GPS Tracking Serves Two Purposes

Running a fleet business is difficult enough without the technological advances that have been invented and now assist in day to day operations.  This is no less true when you stop to consider all of the downsizing that has taken place in most companies.  More work is piled on fewer workers.  Unless a business wants to risk losing employees because of strenuous work environments, they would do well to implement the best technology enhancements that they can afford.

For fleet operations, that means a GPS Tracking system is mandatory.  There are two major reasons for this.

Running a Successful Fleet Company

Fleet operations have to be run in such a manner that customer service is the top priority.  Moving packages with trucks and drivers is a maddening job, but it is made easier with a GPS Tracking system that allows for real-time monitoring of a fleet vehicles locations, direction of travel and speeds.

Drivers tend to get tunnel-vision during their runs.  All they can see is their current destination and little else.  It helps to have those around them that can help give corrections to their routes and advance warnings of traffic tie-ups and weather updates that will affect them.

Recovering Stolen Vehicles

Recently, a stolen limousine was recovered because it was outfitted with a GPS Tracking device.  This is not an uncommon occurrence, but it underscores two things.

First, the need exists for GPS Tracking for more than just business purposes.  Recovery from theft is a prime reason.  Consider that if there is no damage to the vehicle, it can be put back into use immediately.  Also, insurance companies embrace these devices because it keeps their risk of payout of a claim lower.  And, in turn they often reduce the premiums on a vehicle because of that.

Next, those that engage in the activities of stealing vehicles should avoid fleet vehicles at all costs.  But then, those that do these things are not known for their grand intelligence.

Most auto thefts end up with the same result:  a captured suspect and the conviction of the same.  Still, it is better to be prepared than not because if you are not, your competition is certainly there ahead of you.  And that is one thing that you must avoid, too.

Related posts:

1. GPS Tracking Systems Lead Police to Stolen Tow Trucks
2. Vehicle Tracking Systems Aid in Car Repossessions
3. More Fire Fighting Operations Going High Tech with GPS Tracking

Additional Safety Measures Built into its Use

Lower Mistakes Makes for Saved Buildings and Lives

There is no doubt about it: GPS Tracking is having an impact in the area of fire fighting operations.  Just like other public safety organizations, fire departments all over are reaping the benefits of GPS outfitted trucks to assist in fire emergencies.

These systems promote the following goals of fire and emergency rescue operations:

Faster and Efficient Response Times

The best and fastest routes are displayed while driving to an emergency.  Also available is the location of hydrants, water lines, gas lines and even electric service lines.

Better Fire Fighting Information

One of the best features of these systems it that they can provide a good overview of a fire via satellite picture and help to determine where best to focus the highest amount of attention to put the blaze out.  That has already been used with great success.

Works with Existing GPS Systems

This helps keep the costs low in the implementation phase.  If a department already has outfitted their vehicles with GPS Tracking one of these new systems will tie right into it and provide the same level of service, but with the new features added into the system.

Sharing of Data

When a department is called upon to assist at a fire outside of their territory, the unfamiliarity with that part of the community can pose a problem.  Now that is gone because these new systems supply the most direct route to the address of the fire.

Also, updating the maps of hydrants can be performed by a single person rather than the several that used to be necessary.

In addition to all of this, fire and rescue vehicles can be monitored for proper use.  While this would not likely be an issue with the larger trucks, the smaller vehicles used for things other than fire runs can be watched to make sure they are not being used in a manner that goes against department policy.

The drivers can also be watched to make sure they are obeying speed limits and also that they are where they should be and not performing personal business while on the job.

It all fits nicely into a package that helps fire / rescue departments run as lean and efficiently as possible.  That alone can help save money which is important in these uncertain economic times in which we find ourselves.

Related posts:

1. Auto Thieves Don’t Get it – GPS Tracking Means You Will Get Caught
2. GPS Tracking Systems Lead Police to Stolen Tow Trucks
3. Spy Gadgets Becoming in High Demand for Law Enforcement & Consumers

All well and good, but the real-time vehicle tracking system should not overshadow the value of a passive GPS tracking device, which has excellent applications in its own right. Among the top uses are for fleet management and accident investigations.

A passive GPS tracking system stores data on vehicle location within the unit. The tracking system is later retrieved for later download. A quality-made passive GPS vehicle tracking device like LandAirSea Systems’ GPS Tracking Key and GPS Tracking Key Pro have extensive memory.  Up to 100 hours of movement are recorded, and even then, it doesn’t stop working. The memory chip works “first in, first out” with data, meaning once capacity is met, the newest driving data will replace the oldest.

On-the-road incidents involving law enforcement, including  moving violations (tickets) and accidents are very serious business. Since they involve legal and sometimes medical issues, they can be long, drawn-out affairs. Vehicle tracking systems are great for referencing facts, rather than relying solely on memory, witnesses, or the hand-written notes of a police officer.

Passive vehicle tracking devices record speed, direction, time and date, location by latitude and longitude or street address, duration of trips and miles logged.  Better vehicle tracking devices such as the GPS Tracking Key and GPS Tracking Key Pro will give position updates in one-second increments, so there are almost no detectible gaps in coverage.

Memories fade over time and witnesses are not always reliable, but a GPS vehicle tracking report is accurate and detailed.  The data will be as clear a year or two after the road incident as it is the day of the occurrence.

LandAirSea analysts recently pulled news reports from two accidents. Consider how a vehicle tracking system helped – or would have helped –  in the investigations:

Vehicle Tracking System Verifies Bogus Insurance Claim

The fleet management supervisor of a HVAC company in Sidmouth, Devon, UK referred to a service van’s on-board vehicle tracking system after one of his drivers was blamed for a minor vehicle accident. The “victim” claimed a serviceman was speeding and sideswiped him on a country road. A side view mirror was torn off and the matter went to insurance claim.

The fleet management supervisor tracked the claimant’s time, date and location of the accident and found the identity of the employee allegedly responsible for the mishap. The engineer claimed he had pulled over the vehicle and the other car clipped him while passing.

The company, called Ford’s, installed passive vehicle tracking systems on all its fleet vehicles about three years ago to track work orders and analyze employee schedules for inefficiencies. The tracking system records exact position, time, date and speed of vehicles. The vehicle tracking report revealed, in no uncertain terms, that the service vehicle at the time of the accident was not speeding; it was not moving at all.

Ford’s fleet management supervisor Tim Ford explained that often, when a member of the public gets involved in a minor accident, they find an easily-identifiable vehicle in the vicinity at the time and record contact information from its exterior advertising, then blame its driver for the unfortunate encounter.

“We were thrilled to have the evidence available, with just a few keystrokes,” said Ford.  “Confronted with the report, the other driver backed down.”

Stunt Woman Dies in Crash on Way to Filming

Hollywood stunt woman April Erin Stirton met a tragic and ironic fate April 6, 2010 when she died in an accident on Highway 101 near the Laurel Canyon exit. California Highway Patrol investigators believe the 28-year-old, riding her motorcycle to a performing job, was speeding and tried to pass a tow truck. Witnesses said she lost control of the bike and skidded. Both she and the motorcycle got lodged under the rear wheels of another truck, police said.

Stirton, who lived in North Hollywood and had worked on shows like “CSI and “True Blood” was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

Was this woman, clearly skilled at driving in dangerous situations due to her career, over-confident or distracted? She did not survive to tell her side of the story. Could a vehicle tracking system on the motorcycle have recorded evidence that another driver was to blame?

Much time and money can be saved when a driver involved in a dispute has access to an extensive vehicle tracking report on the incident in question. Fleet management directors, parents of teen drivers, self-employed business people and many others use vehicle tracking as a means of protecting their  families and businesses from liability and harm.

Sources: Materials Handling World , Los Angeles Times

Related posts:

1. Tracking System Records Evidence in Accidents, Other Driving Incidents
2. Effective Solutions for Mobile Asset Management
3. GPS Tracking Technology Helps Locate Accident

“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

Isaac Newton’s third law of motion could be loosely applied to the debate over GPS tracking technologies.

Every time a commercial product is introduced that will allow someone to secretly record or copy something or someone; another product will follow that will either try to find it, or foil it.

This is the case with the growing industry of GPS tracking devices. GPS tracking devices, such as vehicle tracking systems, fall under the category of surveillance products. These GPS tracking products – which locate and track an object using satellite radio signals – have only been available for civilian use for about the last 10 years. And already there is counter surveillance equipment on the market that purports to either locate the vehicle tracking system, or to prevent it from operating properly.

Courts struggle from time to time with GPS tracking data and whether it is reliable enough to be used in legal proceedings. Another question is whether the GPS tracking data was obtained legally. And a third: Does the vehicle tracking evidence lose any credibility if there was an attempt to block, disguise or muffle the GPS satellite radio transmissions?

Some lawyers have argued that if GPS tracking data is “spoofable” or “jammable,” it can’t be guaranteed accurate and it shouldn’t be admissible as evidence. Supporters of covert GPS tracking say all kinds of evidence (photographs, audio recordings, hard copy documents) can be tampered with, so all should be admitted as evidence and judged for credibility, case by case.

There are three basic types of devices designed in defense to GPS vehicle tracking systems.

1. What is a GPS detector?
   GPS detectors work much like radar detectors. The hardware detects GPS tracking transmissions by using a radio frequency scanner. It does not affect the vehicle tracking system’s operation; It just warns the driver that a vehicle tracking device is present.
2. What is GPS jamming?
   GPS jammers broadcast on the same frequencies assigned to the GPS tracking system. They try to deliberately interfere with vehicle tracking data transmission by blanketing the frequency with noise or blocking the vehicle tracking transmission completely.
3. What is GPS spoofing?
   GPS spoofers also work on the GPS radio frequencies. They try to cause the GPS tracking system to transmit incorrect (spoofed) location data; or confuse the receiver into thinking it is in a different place than it actually is.

Should all GPS tracking data be dismissed from evidence, merely because the potential exists that it could be tampered with?

We approach this first by considering each category of GPS counter surveillance individually.

• GPS detectors are nothing more than an irritation to law enforcement. Vehicle tracking detectors merely tip off the driver that someone is tracking them. What happens from there is the driver’s decision. Detectors, logically, would lead to the lack of evidence. The fact that the courts have GPS tracking data to consider means that the detector failed to do its job.
• Similarly, GPS jammers are a major irritation to police who are following a subject with vehicle tracking equipment. This GPS tracking hardware will create gaps in the vehicle path or eliminate whole sections of a trip, but what remains of the trip should be considered accurate and reliable. GPS tracking position updates are independent of one another. The absence or masking of one reading does not taint the rest of the vehicle tracking report.
• GPS spoofers are a different story because GPS spoofers deliberately feed the police incorrect vehicle tracking information. It’s unlikely a GPS spoofer would be involved in a criminal case because, in order to make a decision to spoof, the criminal would have to be aware he is being tracked. That’s not usually the case, unless the criminal is ordered by the courts to wear a GPS tracking bracelet.

Second, spoofers skew all the GPS tracking receivers in an area, not just one GPS. Suspicious readings can be compared to other vehicle tracking receivers in the area; and the spoofer can easily be verified or discounted.

Also, it’s very difficult to create a spoofed or fake vehicle tracking trip that makes sense and is believable. Temporarily throwing the police off your path is one thing. Making up an entirely new path is another. Like counterfeiters with currency, an expert might produce a fine reproduction, but it’s the little errors that will stick out like a sore thumb.

Should counter surveillance GPS tracking equipment be illegal?

Some say that would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. If GPS tracking detectors, jammers and spoofers create a safety hazard or if they are used to obstruct justice, they should certainly be regulated. But counter surveillance vehicle tracking equipment cannot be declared illegal, because they have a legitimate use outside of law enforcement. Counter surveillance GPS tracking equipment is used by adults who suspect that they are being electronically followed: their partner is spying on them, a personal investigator is on their tail, or their boss or business competitor is nosing around into their personal lives.

It is not uncommon for GPS tracking data to be presented into evidence in court, to prove an individual or object was at a certain location at a certain time. Vehicle tracking has earned its reputation for extremely reliable and accurate evidence in court. The presence of counter surveillance equipment does not negate that fact.

Case in point: A New York area man was recently convicted of the second degree murder of a babysitter. A vehicle tracking device his wife planted on his truck recorded the vehicle in a sparsely-populated, wooded area for an inordinate amount of time, when the man should have been driving the girl home from a babysitting job.

Related posts:

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2. Top 10 GPS Tracking Users

Whether it is I-Spy, Spy Kids or some other kid’s television show or cartoon featuring the latest in fictional technology, children are constantly in awe and amazement of cool and fun spy gadgets. These exciting little fictional spy gadgets help the good guys capture the bad guys and do so with flare and drama. Although many of the spy gadgets are completely fictional, such as a watch that can send you back in time, some are actually adaptations from real-life James Bond type spy gadgets such as:

• A pen camera that can record conversations and situations.
• A GPS tracking device that can tell you anywhere a car is.
• A recorder that can change the tone and sound of your voice.

When the topic of spies and spy gadgets was brought up to a group of elementary school children in a local southern California school, the mood quickly changed from boredom to excitement. The children began acting as if they were spies, making their hands into guns, rolling on the floor pretending to evade a bad guy, and all sorts of other goofy things. The children were then asked to take a piece of paper and write down 5 spy gadgets that they think would be useful or cool. The spy gadgets did not have to be real so the kids were allowed to use their imagination and write down anything they thought would be a cool or useful spy gadget. Here are the top 5 answers the children wrote down.

Spy Gadget #1

A pencil that knew the answers to the questions of the homework assigned.
Almost every kid wrote down some form or variation of an object such as a pencil or pen that could provide them the answers to their homework or to a test. Many of the kids wrote that if they had a spy gadget that would answer the questions for them that they would then have more time to go outside and play.

Spy Gadget #2

A trash can that made the trash disappear so it never had to be emptied.
A spy gadget that could make trash disappear was number 2 on the list. Although the concept is not very spy-related, it would be very functional. The children didn’t only write about the trash can that made trash disappear because they would have to take it out, but rather a concern over garbage, land-fills and liter. It was suprising to see how many children were consoious of the environment.

Spy Gadget # 3

A clock that could make recess longer.
The third most popular fictional spy gadget is pretty self-explanatory, a clock that would allow recess to be longer. The kids would be able to move the hands of a clock to extend recess so they could play with friends longer.  Nobody wrote about not wanting to be in class, but rather they simply wanted to play for longer amounts of time. Socialization is key to a child’s development so extending recess to increase peer-interaction may not be a bad thing.

Spy Gadget # 4

A pill that made people not sick.
The first 3 spy gadgets were all school or home related, but the popular response about a pill that would help people who were sick was the first that was not. Showing compassion and an awareness for people who were sick or in pain was something many faculty did not think the children would write about or even seriouslt thought about. Schools tend to be one of the more popular breeding grounds for colds; therefore, many children probably have had some personal understanding or experience of illness. Either way, a pill that would be able to heal someone or prevent someone from being sick would be amazing.

Spy Gadget # 5

A card that would get them out of trouble (essentially a get out of jail free card)
The final spy gadget was a card that a kid could use to get out of being grounded or any other type of trouble. Basically, the spy gadget is a “Get out of Jail free card”. Kids are always testing boundaries and seeing what they can and cannot do, this card would essentially allow them to do whatever they want. Although some kids are allowed to do whatever they want, this would probably be a spy gadget that most parents would not want to see.

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For centuries, herding dogs, cattle prods and fencing have been a rancher’s best bets for keeping cattle contained or for moving them in a particular direction.

It was just a matter of time before someone thought of a more modern way to coax a cow. It’s with GPS tracking.

Two scientists – one a computer software specialist and the other a livestock researcher – have figured out a way to round up a herd of cattle and bring them home, all from a remote location. These innovators took a real-time vehicle tracking receiver and perched it up top of ol’ Bessie’s noggin.

Real-time vehicle tracking systems capture signals from U.S. Department of Defense satellites orbiting space, to determine the exact location of the GPS tracking receiver, anywhere on the planet. GPS tracking data is captured every few seconds and sent to a Web-enabled computer by wireless network, where the operator can track the object, getting updates of GPS tracking location, speed and direction, moment by moment.

GPS tracking technology was originally developed for vehicle tracking. If it worked for vehicle tracking, the scientists figured, why not for livestock tracking?

The farmland GPS tracking device also includes a harness that hooks around the cow’s head and ears and headphones placed near the cow’s ears.

First the farmer must mark the limits of his pasture with GPS tracking. Fencing of the field is virtual. The boundaries of the pasture are programmed into the GPS tracking system. When the animal nears the forbidden boundary, a sound is emitted to the headphones to persuade her back in the right direction.

In the scientists’ GPS tracking test group, the cows seemed to prefer the lead researcher’s sing-song, “Come on, girls!” voice prompt every 30 seconds. The researchers also experimented with different cues, including a barking dog, a hissing snake, and the whistles and shouts of a cowboy roundup, to lesser success.

The GPS tracking device was designed to be solar-powered, so it would never need wall/outlet charging or batteries.

Early results of the GPS tracking experiment are promising, but it is still uncertain how well the cattle will respond when the distance between the GPS tracking receivers on their heads, and home, is miles instead of a few hundred feet.

While they seem to work, GPS tracking systems for livestock are – so far – less than practical. Besides the fact that the GPS tracking systems look awkward and amusing, (they resemble little pillbox hats with chin straps), they are also expensive (about $500 each). Who’s to say a cow wouldn’t get full of mud or smash it against a fence, unaware of her expensive headgear?

The GPS tracking system inventors are trying to get the GPS tracking system simplified to cut the price to about $100. Since there are sometimes hundreds of cattle in a herd, that’s – quite literally – a high price to put on their heads.

Maybe the headphones can also play easy-listening music, to produce more tender steaks. Isn’t that how Kobe beef earned its luxury status?

No related posts.

If you want to avoid car theft, stay out of the city. Or get a good vehicle tracking device.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) released its annual list of cities with the highest incidence of vehicle theft. Oddly enough, you have an equal chance of coming up car-less whether you live on the East Coast, West Coast or in the Midwest.

2008 Cities with the Highest Incidence of Auto Theft

1.       Los Angeles, CA, 68,901

2.       Chicago, IL, 36,513

3.       New York/ Long Island, NY, 35,509

4.       San Francisco, CA, 30,735

5.       Miami, FL, 29,362

6.       Detroit, MI, 28,765

7.       Dallas, TX, 28,539

8.       Atlanta, GA, 26,421

9.       Houston, TX, 26,227

10.   Phoenix, AZ, 25,794

A vehicle is stolen about every 20 minutes in the United States. The odds are highest in urban areas.

Why do big metropolitan areas have more thefts? It’s not simply a matter of population density. Thieves like to steal cars and trucks when there are many to choose from, and there is a good chance the crime will not be detected until after the bad guy has made a clean getaway. People who don’t have a vehicle tracking device or some other form of theft prevention might want to avoid extended-stay parking areas such as apartment complexes, commuter parking garages, and sporting events, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Many vehicles today come straight from the factory with some built-in security measures. However, police authorities recommend that drivers use layers of protection, which means more than one anti-theft device. For instance, always lock your doors, windows and sun roof; use a steering wheel or brake pedal locking device, and install a vehicle tracking system. The most stolen vehicle models are the Dodge Caravan, Ford F150 truck, Toyota Camry, the Honda Civic and the Honda Accord.

There is a wide range of anti-theft products for the car or truck. Some are as inexpensive as $20. On the low end, buy an engraver and etch the vehicle identification number (VIN) on important parts of the vehicle. This way, you make those parts unappealing to chop shops. Custom-designed alarm systems will fall in along the high end. They can cost up to $1,000.

One of the most practical solutions is an electronic vehicle tracking device. Many insurance companies offer discounts for anti-theft devices such as vehicle tracking products. Vehicle tracking systems have an excellent track record of stolen vehicle recovery. Within minutes of the crime, the car owner could learn the exact location of his stolen vehicle. Within hours, thanks to vehicle tracking, that mobile asset could be back in the owner’s driveway.

There are two kinds of vehicle tracking systems. There are vehicle tracking devices that use radio signals; and vehicle tracking units that use a combination of Global Positioning System (GPS) and wireless cell networks for vehicle tracking.

Some vehicle tracking systems remain idle most of the time and are activated when the owner discovers and reports that his vehicle is stolen. One vehicle tracking system is a radio frequency transmitter that will send out an inaudible, specially-coded signal that is picked up by police. Each vehicle tracking transmitter has a unique code, tied to the VIN number. Police perform vehicle tracking and recovery using special equipment.

Other vehicle tracking systems are GPS-based. Some are designed for continuous vehicle tracking and some only find the vehicle’s location when the user calls for the vehicle tracking service. The vehicle tracking receiver in the car or truck captures signals transmitted by orbiting satellites. Using GPS coordinates, the exact location of the vehicle is determined and that data is transmitted by wireless network to a remote computer. This is extremely accurate vehicle tracking. Usually the vehicle’s path, location and direction are good, within feet.

New updates of position are taken every few seconds or minutes, so the vehicle owner or the law authorities can follow the stolen vehicle along on a map, almost as it happens. This is called real-time vehicle tracking.

Another reason to use a real-time vehicle tracking system to protect a stolen vehicle is for its geo-fencing feature. Many owners of boats and other recreational vehicles put vehicle tracking units on those objects, then program in a geographic zone or virtual fence, beyond which that asset is not to travel. If it does, the owner of the vehicle tracking device gets an email or text alert. He or she would be notified the minute that object is on the move. This can be a valuable vehicle tracking feature, for instance, when a boat or snowmobile is possibly being stolen out of off-season storage.

Real-time vehicle tracking units cost as little as several hundred dollars. Often, vehicle tracking systems run off batteries or can run off the vehicle’s main 12V power supply. The wireless service that runs with the GPS tracking system includes an activation fee, a monthly service fee, and sometimes an annual contract.

With just one stolen vehicle recovery, the owner of a vehicle tracking system will experience total return on investment. Even without incident, a vehicle tracking device brings immeasurable peace of mind that it will be there if needed.

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But what about using vehicle tracking technology to document a vacation?

A person returns from holiday and within days, barely remembers where he was on what day, with or without digital images chronicling the event. Vehicle tracking devices have the amazing capability of recording time, date, destinations, speed and distance. With software provided with these GPS vehicle tracking systems, travels can be seen on a map from anywhere in the world. With vehicle tracking, trips can be recorded, stored and reviewed in great detail again and again for posterity.

A Dayton, Ohio couple who wanted to make their 25th anniversary a once-in-a-lifetime experience took GPS tracking technology along with them last year on safari to Kenya, Africa. The wife wrote a daily travel journal, the husband took pictures and kept the batteries fresh in his passive vehicle tracking device, kept inside a back pack. By collaboration this husband-wife team converted their memorable journey into a coffee table book, handed out to friends and relatives, that none will soon forget.

GPS tracking systems use satellite technology developed by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS tracking receivers capture satellite signals and calculate location accurately, within a few feet. Vehicle tracking devices today are technologically advanced and have far exceeded their initial applications: to “catch” inefficiencies in fleet tracking, illegal or unsafe driving of new teen drivers, to recover a stolen vehicle or other asset, track an unfaithful spouse, or keep tabs on the elderly with dementia.

Vehicle tracking systems today are affordable for most households, easy to use and can fit almost anywhere.

A 19-year-old high school graduate from Great Britain recently took a months-long backpack trip through Australia. He carried a real-time (or active) palm-sized vehicle tracking device in his backpack. Mom “watched” where her son was on her computer, from the comfort of home. The mother said the GPS tracking device gave her peace of mind that her son was safe.

The teen said it was his idea to wear the GPS tracking device. He planned to use the vehicle tracking reports, along with a diary, to stir powerful memories of his summer of independence and adventure. A months-long trip might be hard to recollect, but the vehicle tracking device knew where he was and what he was doing at any point in the holiday.

Both mom and son said the GPS tracking solution eliminated almost-daily phone calls about the young traveler’s well-being.

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1. Vehicle Tracking For Taxes
2. Vehicle Tracking Helps Municipalities Large and Small
3. Vehicle Tracking – How Vehicle Tracking Works

As oil and gas prices continue to climb, car manufacturers are realizing that the best way to make a profit is to develop fuel-efficient smart cars that run cleaner, longer, and greener. At first glance this seems like a great thing for consumers and for car manufacturers, unfortunately the tax loving government does not see things in the same light. Many state governments have been drafting legislation to equip vehicle tracking and GPS tracking devices to motorist’s method of transportation for tax purposes. As cars become more efficient and less gas dependent, the tax money generated from gas will decline, resulting in less tax money for the government to “appropriately” allocate. The government’s solution would be to install a vehicle tracking system to every vehicle, calculate the miles driven, and tax each person according to the vehicle tracking system’s record of how many miles were driven.

Vehicle Tracking: Solution or Problem?

Vehicle tracking systems have been commonly used by business to monitor driver’s mileage and other important data. The information provided by a vehicle-tracking system supplies businesses the essential data to enhance efficiency. However, when a person is on the clock working there is an understanding about the enforcement of vehicle tracking or GPS tracking technology.  The vehicle tracking systems not only make paperwork and documentation easier for employees, but the GPS tracking systems can also help in routing and planning. Therefore, employees and employers have a positive and progressive feeling about the vehicle tracking technology.

Vehicle tracking technology being used on company time is much different than vehicle tracking technology being used on personal time, and it has a completely different condonation and begins to cross constitutional rights that every American is entitled. Coexisting with a vehicle tracking system or other GPS monitoring system while on the job most people feel is acceptable and sometimes beneficial. However, when a vehicle tracking or GPS tracking system is being used to monitor an individual’s car on personal time is where the gray area begins to evolve. At first glance, yes it appears that a vehicle tracking system would effectively monitor and tax those who use the roadways more than those who rarely frequent the roadways. Doesn’t it seem like an easy solution? Unfortunately, the vehicle tracking or GPS tracking system would not only be recording an individual’s mileage driven but the vehicle tracking system would also be recording other specifics such as location, date, time, addresses, stops, etc. The vehicle tracking system could record whether an individual was at a bar. The vehicle tracking system could record whether an individual was speeding. The vehicle tracking system could record what church or other organizations a person is affiliated with. This is where the potential problem is with a vehicle tracking system being on every individual’s form of transportation.

GPS Tracking Data Provides too much Information?

GPS tracking systems provide such qualitative data that some people might feel an invasion of privacy if their car or motorcycle had a vehicle tracking or GPS tracking system monitoring it. If the vehicle tracking system records detailed information other than just mileage then there is the potential that the government could access and store the highly sensitive information. What could the government do with the information recorded from the vehicle tracking system? Are vehicle tracking systems the solution to the tax problem? Is there a better solution?

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2. Vehicle Tracking For Vacation
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Tarrytown, NY- When Dian Schuler was driving herself and five children in her minivan back from a camping trip nobody could have envisioned the tragedy about to occur. Diane placed a phone call to her brother stating that she was feeling disoriented and not feeling well overall. Her brother suggested that she pull the car over and he would meet her to either navigate her home or personally drive her. The next event was one of tragic proportions. Diane was involved in a car accident as she was driving the wrong way on the highway that led to the death of 7 people in total. Authorities were able to track the accident scene using GPS tracking system technology that was part of her cell-phone hardware.  Unfortunately, she did not have a vehicle tracking or GPS tracker installed to the vehicle so her brother could view her location in real-time and see that she was clearly in danger.

Vehicle Tracking Systems & GPS Tracking

Vehicle tracking systems and GPS tracking technology as a whole has been growing at an elevated rate over the past 5 years. Many people have false beliefs about vehicle tracking technology, believing for example that any cell phone can be traced via GPS tracking technology under any circumstances.  Although a government agency or police department can get an approximation on a person’s location using cell phone vehicle tracking technology, it is impossible to trace the location if the cell phone does not have power and the ability to transmit. Thankfully, Diane’s phone did have some battery life left and the authorities were able to use GPS tracking technology to quickly and accurately find her location.

Tragedy

Authorities are still trying to piece together the events that led to the fatal accident. Toxicology reports are being run to ensure alcohol or drugs did not play any involvement in the accident. One thing is for sure, vehicle tracking technology helped authorities discover the accident scene swiftly, and GPS tracking will continued to be used as a tool for authorities to try and help save lives.

Related posts:

1. Vehicle Tracking Helps Municipalities Large and Small
2. GPS Tracking Helps Schools Monitor School Buses and the Children in Them
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