Abstract: A vehicle monitoring system having a microprocessor-based vehicle recording unit, a remote computerized data reporting unit and a data transfer interface. The vehicle recording unit is mounted on the vehicle and is automatically activated by a vibration sensor signal each time the vehicle is used, to time-stamp each trip and record the distance travelled. The vehicle unit updates and records the distance traveled based upon the number of pulses received from a magnetic sensor mounted on the vehicle. After data from a trip has been recorded in the vehicle unit, a data interface such as an electronic memory card is used to download the data to the remote reporting unit for analysis and generation of reports on trip activity.