put on board with reason for all to see.he seemed a genuine enough lad so no doubt its true , but it does seem a bit over the top, if your proved to be doing something wrong then a bollockings fair enough[in private], but to try to belittle drivers in front of other drivers to me is not the way to deal with things
a tracker yeah we’re supposed to be getting them fitted gawd bad enough trying to get them to work out the next days loads as it is without them watching us on a screen all grouped together , for most part it won’t occur to them we’re still waiting in the yard for our loads
nah we had a lorry stolen earlier in the year , & thats one of the major issues , or it could be because , some drivers dont actually know where they’re going once they’ve left the yard ? amazing some of them actually find their way to work 
Oldy but goody…
Driving across London, (other large cities are available) Isotrak rings, new girl asks why I’m stopping every few mins?
Says I, “Have you never heard of Traffic Lights?”
Another stupid query. “Why were you stopped for 15 mins just now?”
Being polite to the girl, “Call of nature” I reply.
“Couldn’t you go before you started the journey?”
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matter of fact i’m going to look forward to trackers , it sounds great , transport work our loads out, mill staff make the feed &the girls in the office call ahead to the farmer with ETA’s, just a shame the transport don’t actually tell mill staff when they want it or the girls in the office which way round they’re organising the trucks providing it’s made & nobody tells the driver of timed deliveries. not that it matters because if the feed isn’t there we cant take it ! our tickets have default times of 0600-1800.
only last week i had a farmer asking where i was as was told his delivery was at 0900 in Chippenham , fact was my first drop was in Haverfordwest & thats a 3.5 hr drive from our yard , let alone 1.5 hrs to unload & then 3.5hrs back to reload mr 0900’s tip who is 1.5 hours away from the yard & by rights should have been my first drop but whose cake wasn’t made
trackers are going to be great , simply because it’s going to show how bad their organizing is more so than us drivers dawdling & stopping for our legal breaks
MolePower:
matter of fact i’m going to look forward to trackers , it sounds great , transport work our loads out, mill staff make the feed &the girls in the office call ahead to the farmer with ETA’s, just a shame the transport don’t actually tell mill staff when they want it or the girls in the office which way round they’re organising the trucks providing it’s made & nobody tells the driver of timed deliveries. not that it matters because if the feed isn’t there we cant take it !
only last week i had a farmer asking where i was as was told his delivery was at 0900 in Chippenham , fact was my first drop was in Haverfordwest & thats a 3.5 hr drive from our yard , let alone 1.5 hrs to unload & then 3.5hrs back to reload mr 0900’s tip who is 1.5 hours away from the yard & by rights should have been my first drop but whose cake wasn’t madetrackers are going to be great , simply because it’s going to show how bad their organizing is more so than us drivers dawdling & stopping for our legal breaks
theyll only be great if they look at everything on it, but to me theyll just carry on focusing on the 5 mins extra in the services not the 3 p.m collection that they send you in for at 8.45 a.m .