GeoKontrol for Depot and Warehouse Yard Speed Management

GeoKontrol automatically reduces a vehicle’s maximum speed to as low as 5mph when it enters a depot, warehouse yard, or distribution centre, then restores the normal speed limit when the vehicle leaves. It eliminates reliance on signage, driver awareness, and manual enforcement by physically limiting the vehicle’s speed within defined zones using GPS geofencing combined with speed limiter technology.

Depot and warehouse yards are among the most dangerous areas in fleet operations. HSE statistics consistently show that workplace transport accounts for approximately 50 fatalities and over 5,000 injuries per year in the UK, with a significant proportion occurring in loading bays, yard areas, and vehicle manoeuvring zones. Speed is a critical factor in the severity of these incidents.

Why Depot Speed Limits Fail Without Enforcement

Most depot operators have speed limits in place. Painted signs, speed bumps, management instructions, and disciplinary policies all aim to keep vehicle speeds low in pedestrian areas. The problem is compliance.

Drivers entering a familiar depot after a long shift may not consciously register the speed limit sign they pass every day. New or agency drivers may not know the site rules at all. Time pressure — particularly at distribution centres with tight delivery windows — creates an incentive to move faster. Even well-intentioned drivers may not accurately judge their speed in a yard environment without a speedometer visible from outside the cab.

Speed bumps help but create their own problems. They damage vehicles and loads, create noise complaints, slow emergency vehicles, and are ineffective on vehicles with stiff commercial suspensions. They also do nothing to prevent speeding between bumps.

GeoKontrol removes the compliance problem entirely. The vehicle physically cannot exceed the set speed within the geofenced zone. There is no driver decision involved, no sign to miss, and no speed bump to navigate.

How GeoKontrol Works in a Depot Environment

GeoKontrol is a feature of the TrackSpeed combined speed limiter and GPS tracking system. It uses three integrated components:

1. GPS positioning from the ScorpionTrack Fleet tracking module determines the vehicle’s precise location in real time.
2. Geofenced zones defined by the fleet manager in the ScorpionTrack Fleet web portal set speed limits for specific areas.
3. The AutoKontrol speed limiter physically restricts the vehicle’s maximum speed by controlling the electronic throttle.

When a vehicle crosses the boundary of a geofenced depot zone, the system automatically reduces the speed limiter setting from the open-road maximum (e.g., 56mph for an HGV) to the depot speed limit (e.g., 5mph or 10mph). The transition is smooth — the vehicle does not brake suddenly. Instead, the throttle response is progressively limited so the vehicle cannot accelerate beyond the zone speed.

When the vehicle exits the zone, the normal speed limit is restored automatically. The driver does not need to take any action. The entire process is seamless and requires no driver interaction.

Zone Configuration

Fleet managers draw depot zones directly on a map in the ScorpionTrack Fleet web portal. Zones can be:

• Custom polygons — Trace the exact boundary of your yard, including irregular shapes around buildings and loading bays.
• Circles — Simple radius-based zones for open yard areas.
• Multiple overlapping zones — Set different speeds for different areas. For example, 10mph for the main yard and 5mph for the loading bay area where pedestrians are most concentrated.

Each zone has a name, a speed limit, and optionally a time schedule. A zone can be active 24/7 or limited to specific hours — for example, reducing the yard speed to 5mph during shift changeovers when pedestrian traffic is highest, and allowing 10mph at other times.

There is no limit to the number of zones. Operators with multiple depots or sites can configure every location from a single portal.

Typical Depot Speed Zone Configurations

Different areas within a depot require different speed limits. Here is a typical configuration for a distribution centre:

Zone	Speed Limit	Rationale
Site entrance/exit	10mph	Transition from public road, visibility checks
Main yard	10mph	General vehicle movement, moderate pedestrian activity
Loading bay area	5mph	High pedestrian density, reversing manoeuvres
Fuel island	5mph	Spillage risk, pedestrians moving between pumps
Staff car park	10mph	Mixed vehicle and pedestrian traffic
Visitor/public area	5mph	Untrained pedestrians, unpredictable movement

These configurations are fully customisable. Your depot layout, traffic patterns, and risk assessment determine the right speed settings.

Safety and Insurance Benefits

Pedestrian Protection

The relationship between vehicle speed and pedestrian injury severity is well established. At 5mph, a collision typically results in minor injuries. At 15mph, the risk of serious injury increases dramatically. At 20mph and above, fatalities become significantly more likely. GeoKontrol keeps depot speeds at the lowest practicable level, directly reducing injury severity in the event of any incident.

HSE and CDM Compliance

Operators have a legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 to manage vehicle and pedestrian interactions in the workplace. The HSE publication HSG136 (“Workplace Transport Safety”) specifically identifies speed management as a key control measure.

GeoKontrol provides demonstrable, auditable speed enforcement that goes beyond signage and policy. In the event of an incident, you can produce GPS data showing that the vehicle was physically limited to the depot speed at the time of the incident.

Insurance Impact

Insurers are increasingly assessing depot safety practices when underwriting fleet and employer’s liability policies. Automated speed enforcement demonstrates proactive risk management. Several fleet insurers now offer premium reductions for fleets using GPS-based speed management in depot environments. Typical savings range from 5% to 15% on relevant policy sections.

Installation and Deployment

GeoKontrol requires a TrackSpeed unit to be installed in each vehicle. This is the same unit that provides the open-road speed limiter and GPS tracking functionality, so there is no additional hardware cost if your vehicles already have TrackSpeed fitted.

Installation takes approximately 3 to 4 hours per vehicle and is carried out by AutoKontrol’s nationwide network of approved installers. Zone configuration is completed remotely through the web portal — there is no need to visit the vehicle again to change depot speed settings.

For fleets that already have standard speed limiters fitted, upgrading to TrackSpeed with GeoKontrol provides the depot speed management capability alongside GPS tracking, driver behaviour monitoring, and compliance reporting.

Real-World Deployment Examples

Operators using GeoKontrol for depot speed management typically report:

• Zero depot speeding incidents within geofenced zones after deployment
• Reduced near-miss reports — particularly in loading bay areas
• Simplified site inductions — new and agency drivers are automatically limited regardless of whether they have completed site-specific training
• Lower speed bump maintenance costs — several operators have removed speed bumps entirely after deploying GeoKontrol

Getting Started

AutoKontrol can assess your depot layout, recommend zone configurations, and provide a costed proposal for deploying GeoKontrol across your fleet. The system works with HGVs, LCVs, buses, and specialist vehicles including refuse collection vehicles and sweepers.

Request a free quote to discuss depot speed management for your operation.