Real-Time GPS Trackers Provide Solution For Winter Snowplowing Season
Mention the word “snowplow” in the South and you’ll probably get some confused looks from the people who live there. Although they may know what a snowplow is conceptually, chances are the vast majority of residents who have grown up in the South have never seen one up close.
Snowplows, however, are absolutely vital up Northern areas of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, where average snowfall in the winter can be as high as 20 inches. In February 2011, residents in Northern and Western Illinois experienced one of the worst winter storms in history, when a blizzard dumped over 2 feet of snow over a span of just a few days. Chicago was hit hard as many people were forced to abandon their cars on the road in order to find shelter from the torrential snowfall.
One of the most memorable images from last year’s historic blizzard showed a line of stranded cars along Lake Shore Drive. In just a matter of a few hours, cars were completely covered in a pile of snow. Some were barely visible underneath the blanket of white snowfall.
Fortunately, road conditions were normalized fairly quickly thanks in large part to the snowplow crews that worked day and night to clear the roads. However, due to the increase in demand, some of the smaller residential neighborhoods were forced to wait – some neighborhoods didn’t see a snowplow for days.
Chicago Snow Plow Vehicle Tracking
Roughly a decade ago, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel implemented a plan that would allow to help its citizens monitor the city’s snow plowing efforts. Using GPS tracking technology, the city has developed a new website, ChicagoShovels.org, which will provide a map of Chicago’s approximately 300 snowplows, as they make their way through the various neighborhoods. This new website will give anyone with access to the internet, a clear view of work as it progresses along, allowing its citizens to track the snowplows through real-time GPS technology. “If that’s happening, you’ll see it,” said Emanuel’s chief technology officer, John Tolva.
The administration hopes to debunk some of the suspicions that many Chicagoans have, that certain people who live in certain neighborhoods seem to get their streets cleared before the rest of the city. The new GPS tracking technology was designed to give residents some peace of mind, knowing that the city is not intentionally neglecting their neighborhood.
Real Time GPS Trackers For Snow Plow Management
Real-time GPS trackers, such as SpaceHawk GPS and Connect GPS with On-Board Diagnostics, can provide a number of useful features for snowplow companies. Fleet managers and dispatchers will have the ability to see precisely where each of their snowplows are in real-time from the convenience of their office computer, laptop or even a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet.
The vehicle tracking device’s user-friendly web-based mapping interface makes it easy for snowplow companies to keep track of where their fleet of trucks and snowplows are and where they have been. The innovative ShareSpot® feature allows users of the GPS fleet tracking systems the ability to share the real-time location of their snowplows on their company’s webpage or Facebook page without having to compromise their personal secure account information.
The ShareSpot®, along with the wealth of powerful features of SpaceHawk are what give the mini GPS a competitive edge when compared to other real-time GPS tracking systems on the market such as Vyncs GPS tracker, SpyTec GL300 and the Brickhouse Security Spark Nano 7
SpaceHawk GPS is the perfect solution to help increase the overall efficiency, productivity and effectiveness for fleet vehicle and management services
