Transporting an abnormal load across the provinces of South Africa requires far more than a simple load-and-go operation. This type of transport is highly specialised. Abnormal width and height sometimes even require the presence of a traffic police escort to ensure minimal traffic disruption en route. Car Towing Services East (East) is the one branch out of 10 belonging to the Car Towing Services Group that undertakes this gargantuan service.

Dave Thompson, general manager of East (low bed division), has 21 specialised low loader vehicles under his management. Thompson elaborates, “Our core fleet at East comprises low beds used to carry equipment such as mining and construction machinery across the country. This is a monumental responsibility: not only is it a closely monitored and controlled logistical programme, but we often need to arrange a traffic police escort from the vehicle’s point of departure to its point of delivery.

”In the past, this type of journey relied heavily on cellular telephonic communication between the driver and his office. Today, however, East’s installation of Ctrack Solo has simplified the co-ordination of police escorts across the country. As Thompson explains, “To be able to simply look at a computer monitor to know where a vehicle is and what progress it is making, is highly significant. We can keep our clients constantly informed, as well as advise various provincial and municipal traffic police where they need to be at specific times for escort change-over along the route.

“Ctrack has proven to be priceless in the co-ordination of these operations,” Thompson continues, adding, “We recently transported a 79-t crane from Amalgam to Port Elizabeth and I am pleased to report that we experienced a trouble-free journey. The police escorts were where they needed to be at exactly the right time.”

Thompson mentions that East did try other GPRS tracking systems before installing Ctrack Solo, as the company sought to find a reliable service that suited its specialised needs. “Firstly, we wanted to keep a ‘real-time eye’ on what our vehicles were doing, and secondly, we wanted the technology for security reasons, as this is a serious problem in our country.”

East has also realised substantial communication and operational cost savings since the installation of Ctrack Solo in November 2004. “We are far less involved, in terms of time and communication, than we used to be. Ctrack has proven to be everything it claims and more. We don’t yet use it to its full potential, but we are working in that direction,” said Thompson. “Despite a few minor hiccups, we have been impressed with the effort and support given to us by Ctrack’s Boksburg branch, especially from senior management and the technical division, and can highly recommend its services.”

Lowbeds are the vehicles entrusted with the monumental task of transporting construction equipment and other abnormal loads across South Africa

Transporting an abnormal load across the provinces of South Africa requires far more than a simple load-and-go operation. This type of transport is highly specialised. Abnormal width and height sometimes even require the presence of a traffic police escort to ensure minimal traffic disruption en route. Car Towing Services East (East) is the one branch out of 10 belonging to the Car Towing Services Group that undertakes this gargantuan service.

Dave Thompson, general manager of East (low bed division), has 21 specialised low loader vehicles under his management. Thompson elaborates, “Our core fleet at East comprises low beds used to carry equipment such as mining and construction machinery across the country. This is a monumental responsibility: not only is it a closely monitored and controlled logistical programme, but we often need to arrange a traffic police escort from the vehicle’s point of departure to its point of delivery.

”In the past, this type of journey relied heavily on cellular telephonic communication between the driver and his office. Today, however, East’s installation of Ctrack Solo has simplified the co-ordination of police escorts across the country. As Thompson explains, “To be able to simply look at a computer monitor to know where a vehicle is and what progress it is making, is highly significant. We can keep our clients constantly informed, as well as advise various provincial and municipal traffic police where they need to be at specific times for escort change-over along the route.

“Ctrack has proven to be priceless in the co-ordination of these operations,” Thompson continues, adding, “We recently transported a 79-t crane from Amalgam to Port Elizabeth and I am pleased to report that we experienced a trouble-free journey. The police escorts were where they needed to be at exactly the right time.”

Thompson mentions that East did try other GPRS tracking systems before installing Ctrack Solo, as the company sought to find a reliable service that suited its specialised needs. “Firstly, we wanted to keep a ‘real-time eye’ on what our vehicles were doing, and secondly, we wanted the technology for security reasons, as this is a serious problem in our country.”

East has also realised substantial communication and operational cost savings since the installation of Ctrack Solo in November 2004. “We are far less involved, in terms of time and communication, than we used to be. Ctrack has proven to be everything it claims and more. We don’t yet use it to its full potential, but we are working in that direction,” said Thompson. “Despite a few minor hiccups, we have been impressed with the effort and support given to us by Ctrack’s Boksburg branch, especially from senior management and the technical division, and can highly recommend its services.”

Lowbeds are the vehicles entrusted with the monumental task of transporting construction equipment and other abnormal loads across South Africa