Alerts: SOS, overspeed, tamper, idle and fuel drop
The transport office is alerted to SOS, overspeed, a tracker's power cut or tampering, and a device offline. Also to long idling, use outside your hours and sudden fuel drops. Each alert is acknowledged with a note of what was done.
PLANSFrom Growth
Built and tested in code with a stand-in tracking server. Not yet run with real GPS units; each alert is checked with your first unit before go-live.
The problem it solves
- A driver in trouble has no quick way to call for help while children are on board.
- You learn that a bus was speeding from a parent, days later.
- A tracker is unplugged and the bus disappears from the map without anyone noticing.
- A vehicle is started at night or diesel goes missing while it stands, and there is no record.
- An alert is seen by three people and handled by none, or by all three.
How it works
- Set your limits once on the Entity's Transport tab: Overspeed Above (60 km/h to start with) and Long Idle After (15 minutes). Then Device Offline After (10 minutes). Also Fuel Drop Alert (10 litres), and the hours vehicles may be used.
- The tracking server reports SOS, overspeed, power cut or tamper, device offline and ignition. SmartMy Transit records each event once as an alert, with the vehicle, the run and driver at that time, the position and the speed.
- Long idle is checked every minute for vehicles on a running run; a sudden fuel drop is found each night from the day's fuel readings.
- Everyone in the transport office of that Entity is told: in the app, and by the first message channel your organisation has set up. An SOS goes out the moment it arrives.
- Open Transport > Operations > Alerts. The list opens on open alerts; an SOS is red.
- Open an alert, write what was done, and press Acknowledge. The alert records who acknowledged it and when, and the note is locked.
Everything it does
Kinds of alert from tracking
- SOS: the SOS button of a GPS unit, or the SOS button in the SmartMy Transit Crew app
- Overspeed: the tracking server saw the vehicle above the Entity's limit
- Power Cut / Tamper: the unit lost main power, was switched off, tampered with or removed
- Device Offline: the tracking server reports the device stopped sending
- Long Idle: engine on and standing longer than the set minutes, once per standing; checked for vehicles on a running run
- Ignition Out of Hours: the engine started before Vehicles Used From or after Vehicles Used Until; off when no hours are set
- Sudden Fuel Drop: units with a fuel sensor; a fall of the set litres within 10 minutes while standing, found each night
- Other: any other alarm the unit sends
Kinds from other features
- Breakdown reported on a run, Abnormal Mileage from the fuel log, and Trip Checklist flags appear in the same list (Scale features)
Each alert
- Kind, time, vehicle, device, route run and its driver at that time
- Latitude, longitude and speed in km/h; a detail such as the alarm name or the idle minutes
- State Open or Acknowledged, Acknowledged By and Acknowledged At
- What Was Done: a note, locked once acknowledged; the note is not required
- Every change kept in the alert's history
- Alerts are raised by the system only; they cannot be made by hand
Finding and answering
- Filters Open and SOS; group by kind or vehicle
- Alerts appear on the vehicle's track in playback, at their position
- Only the transport office (Fleet: Officer) and administrators can acknowledge
- Each tracking-server event becomes one alert, never two
Who uses it
Transport officeGets the alerts, calls the driver or the school, writes what was done and acknowledges.
DriverPresses SOS on the unit or in the Crew app when something is wrong.
Transport in-charge or principalReviews open alerts and the notes on handled ones.
Transport administratorSets the speed limit, idle and offline minutes, fuel drop litres and hours of use.
Where you use it
- Web: Transport > Operations > Alerts
- Web: alerts on the track in Live Map, Playback
- The SmartMy Transit Crew app: the SOS button while the phone tracks the vehicle (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Not to parents: alerts go to the transport office only
- Not per vehicle: one set of limits per Entity; no custom zones
What you control
Settings
- Overspeed Above (km/h): 60 to start with; sent to the tracking server with each device
- Long Idle After (minutes): 15 to start with; 0 switches it off
- Device Offline After (minutes): 10 to start with; used for the Offline status on the map
- Fuel Drop Alert (litres): 10 to start with; 0 switches it off
- Vehicles Used From and Vehicles Used Until: not set to start with (no check)
- The message channels of the Transport Alert event, in your notification settings
Notifications
- Transport Alert: to every transport office user of the Entity. It goes in the app, and by the first of WhatsApp, SMS or email that your organisation has set up. A phone notification follows too once the apps are released. Nobody can switch it off, and quiet hours do not hold it back. An SOS is sent at once.
Questions
Which alerts need special hardware?
Ignition out of hours needs the unit's ignition wire connected; without it, long idle cannot tell a running engine from a switched-off one. Fuel drop needs a fuel sensor. SOS needs a unit with an SOS button, or the driver's phone with the Crew app. Overspeed, offline and power cut work with a plain wired unit.Do parents get these alerts?
No. Alerts go to the transport office. Parents get their own messages: run started, near the stop, boarded, dropped, delay, vehicle changed and cancelled.Can we set a different speed limit for a highway route?
Not yet. One limit applies to every vehicle of the Entity. Per-vehicle limits and custom zones are not built.Why did the fuel drop alert come the next day?
Fuel readings are checked each night with the day's trips, not live. A fall while the vehicle stood is raised then, at the time it happened.Can someone switch off the alert messages?
No. The Transport Alert event cannot be switched off by a person, and it is sent at any hour. An office user still sees every alert in the list.Has this been tried with real trackers?
Not yet. Each alert is built and tested in code. We check each one with your first unit before go-live: overspeed with a low limit, power cut by unplugging, SOS, offline by removing the SIM.Related features
TRACKING SET-UPGPS tracking devices on your vehiclesEach vehicle reports its position through a GPS unit or the driver's phone to our own Traccar tracking server. SmartMy Transit reads the positions from there for the live map, arrival times, trips and alerts. Your Entity's speed limit goes to every device.LIVE MAP AND PLAYBACKLive map of all vehiclesThe transport office sees every tracked vehicle on one map: moving, idle, stopped or offline, and its speed. It also sees the run it is on with its driver and how late it is. The stops of the running runs show their expected time and turn green once reached.LIVE MAP AND PLAYBACKRoute playback with a speed-coloured lineReplay where a vehicle went on any day, or on one of its runs, as a line coloured by speed. It is red where it was over your speed limit. Halts of two minutes or more and the alerts on the way are marked, with the time and speed at every point.TRIPS, KILOMETRES, ALERTSDriving score per tripEach GPS trip gets a driving score out of 100, linked to the driver of the run or booking. It is lowered for harsh acceleration and braking, minutes over your speed limit and idling. The formula is still being tuned on real vehicles, so treat the score as a pointer to trips worth a look.BREAKDOWN AND REPLACEMENT VEHICLEBreakdowns and replacement vehiclesWhen a vehicle breaks down on a run, the driver reports it from the Crew app. A job card takes the vehicle off the road and the office is alerted at once. The office picks a replacement from vehicles that are free, with valid papers and enough seats, and riders are told of the change.ACROSS SMARTMY TRANSITNotificationsSmartMy Transit tells parents when the bus starts, nears the stop and their child boards. It tells the office about SOS alerts and riders not riding, and keeps people asking for a vehicle informed. Each event has its own recipients and channels: phone notification, in-app, WhatsApp, SMS or email.
See your own routes on the map.
Send us your stops and routes and we will show you a demo with them.