Dallas County, Texas, has saved $280,000 in fuel costs after implementing telematics to its fleet, according to a newly released video from GPS Insight, its telematics provider. The county has been using telematics since 2016 and now has vehicles from every department equipped with the tracking system.

Donna Billman, director of consolidated services for the county, looked at over three years of telematics data to determine savings numbers. “As we changed our idling practices, for idling fuel savings alone, it’s about $279,000 over a three-year period,” she said.

Frank Bromley III, chief deputy constable for Dallas County, Precinct 5, listed other benefits of having telematics on county vehicles. “This type of system, as we go into the 21st century, is a must for cost savings — in terms of vehicle emissions, with fuel savings, with idling times, with locating where an officer is in an emergency — but also in terms of vicarious liability that can come about with lawsuits and so forth to minimize those types of situations that could exist in the future,” he said.

First responders are also safer when administrators can see where 911 calls are taking place on a centralized map, which can give them eyes into developing hot spots, allowing them to validate decisions around deployment of other resources or teams, according to GPS Insight.

Telematics also allows the county to provide visibility to their elderly via their Health & Human Services fleet. Staff members can quickly respond to requests for arrival times or shuttle location concerns from constituents’ family members.