Two decades ago, the idea of a car that could drive or park itself only existed in the realm of science fiction. Today’s vehicles are getting smarter, and each new gadget generates massive amounts of data every time you get behind the wheel.
Instead of letting that information sit in digital purgatory, telematics can turn it into actionable insight. While we usually see this technology applied in fleet management, there are plenty of tidbits in there that could benefit everyone.
Here are some of the benefits of telematics for the everyday driver.
What Is Telematics?
Experts define telematics as the branch of information technology that deals with the long-distance transmission of computerized information. That’s a fancy way of saying these systems work by sending and receiving information remotely. Telematics is the backbone of the Internet of Things, allowing everything from smart thermostats to proximity sensors to communicate without additional hardware.
Telematics in the automotive industry gives cars the ability to talk to one another on the road. They share information about weather, road conditions, traffic patterns, and more to make it easier to navigate the world around them. Business owners that operate fleets use it to learn about the health and function of each vehicle in real-time, making it easier to keep them on the road and out of the shop.
Benefits of Telematics for the Everyday Driver
While these are all useful applications for telematics, what sort of benefits could this technology offer for the everyday driver?
Automatic Emergency Assistance
No one wants to think about getting into an accident, but they happen. These events become more dangerous if you’re in a single-car accident by yourself. If you become unconscious, you could end up waiting hours or longer for help to arrive.
Cars equipped with telematics can sense these collisions automatically. They can then be programmed to prompt the driver to confirm their status. If the driver asks for help or cannot verify their situation, they can contact a monitoring service or first responders directly.
Continual Vehicle Diagnostics
Every car on the road comes with a recommended maintenance schedule based on each manufacturer’s past tests and experience with the vehicle.
This schedule can generally keep you ahead of significant problems, but it isn’t foolproof, and it can’t account for flaws that could cause increased wear. Vehicles equipped with telematics can collect data in real-time, making it easier to decide when the car should go into the shop for maintenance.
Lower Insurance Cost
Car insurance is an expensive but necessary evil. However, that doesn’t mean you should be paying the maximum price to protect your vehicle. Driving a car equipped with telematics reduces the cost of fleet insurance for business owners by improving driver behavior, eliminating unauthorized use of vehicles, and more. It could also help lower the price of personal policies as well.
Vehicle Tracking
Many variables could increase your risk of getting into an accident, from how often you speed to how frequently you look away from the road to check your phone. Some telematics systems can track everything from the vehicle’s speed to when you have to slam on your brakes or even how often you wear your seat belt. All these factors can, in turn, help keep you safer on the road and may even lower your insurance costs.
Vehicle Recovery
About 810,400 vehicles were stolen in the United States in 2020, the highest number of thefts since 2008. Only 29 percent of these were recovered, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without cars. Telematics can use GPS tracking and information management to help law enforcement recover vehicles.
The Future of Telematics
Most cars aren’t equipped with fleet-style telematics, but that doesn’t mean this technology wouldn’t benefit the average driver. There are plenty of applications for telematics in personal vehicles. We will likely see more applications for this tracking technology like self-driving and autonomous cars become more common.
Martin Banks is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Modded. He covers the world of cars, driving, tech, and more.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
