Vehicle Tracking Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Vehicle Tracking – How Vehicle Tracking Works

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

A business or consumer places a GPS tracking system inside or outside of the desired vehicle they wish to monitor. Many tracking systems have weather-resistant casing and magnetic mounts that give the user the flexibility and option of outside placement. The tracking systems can be powered by an internal power source such as a standard alkaline or lithium ion battery pack, or can be hardwired to the vehicle to direct power. Cigarette lighter adapter options are available for most models. The data from the tracking system can be manually downloaded to a computer via USB port or transmitted over a cellular network live, depending on whether the device is a passive or real-time tracking system.

Passive Tracking

Providing a cost-effective approach to vehicle tracking, passive devices allow users to monitor assets without having to pay a monthly fee. Since passive devices do not transmit data and only receive GPS coordinates, second-by-second tracking features are common. When the user wants to review the recorded data they simply remove the GPS tracking system from the vehicle and manually download the data via USB port.

Real-Time Tracking

For consumers needing to monitor a vehicle while in transit a real-time tracking system is the only solution. Login to a secured website, enter a user identification and password, and then access the GPS tracking data from home, office or smart phone. The vehicle tracking data is easily accessed and recorded to secure servers for future access.

Why is Vehicle Tracking the Solution for Me?

Whether you’re a large or small business, law enforcement agency, concerned parent of a teenager, or simply need a GPS tracking system for personal tracking, theft recovery, or family member with a physical or mental disability, the assurance vehicle tracking technology provides is priceless. GPS tracking systems allow users to easily and accurately access data that can increase productivity, help in routing, and supply answers to the unknown.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in GPS Tracking, Vehicle Tracking | No Comments »

Vehicle Tracking Installed in All Chicago School Buses

Monday, September 14th, 2009

bus-fleetBuses rolling out for the first day of classes at the Chicago Public Schools had extra assurance they would run efficiently, thanks to vehicle tracking technology.

The school system added remote vehicle tracking devices to each of their 1,600 buses this summer. The significant cash outlay for the vehicle tracking system will be covered in part through a $1 million grant. School officials say they hope the vehicle tracking costs will be recouped in a short period of time through less fuel and maintenance costs. Vehicle tracking allows supervisors back at the main depot to keep tabs on each and every vehicle tracking them by remote computer over the Internet. With proper management, the vehicle tracking system will help decrease or eliminate breakdowns, late routes, exceeding the speed limit and excessive idling.

The vehicle tracking project raised a few eyebrows among the general public, with the knowledge that many school systems are cutting budgets back, especially in the area of transportation, due to the tight economy. Chicago Public Schools is the third largest school system in the nation. Could it afford vehicle tracking?

It’s estimated only about one quarter of school districts in the U.S. use vehicle tracking, although the American School Bus Council endorses vehicle tracking technology. A spokesman for the agency said it was because of the Chicago School District’s large size that it would experience a quick and effective return on investment. GPS tracking makes routing more efficient, he said, and that alone should cut down on mileage and therefore fuel consumption immediately.

Parents are also pleased at the increased level of safety that vehicle tracking promises. When parents ask about the whereabouts of child, or the progress of a bus route, vehicle tracking will reveal exactly when any bus arrived at a certain stop and where it is at the current time.

This type of tracking is called real-time vehicle tracking. A small GPS tracking receiver is placed in each bus. Vehicle tracking involves readings, or “hits,” marking the device’s location based on satellites orbiting in space. Speed, latitude, longitude, and heading are monitored by vehicle tracking. Position updates are every few seconds. That vehicle tracking data is transmitted through a cell network, and it’s all assembled on a map on the Internet. The dispatcher, manager or other supervisor – usually with special vehicle tracking software – can watch a full fleet of buses as they progress on their routes, moment to moment, or zoom in and concentrate on just one. Vehicle tracking also keeps records of past routes, so any day or segment of a day can be recalled, for reports or perhaps to look for persistent inefficiencies.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in GPS Tracking, Vehicle Tracking | No Comments »

Vehicle Tracking Systems Aid in Car Repossessions

Friday, September 11th, 2009

buying-carA  TruTV series called “Operation Repo,” is cashing in on all the drama associated with vehicle tracking and having an expensive possession like a car snatched away.

Much is discussed about whether the show is real or fake. The bigger question is who’s at fault? Who really is the owner of a car when it is out on a loan and the debtor fails to make payments?

A growing application in the vehicle tracking business is for repossessions. Some car dealers and finance companies are putting vehicle tracking systems on all their mobile assets, to make sure a person that is buying or renting a vehicle isn’t going to disappear with it, or ignore their payment plan. Many car rental agencies are using vehicle tracking, too. If the driver/customer does default, all the bank or loan company has to do is engage the vehicle tracking device and follow the GPS tracking data right to the vehicle tracking receiver. Then all they do is haul it away.

The TV “Repo” team relies on old-fashioned vehicle tracking instincts and know-how to locate their targets. There’s no denying their work would be easier if every set of wheels they reclaim is outfitted with a working vehicle tracking device.

A murder suspect wanted by police in Van Buren, Ark. was recently apprehended with a vehicle tracking device. The man had purchased a vehicle from a “Buy Here, Pay Here” car lot called Automatic Auto Finance.

Automatic Auto Finance regularly uses vehicle tracking on the units it sells. That’s because the money is out of their pockets. The company is the registered owner and it holds the car title until the last payment on the loan has been paid.

Automatic Auto Finance was all too happy to cooperate with police. The car was quickly found with vehicle tracking. It was parked outside the suspect’s sister-in-law’s house.

When police are dealing with a missing person, they often find them by “pinging” the GPS tracking feature of cell phones. But vehicle tracking systems on vehicles is becoming more and more common.

There are even wireless vehicle tracking devices that are used by auto finance firms that will disable the vehicle when the loan goes into default. These vehicle tracking devices are not the safety issue they would appear to be. The vehicle tracking unit will lock up the engine after it is stopped, and prevent it from restarting. Some vehicle tracking devices will decelerate the vehicle. This vehicle tracking feature is only used when police or someone else in authority has a visual on the vehicle and can determine it is safe to do so.

Is it fair to use vehicle tracking devices in this way?  Are vehicle tracking systems a good practice to protect one’s assets, or are they a violation of the driver/owner/leasee’s privacy? Some car dealers hide the vehicle tracking devices, never letting the customer know about the vehicle tracking capability until, of course, the loan is paid off and the car dealer has to retrieve the vehicle tracking hardware. That’s because some drivers might tamper with the vehicle tracking device if they knew it was there. Other car dealers are quite up-front and spell out the rules of vehicle tracking right in a contract, which the borrower must sign.

Most of the time these vehicle tracking subjects are customers with very poor credit and they are a very high risk investment. It’s possible they couldn’t get a loan through a traditional agency. Most of these creditors want to know immediately if a home address or employment situation changes, there are any accident reports or tickets for speeding. A vehicle tracking report gives much of this information.

Some people might owe more on their car than it’s worth (upside-down car value) so it might be tempting to walk away. Vehicle tracking assures that companies will be able to locate, track and recover their vehicle in the case of loan default.

There are possible legal ramifications to vehicle tracking if the customer is not notified. But if the lender does notify them about the vehicle tracking, and it is part of the contract, the customer is really in no position to argue to terms.

Why would any borrower agree to purchase terms that include mandatory vehicle tracking? Read the words of an actual vehicle tracking subject:

“I have major credit issues due to a financially-irresponsible ex-spouse. He took the car we had, and I had to get into a car by any (moral) means necessary for my toddler and I. Out of desperation, I accepted the ridiculous interest rate and the vehicle tracking device the car came with.”

A lot has been said about the dismal economy and its affect on home values and loan defaults. But the mortgage loan crisis is just one part of the story. The same is happening with cars. Homes don’t move, so you can’t lose track of a house. Cars and trucks are mobile assets. Vehicle tracking technology is invaluable to some people, who need to track their assets. Repossession is one such use.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in GPS Tracking, Vehicle Tracking | No Comments »

GPS Tracking Systems Lead Police to Stolen Tow Trucks

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

towtruckReal-Time GPS Tracking

The night has always provided the criminal element a cloak of concealment, but not even the darkness would provide two local Florida men the protection they needed to commit grand theft auto. When two unidentified men broke into a Fort Lauderdale tow truck companies secure parking lot and stole two Ford F-450 tow trucks, the trucks owner, Jason Parrett, was not worried. Parrett had piece of mind because of a decision he made earlier in the year to outfit his small fleet of vehicles with GPS tracking technology, specifically, real-time vehicle tracking.

On an early Saturday morning one of Parrett’s employees notified him that the two trucks were not in their designated location. Parrett contacted his employees to verify that they were not in possession of the vehicles and once he had confirmation that the trucks were stolen he decided to access his vehicle tracking system’s data. Parrett used his wife’s Blackberry phone and accessed the vehicle tracking system to view the truck’s location. The vehicle tracking system data showed that one of the trucks was in Lauderdale Manors and the other truck was in a neighboring city. With the data from the vehicle tracking system, Parrett’s employees were able to accurately locate the exact position of the missing vehicles.

Real-Time Tracking Solution

Once the vehicle tracking system led Parrett’s employees to the location of the vehicle, they contacted local police to arrest the suspected thieves. When the police arrived at the scene, the vehicle tracking data was able to provide concrete evidence when the trucks were stolen and everywhere they went.  Parrett initially equipped his tow trucks with vehicle tracking systems to help in routing and documenting mileage for tax purposes. Theft recovery applications for the GPS tracking system were just an added feature. When asked about the crimes, Parrett stated that without GPS tracking technology and equipping his tow trucks with vehicle tracking systems the trucks would have never been recovered. The real-time vehicle tracking systems provided swift justice and recovery of Parrett’s assets.

Tags: , ,
Posted in GPS Tracking, Vehicle Tracking | No Comments »

Vehicle Tracking Helps Municipalities Large and Small

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

GPS vehicle tracking was originally developed by the U.S. Department of Defense for military purposes, but vehicle tracking has had a trickle-down benefit in governments of much smaller size. State government, townships, mid-size cities and even small villages with total population of maybe a thousand residents can reap real rewards by adding vehicle tracking systems to their municipal vehicles.

Vehicle tracking systems note the mileage, speed, direction and stops of a vehicle using GPS satellite signals. The information can be printed out in a vehicle tracking report or viewed over an animated or satellite map on a remote computer. These vehicle tracking reports can be viewed in real time, or recorded in memory for later viewing.

Used in a municipal setting, vehicle tracking devices will let supervisors know if workers are where they should be during their shifts.

Vehicle tracking solutions help municipalities in the following ways:

·         Cut excessive fuel consumption by reducing repeat trips, overlapping routes, speeding, and excessive idling.

·         Save payroll costs by eliminating personal errands on work time, excessive breaks, inaccurate logging of time.

·         Reduce insurance costs by proving safe driving records, and/or having a vehicle tracking system with theft recovery (real-time vehicle tracking).

·         Extend life expectancy of vehicles by keeping better routine maintenance schedules (oil changes, belt checks, tire rotation, etc.)

·         Run services more efficiently, for example snowplowing, street sweeping or police patrols.

·         Defend an employee or prove innocence with a vehicle tracking report, noting speed, location and time, to conflict with a complaint or criminal charge or moving violation.

·         Show evidence against an employee at a disciplinary hearing.

People may not treat someone else’s asset with as much care as their own. The scratch on the car, the ding in the truck bed is not so tragic when the vehicle belongs to someone else. A vehicle’s lifespan can be shortened as a result of reckless driving or negligence. Vehicle tracking can extend the life of a vehicle.

In a municipality, city property is not the ownership of an individual, or a business man or a corporation. City property belongs to the people and taxpayers. City employees and elected officials are obligated to be responsible and accountable with city funds and property.

In a vehicle tracking system, a geo-fencing feature could be activated exactly at the city’s boundary to ensure that municipal vehicles do not leave the jurisdiction they serve.

Employees can remotely clock in or out to the vehicle tracking system, using a cell phone or laptop.

The township of North Brunswick, New Jersey, (population of 38,000) is considering installing GPS tracking systems in municipal vehicles. The township has 150 vehicles and officials want to equip 50 vehicles with vehicle tracking in the first phase of the project.

Vehicle tracking systems are reasonably cost effective, but they can be pricey when used in a fleet arrangement. North Brunswick is considering a quote of $17,500 to set up the system and about $15,000 annually in service fees for real-time vehicle tracking.

Industry-wide, municipalities that install vehicle tracking systems usually experience a great Return on Investment (ROI). A Connecticut town about the same size as North Brunswick put in a real-time vehicle tracking system last year. The cost was $21,000 and annual fees are about $18,000. The first year of the vehicle tracking system, town officials noticed a $32,000 savings in labor costs, vehicle repair bills and paperwork.

One of the biggest challenges for municipalities is getting employees to support and cooperate with a vehicle tracking program. An individual will naturally resist a vehicle tracking program that captures and documents activities of their personal lives, such as where they worship, where they dine or drink or who they visit.

Some town officials who have witnessed great benefits from instituting vehicle tracking systems, recommend disabling vehicle tracking devices once employees clock out for the day. Another municipality launched an incentive program. Each employee got a $750 monthly bonus when he or she agreed to vehicle tracking and consistently completed assignments on time. As an example: City trash pickup improved over a period of six months from 50 percent on-time to 95 percent on-time.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in GPS Tracking, Vehicle Tracking | 1 Comment »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »