Whether it's employee joyrides or vehicle theft, unauthorized vehicle use is an often overlooked yet expensive issue for fleets.

Knowing when, where, and by whom your vehicles are being used around the clock is important to reducing the risk of unauthorized use. Samsara provides always-on visibility so you can track vehicle location and driver, identify suspect usage, and receive alerts when issues arise. Here are some ways to use Samsara to eliminate unauthorized vehicle use.

Alerts Indicate Issues in Real-Time

Samsara's Geofence Alerts ensure your vehicles are staying within your storage and delivery areas, without unnecessary distraction. Geofence Alerts indicate when a vehicle leaves a location outside of normal hours.

Other alerts can also indicate unauthorized use. Vehicle Movement Alerts indicate if a vehicle starts moving when it shouldn't be. In the chance that a thief finds the Samsara Vehicle Gateway and tampers with it, the Unplugged Alert will alert you and the gateway will continue to broadcast its location using a backup battery.

If a vehicle is stolen or used inappropriately, chances are it won’t be during business hours. When you receive an alert, simply click on the link from any smartphone and see the real-time vehicle location right from your mobile device.

Identify Drivers

Driver IDs, typically keychain fobs or wallet-sized cards carried by drivers, associate drivers to the vehicles they're operating and create records of driver behavior.

Samsara Driver IDs automatically sync with Samsara Vehicle Gateways when a driver enters a cab, and links the driver to all the vehicle-specific time and location records in the Samsara Dashboard. They can even identify passengers, too, if they carry a Driver ID.

Driver IDs ensure that only your drivers operate your vehicles. When you see a vehicle moving that's not associated with a Driver ID, it's worth looking into.

Furthermore, linking driver and vehicle makes it easy to confirm drivers are running the correct routes, aren't straying too far off course, and aren't using vehicles on personal time. In the case that you spot an issue, you have the full, time-stamped history, so you have all the facts at your fingertips.

Pinpoint Improper Use with Utilization Reports

Utilization Reports shows how your vehicles are used in aggregate. By mapping routes with your customer locations, it can help ensure vehicles aren't being used for lengthy lunch breaks or personal errands.

It's also easy to see unplanned stops in the Time On Site Report. The report lists everywhere a driver stops so it's easy to spot stops that aren't in your address book. You can even schedule these reports so you'll automatically get them in your inbox daily or weekly.

Share Information with Authorities

In the case that a vehicle is stolen, you can temporarily share the real-time vehicle location with the police using Samsara's Fleet Viewer. That way they can locate and recover the vehicle as quickly as possible.