Tracking Vehicles By Satellite

About a month ago I was having coffee at a local bistro and struck up a conversation with a truck driver for a national courier company. We got on the subject of adhering to strict delivery schedules and that's when I first found out about satellite tracking. His head office knows the location of all trucks within 1/4 mile. A receiver is installed in the truck and the signal is relayed to a tracking station by satellite.

That means no pulling off for roadside naps or taking an additional hour for meal breaks. In addition to locating the fleet, each parcel is bar-coded and scanned. The head office can track the exact location of the parcel by knowing which truck it was on and what depot(s) it was delivered to. It is scanned each time it is loaded and unloaded.

At first I thought it was a bit of a spy tactic. I wonder if any truckers feel this way? On the other hand, it can be a lifeline. Messages can be transmitted back and forth through a keyboard and monitor in the truck. If there is going to be a delay due to bad weather, the driver can notify head office. If he/she needs a tow truck due to mechanical breakdown, roadside assistance can be dispatched from the nearest town. Communication is always available where radios and cell phones can fail in areas of poor transmission.

Some of the more sophisticated systems have online maps and road reports. There are other systems whereby the home base can track the location of a vehicle through a messaging service on a cell phone. Customers can even call the truck on a cell phone or by accessing the tracking software.

I did some research on the internet on vehicle tracking systems and discovered that its use is just not limited to truck fleets. You can have a tracking system installed in your car. By doing this, you can easily discover the location of your car if it's being used with or without permission. The receiver is hidden so a thief cannot immediately find it or even be aware of a tracking system.

Aside from tracking car thieves, you can identify the location of a family member who is driving your car. You can see if "junior" is out joyriding or the progress of a family member on a long trip. From your home PC, you can communicate with the driver who has a portable keyboard and monitor in the vehicle. The driver can also look up maps and other reference material.

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