Azuga Driver Beacon Card: Who Is in the Vehicle

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What it is

Azuga's driver and occupant beacon is a credit-card-sized Bluetooth Low Energy tag. A driver carries it in a pocket, a wallet or a badge holder. When that person gets in a vehicle with an Azuga tracker, the tracker hears the card, and Azuga knows who was in the vehicle. No phone is needed.

Azuga's shop lists a Bluetooth Credit Card Sized Beacon at $15 and says it detects occupant presence in vehicles. Azuga documents a version with a button too. We could not confirm that the $15 shop card is the button version, and we did not find a model number for it on any Azuga help page, so we do not print one.

Our generic drawing of a card beacon with a center button and a red light. Azuga says the button version has a push button in the center and a red LED that lights when pressed. It is not Azuga artwork.

Why a fleet cares who is in the vehicle

Trackers know which vehicle moved. They do not know who drove it. Fleets that share vehicles, run crews, or rotate drivers need a way to tie a trip to a person. That is the job of this card. Azuga says the occupants then show in its Breadcrumb, Activity and Summary reports.

The two ways it works

Way	How it works	Who is the driver
Automatic detection	The tracker scans for cards when the ignition goes on (trip start) and, depending on configuration, when it goes off (trip end). It reports what it hears.	The first card detected. Others are occupants.
Button press	The driver turns the ignition on, waits about 30 seconds, and presses the button once.	The last person to press, by default.

Azuga says an account uses one pairing type at a time. Turning on automatic detection, or enrolling existing button cards, goes through Azuga customer care.

The details that decide whether it works

Up to four cards can be detected at once.
Range for the button version is about 10 to 15 meters.
Battery is about 2 to 3 years, per Azuga.
Timing matters. Pressing the button late has no effect.
Interference is possible. Azuga warns that Bluetooth and Wi-Fi share the 2.4 GHz band.

A strong fit

Shared vehicles, crews and rotating drivers, where reports need a person attached to each trip.

Plan ahead

A fleet where each driver already has one assigned vehicle. The card adds a step that the tracker does not need.

What to confirm with Azuga before you quote it

Which pairing type your account will use, automatic detection or button press.
Whether the card you will be sent has a button and a light.
Which plan tier carries occupant recognition on your quote.
Who enrolls existing cards if you are adding this to a fleet that already has some.

Questions fleets ask

What does the Azuga driver beacon card do?

It tells Azuga who is in a vehicle. The tracker in the vehicle hears the card over Bluetooth, and Azuga's back end matches the card to a person.

Does the person need a smartphone?

No. Azuga says the beacon works without a smartphone.

Who becomes the driver if several people carry cards?

With automatic detection, Azuga says the first beacon detected becomes the paired driver and the others are reported as occupants. With button pairing, the last person to press becomes the driver by default.

Is it included in every Azuga plan?

No. Azuga's pricing page lists occupant recognition under the SafeFleet tier, not BasicFleet. Azuga's tier details change, so confirm before you quote.

Technical information →Pairing methods, the button light and what Azuga has not published. OBD-II tracker →The tracker that reads the card. Azuga features →Where occupant recognition fits. Equipment Beacon →The tag for tools instead of people.

Sources: What is a beacon, How Azuga recognizes occupants, Beacon pairing overview, Beacon button press pairing, Azuga shop. AZUGA is a trademark of its owner. API Signal is an independent installer and is not Azuga.

Azuga Driver Beacon Card, tying a trip to a person