Tracker?

[marjan]

Here is one for you legal eagles out there.

My company is about to issue me with a new works van and there have been rumours flying around that all the new vans are fitted with trackers to monitor where & when they are used.

I was always under the impression that if a company wanted to use electronic equipment to monitor my movement then they had to notify me in writing that such an action was taking place.

Am I wrong and can they do it without officially telling me?.


Mark.

[strapping young lad]

i think companies such as eddie stobart use these but i know that train companies use them to see on the route's progress (saw it on a welsh program years ago)

personally i would speak to HR about it, failing that, your local CAB or your solicitor.

[muddyweb]

First... I'd see if the rumours were true....  ;-)

[Bush Tucker Man]

It's so your rambling manager can make sure you don't go looking for 'lanes' whilst your out

(or go hiding in Pontefract Park :lol: )

[TDi90]

they have to tell you i think, invasion of privacy? ask them bout it...

[TimM]

If you tell them they need to let you know formally, then they will let you know formally. It would cover both you and them......

But if they want to fit them, there is not going to be much you can do about it  

[TDi90]

well there is, it just puts your job on the line!!

[SteveG]

Just pull the battery one night and see if they call to check that it's nicked!    

There's a limited no. of places that you can place a tracing tracker. They use GPS for position and a cell phone modem for uplinking. So the GPS receiver must be placed somewhere it can get a signal and therefore tends to be fairly easy to find. You'll soon know if you have one fitted.

Steve

[Thrasher]

Is it just me ... or am I just innocent? I am tracked independantly of my vehicle....and I have no problem with that at all.....

And on an unrelated note .... driving to here (Rijnsburg), our GPS happily informed us of the border changes (i.e. Welcome to Belgium etc) exactly as we hit the signs!?!

I was wondering if we'd get a call as we floated from old blighty.....but nope. ;-)

[MTyrrell]

Hmm, posted this reply before but it seams to disappeared when the forum came up with a database error.

Anyhow hear it is again,
-------

I work for a company that manufactures and fit's these trackers. Normally employers tell theirs drivers out of courtesy, they are easy to spot anyway.

 If the tracker the fit uses GSM or Vodafone PackNET to report in then they will have an external GPS and GSM aerial somewhere on the roof of the vehicle.

 If they are using the D+ network then the GPS and satellite antenna will be in one enclosure usually looks like a white dome. To get a satellite signal the antenna needs to have a line of sight to sky and a good ground plain, so must be on the roof.

This is what the sat aerials look like, it’s the bit with the cable
http://www.satamatics.com/doc/portal/dl/weq0010/-/en/jpg/

 If the aerial became covered in something metallic somehow. But would also make you’re employer think you have something to hide.

 Each time the tracker reports in it cost’s money, on the sat network that’s up to 40p a time so most people have them set up to only report in at intervals such as every 15 minuets

 Just a word of warning, these unit's are capable of monitoring your speed.

Are you carrying valuable, dangerous goods? Companies will use them to ensure the safety of there drivers when moving valuable loads, mainly alcohol and cigarettes, they can have panic buttons, as well as linked in with door switches and the engine immobilisers etc. If a vehicle is hijacked or stolen then it can be disabled remotely when the police are there.

[Eeyore]

Okey dokey, second time around, and from a respected Transport Manager:

If it's a single-user company vehicle (such as a company car) given as a perk, then you have to be told there is a tracking device to be fitted.
If it is a multi-user vehicle, such as a company wagon, there is no obligation for the drivers to be informed.
However, if the data from said device is going to be used as evidence for somehting like a disciplinary, then the driver must have been made aware beforehand that the device had been fitted.
You have no powers to refuse in either case as the vehilce ain't yours.

HTH
cheers
 8)
Eeyore

[Terminus]

I can't remember what exactly I wrote first time round - but I'm sure it was suitable witty, to the point and informative so erm .......

Basically many companies have em (we have on our cars and radios) but to track constantly all staff would be a waste of time money and resources they will most likely use it where there is *genuine* reason to suspect an employee is up to no good or in the event of an incident such as someone copmplaining that one of their vehicles just bumped a car etc.

We don't get tracked unless there is a valid reason and even if there is it generates a lot of paperwork for accountability and to make sure the system in not being abused.

[Eeyore]

Yep, that pretty much covers your last post!  8)

.....only not as funny!  

cheers
 8)
Eeyore

[att]

Won`t be long before we are all chipped anyways.

Big Brother is watching us all......But you just try and watch Big Brother, they don`t like it much :roll:

[discograham]

Tesco use them now and when they were first brought in we all had issues with them..
The excuse is that they can be used in conjunction with the panic buttons to "save our lives" if one of us suddenly keeled over with a heart attack.. we hit the panic button whilst clutching our chests and the transport dept call an ambulance and tell them exactly where we are...
Only that is not what happens. Buttons get hit by accident, agency drivers who are unfamilair with the system use it incorrectly and this all meant that after a while the office just ignored the panic buttons.. great ! Add that to the fact that ive been in Lincolnshire delivering and the office see me in Cornwall, or Manchester etc... the system is far from perfect..
So, once it came in as a "safety" device it began to be used as a driver monitoring device.. nothing really wrong with that, but then they started to use it to watch drivers break times, road speeds, and finally the gear changing and revs bands we were in at any given time...( seriously ! )... no joke when you are debreifed by a kid in the office who cant even ride a pushbike without stabilisers...
It's easy to say that if you are doing nothing wrong etc etc.. but how far up the monitoring road would anyone want to go ?
It all depends on the real reason this system is to be installed..and how the company really intend to use it.. be aware... any company will find all of the ways to save money by utilising this system to monitor you..and then the changes come in which are not always fair or sensible.. I could rant on, but won't...  unless you want me to... :shock:

[marjan]

Well it's been confirmed today that one of the lads in one of the new vans has been pulled into the office and accused of speeding!.

They showed him a print out that gave road names and speeds of where he had been the previous day. He was accused of doing 38mph on a road that they know has a 30 limit :shock: .

I think that most of the lads will vote with their feet when they hear about this  :x .

[Eeyore]

Well it's been confirmed today that one of the lads in one of the new vans has been pulled into the office and accused of speeding!.

They showed him a print out that gave road names and speeds of where he had been the previous day. He was accused of doing 38mph on a road that they know has a 30 limit :shock: .

I think that most of the lads will vote with their feet when they hear about this  :x .

1) See my post regarding entrapment - unless he was informed of it being fitted, they can't make it stick (unless Plod caught him)
2) There are enough folk out there prepared to drive vans - it ain't much of a threat
3) If he was speeding - tough luck on him, he ought to be more careful   If it was my name on the Operators lisence, I'd be asking a few pointed questions, too.

cheers
 8)
Eeyore

[discograham]

Well it's been confirmed today that one of the lads in one of the new vans has been pulled into the office and accused of speeding!.

They showed him a print out that gave road names and speeds of where he had been the previous day. He was accused of doing 38mph on a road that they know has a 30 limit :shock: .

I think that most of the lads will vote with their feet when they hear about this  :x .

 Exactly what they did to us.. we ran totally legally for a while..and it screwed them up a treat with late deliveries, health and safety issues being acted upon instead of being ignored, food hygene rules being enforced by us...but most of all the road speeds... we all drove steadily, no rapid acceleration, and at 37 mph...to be safe.. and slower in the rain..they soon got the message......

[rangerider]

all our vehicles here are tracked live 24/7. everybody knows that vehicles are monitored and we also have very strict driver training & safety policies.

we also have the ability to monitor various vehicle functions eg door locks, windows, lights, wipers etc as well as live audio. as a general rule howver because of the data transmission problems almost all the time this is downloaded back at a base for automated analysis.

yes it stinks of big brother, but in the security industry sometimes real-time monitoring of vehicles is useful, otherwise the data is routinely junked unless we have other issues with a driver such as an accident or traffic conviction

[marjan]

Well it's been confirmed today that one of the lads in one of the new vans has been pulled into the office and accused of speeding!.

They showed him a print out that gave road names and speeds of where he had been the previous day. He was accused of doing 38mph on a road that they know has a 30 limit :shock: .

I think that most of the lads will vote with their feet when they hear about this  :x .

1) See my post regarding entrapment - unless he was informed of it being fitted, they can't make it stick (unless Plod caught him)
2) There are enough folk out there prepared to drive vans - it ain't much of a threat
3) If he was speeding - tough luck on him, he ought to be more careful   If it was my name on the Operators lisence, I'd be asking a few pointed questions, too.

cheers
 8)
Eeyore

We are not just van drivers, we are all Corgi Qualified Gas Fitters which are in short supply at the moment.

[simdeb]

Just been reading with intrest , when trackers were fitted to some of our company vans a letter was sent to all employees telling them that trackers were being fitted this coverd us from the legal point . All our employees were also told that company policy was that no vans could be used outside working hours and the trackers would be used to check this , It is used to check if vans are being used at weekends and evnings and speeding but not as tight as was mentioned above but . most of our lads are ok about it . The post above about the units being visable all ours are hiddin in the dash and you can not tell whitch ones have got them . On another note , 1 van got pinched the police was told where it was and it was recoverd very quickly , The lads that know its on there vans have rung in when lost for direction to some where as we can see where they are can direct them to the address .

The thing is if you have nothing to hide and you are not using the van agains your company police whats the problem

simon

simon

[discograham]

Maybe I should step aside on this one as I'm going by my own experience with my company and know what their game is..it may be different with smaller companies or with the van drivers.. but I do know that this is just the tip of the iceberg.. yes, they are a deterrent against theft or illegal use of vehicles at the weekend etc... but from my extensive experience I can say with confidence it wont stop there...
Systems like this are brought in using driver safety/security reasons but go on to be used to monitor every little aspect of your driving day. The problem with that is when some ill-informed little jobsworth takes it to extremes.... (as i explained earlier )

[MTyrrell]

Well it's been confirmed today that one of the lads in one of the new vans has been pulled into the office and accused of speeding!.

They showed him a print out that gave road names and speeds of where he had been the previous day. He was accused of doing 38mph on a road that they know has a 30 limit :shock: .

I think that most of the lads will vote with their feet when they hear about this  :x .

 It work's both ways though, one of our clients is a national couriers, we track there entire fleet including any pool and the executive's vehicles.

 One of there execs was caught doing 115mph on the motorway, apparently he got hauled over the coals for it. :twisted:

 When we first did the install several of the drivers walked out, didn't bother the managers apparently drivers are two a penny.

 


 Most of our work now is based around security with nearly all of our clients being out in the middle east and Africa, and the shipping industry. Most companies track individual people  in dangerous areas, using special GPS equipped sat phones on the Thuraya satellite network, so there is coverage in the remotest of areas.
 Not so much big brother there but some of the systems used in the UK are abit over the top now.

[Eeyore]

Interestin' snippet o' info that came to light over the weekend.

It would appear that when British Gas put trackers in their vans, they saved 25% on their fuel bill and 20% on the wage bill.  :shock:

Hmm. Funny ol' world, eh.  

cheers
 8)
Eeyore