How to recover stolen commercial vehicles with new fleet technology

Businesses with commercial vehicle fleets know that vehicle theft has become an increasingly bigger problem. According to CargoNet’s 2022 data, semi-truck or semi-trailer theft increased by 17% year-over-year. Moreover, semi-truck theft is often connected to cargo theft. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NCIB) estimates cargo theft in the United States results in losses of $15-$35 billion each year. According to the California Highway Patrol, in 2020 nearly 20% of commercial vehicles were never recovered. Even with insurance, businesses will only recoup part of their costs, and Insurance will not likely cover the indirect costs related to theft, such as loss of productivity and revenue. The success of recovering stolen commercial vehicles depends on two major factors–early detection and fast response. Fortunately, new fleet technology provides an easier way to protect your vehicle and increase the potential of recovering your assets if they are stolen.

Early Detection 

The first step in achieving a high success rate of recovering is being able to detect when a vehicle is being stolen. Statistically, the vast majority of vehicle theft happens at night, during non-operation hours. That means you may not know your vehicle is stolen for hours or perhaps even days if the theft occurs over the weekend. Criminals tend to target vehicles during non-operation hours as they are easier to access. By the time you detect your vehicle has been stolen, the criminal may be far away or they may have stripped the vehicle of its valuable parts.

While some companies have relied on traditional GPS tracking systems, they are reactionary in nature so they are inadequate. GPS systems are designed to locate a vehicle’s location in near real-time. The technology works by sending a signal to GPS tracking software to pinpoint a vehicle’s exact coordinates. These coordinates can then be used by law enforcement to track down the asset. However, traditional GPS systems can not detect when a theft is in progress so GPS systems alone are not enough. That is why FleetUp developed a multi pronged approach to combat vehicle theft. FleetUp Vehicle Security combines early detection, GPS tracking, and live sharing to help companies protect and recover their valuable assets.

Detecting theft based on movement 

FleetUp’s Protection Mode is a smart feature that detects any suspicious movement of your vehicles during non-working hours. You can set the times and days of the week when you want to detect movement. You can create multiple Protection Mode schedules to cover whatever non-working schedule you want, such as a schedule for weekdays and another for weekends.

Detecting theft based on location

You can also use FleetUp Protection Mode to detect theft based on a geographic area. FleetUp Protection Mode can be set to be triggered off of a set geofence. Geofencing is a feature that allows fleet managers to set up digital geographic boundaries. These boundaries are used to alert managers as soon as a vehicle leaves a specified location. 

Fast response

If you know that a theft is occurring, the next step is to respond as quickly as possible. Once FleetUp Protection Mode detects suspicious movement of your vehicle, you will receive an alert with the live tracking of your vehicle. You can share this information with your security team and law enforcement to track and recover your assets. With FleetUp’s state-of-the-art GPS tracking, you can continue to monitor the location and movement of your vehicles in real time.

Other useful tools

While the following are not complete solutions by themselves, once you report your stolen vehicle you can use these two tools to aid in your recovery. First, a commercial dashcam can provide additional insight into what is happening inside and outside of a vehicle beyond the vehicle’s physical location. This could assist the authorities as well. A dashcam may also act as a deterrent, however, skilled thieves may try to rip out the dashcam knowing that they may be watched. Second, the use of remote engine starter shutoff (immobilizers) can aid authorities in catching criminals and recovering your vehicles. A remote engine starter shut off prevents the ignition from starting if it has been stopped, acting as a powerful recovery tool in the event your vehicle is stolen. 

Your vehicles are one of your most valuable assets. Now there are powerful tools that not only help you prevent theft, but recover your essential assets if and when a theft occurs. FleetUp Vehicle Security is a revolutionary solution that can protect and recover your vehicle and help safeguard your business.