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Vehicle theft in the UK is at an all-time high. The more than 133,000 incidents of vehicle theft recorded in 2023-24 were a 12% increase on 2018-19’s figures. Remote immobilisation is a proven means of preventing vehicle theft, but that’s not the only advantage it offers. This innovative technology offers a range of other benefits for fleet operations, such as enhancing efficiency and operational control, supporting safety and compliance.
In this article, we explore these benefits in more detail, helping you understand the value of integrating this technology into your operations.
What is Remote Immobilisation?
Remote immobilisation is a vehicle security feature designed to prevent theft and unauthorised use of fleet vehicles. This technology accomplishes its task by disabling the vehicle’s engine remotely, usually via a mobile app or web-based platform.
A remote immobiliser does this by sending a signal to the engine management system, which then prevents the engine from being started again after the vehicle has been turned off. Depending on how quickly the remote immobiliser is activated after a thief breaks into the vehicle, they either won’t be able to start it, or they won’t be able to restart it after switching it off.
The Benefits of Remote Immobilisation
Preventing vehicle theft arguably is the biggest benefit remote immobilisation offers to your fleet. However, it’s far from the only advantage. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why you should consider installing remote immobilisation technology in your fleet.
Preventing Vehicle Theft
Thieves can break into and steal a vehicle in less than 60 seconds. The first few moments are critical when you are alerted to a vehicle being stolen, especially if it is en route to a chop shop. The longer you do not have control over your vehicle, the lower the chances of it being found and returned to you by the police.
Crystal Ball’s remote immobilisation offering is an optional vehicle security feature of our fleet tracking system, which sends alerts in the event of towing, tampering, or other unauthorised movements. The moment you receive an alert or otherwise become aware that one of your vehicles has been stolen, you can activate remote immobilisation to prevent the thief from making off with your vehicle or getting far with it, increasing the chances of the vehicle being recovered.
Preventing Unauthorised Vehicle Use
Unauthorised vehicle use is a headache for many fleet managers. This issue increases fuel consumption, wear and tear on vehicles, and potentially could bring your organisation into disrepute, depending on how vehicles are being used by employees who have taken them without authorisation.
Remote immobilisation can help you clamp down on unauthorised vehicle use. If you detect the unauthorised use of a car, you can use this vehicle security technology to disable the engine as soon as it is switched off. If you have activated Crystal Ball’s Driver ID feature or otherwise know the driver’s identity, you can contact them to let them know that you will immobilise the vehicle remotely if it is not returned, underscoring driver accountability.
Improving Compliance and Safety
Vehicle security goes beyond preventing theft and unauthorised use. This aspect of fleet management should also include compliance and safety.
If you have vehicles that have not been inspected or maintained in a while or are malfunctioning, you can use remote immobilisation to prevent their use until they have been inspected and/or repaired. In this way, remote immobilisers help improve compliance with safety standards.
Increasing Cost Savings
Greater cost savings are another benefit remote immobilisation offers your organisation. Reducing or eliminating unauthorised vehicle use results in lower fuel costs and less downtime and maintenance linked to excessive wear and tear.
Preventing vehicle theft reduces downtime and potentially higher insurance premiums. Additionally, many UK insurance companies offer discounted premiums to organisations that install remote immobilisers and fleet tracking systems in their vehicles.
Monitoring Vehicles in Real Time
As mentioned, our remote immobilisation technology is an optional feature of our fleet vehicle tracker, meaning it is integrated with cutting-edge telematics. This advanced system lets you monitor your entire fleet and drivers in real-time.
You can use the valuable data it generates in various ways to improve the way you manage your fleet, from identifying and establishing optimised routes to enhancing dispatching, fuel efficiency, vehicle maintenance, and driver accountability.
Boosting Risk Management
Risk management is an essential part of fleet management, although it can be a mammoth task given its many different facets. This task becomes even more tricky if your organisation is plagued by unauthorised vehicle use or a lack of security for vehicles not parked in secure premises.
By improving vehicle security, preventing unauthorised use, increasing driver accountability, and enhancing compliance and safety, remote immobilisation technology can help boost your organisation’s risk management practices.
Supporting Operational Control
All these remote immobilisation benefits help support operational control. Installing this technology in your vehicles gives you more control over who uses them and over how and where they are used.
Thanks to advanced telematics, our fleet vehicle tracking system with remote immobilisation provides data that you can use to make informed decisions when it comes to the various aspects of managing your fleet.
Choose a Reliable Remote Immobilisation System
If you’re serious about preventing vehicle theft and taking full advantage of the other benefits of remote immobilisation, it’s important that you choose a reliable system and ensure it is properly integrated with your existing fleet management tools. You also need to perform regular system checks and run updates to maintain your fleet tracking system and remote immobiliser’s effectiveness.
The proper maintenance of your remote immobiliser system is especially important, given this technology’s rich potential for future advancements which could offer even greater benefits for fleet operators and managers.
Get in touch to find out more about how Crystal Ball can assist with your remote immobilisation vehicle security needs.