GPS Tracking ROI

Everything on the ‘Net is about niches. One subject is dull and boring (a speciality of mine?) and another subject clicks … who can say? But what people search for and read about, I write about.

I’ve mentioned the 100 and 150 air mile radius rules for “local” commercial vehicle operations a number of times … here, here, and here for a few of the more interesting entries. The basics are that commercial, goods carrying vehicles that do not require their drivers to have CDL’s (Commercial Driver Licenses) are still subject to many FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) rules regarding hours of service (HOS) and record-keeping requirements. Depending on several provisions of the law, businesses whose vehicles operate within 100 Air miles of the location where the vehicles regularly return, or 150 Air miles have rules different than the rules for all other commercial vehicles and drivers. These regulations are not road miles, read from vehicle odometers (thank goodness, more on that fallacy here) but should be measured by a radius drawn on a map. How does the average business get a map like this? Well, they can ask me, and I’ll furnish an electronic version, free … no links, no obligation … or they can buy Microsoft’s MapPoint, a tool I feel a business shouldn’t be without … 100 mile rule or no 100 mile rule.

How To Make a Radius Map With MapPoint

MapPoint is not a normal part of the Microsoft Offices suite, but it resembles the programs in Office and installs and integrates with them. Open your copy of MapPoint … Your screen should look like this:

Now type the address of the center point of the radius in the “find” box, the upper left corner of the map:

Now click and confirm and you should have a little “push Pin” at the point you want to center on. You can right click on that pin, edit the name, color, and other properties as you desire.

Now all that is left is to draw the radius. Make sure you “Drawing” tool bar is open down at the bottom of the map. If it isn’t, select it from the “Views/Toolbars” main menu. The click on the “circle” tool … see the big yellow highlight pointer in this screen shot:

Click on your “Home Plate” map pin and zoom the map out until you make the radius label (bottom right of the circle you are drawing) read “115″ for a “100 Air Mile Map” or “172.6″ for a “150 Air Mile Map”.

Save the map with a file name of your choice, and your’s done?

This isn’t all that MapPoint can do quickly and easily for your business. If you want to know more about how any business can profit from using MapPoint (this is not a sales offer … it’s a no obligation help you learn offer … I like MapPoint that much) just give me a shout.

Now, enjoy your weekend and resolve that next week you are going to do something to make you business more profitable.

As always, I welcome comments, disagreement is encouraged, and you can also email me direct at: davestarr (at) gmail (dot) com or call me on 1-719-423-8872. If you liked this article, please subscribe to my RSS feed so you get all my news and views.