GPS Tracking Foils Carjackers

Here’s a tip for the next time someone brazenly steals your car from you: Leave your phone inside. The GPS tracking unit inside your phone could help bring about an entirely different result than the carjackers intended.

That’s what happened to a driver on the streets of Ludhiana, India, when he slowed down his car to make a phone call. Pawan Kumar was driving home one evening when another car stopped in front of him, two men got out, and Kumar was forced from his vehicle at gunpoint. Fortunately for Kumar, his cell phone remained in the vehicle. When he reported the incident to police, they were able to use the GPS tracking signal from his phone to locate the car.

Cell phones aren’t the only ways to protect your car from theft, however. There are many GPS units available on the market that have been designed for cars and other vehicles. They can provide invaluable information to the police in the event of a theft, so much so that many law enforcement departments have begun using “bait cars” to track down car thieves in areas of high theft incidence. Police equip a vehicle with a tracking device, place that vehicle in a tempting location, and leave it unattended. When the car is stolen, they can follow the signal directly to the location of the thieves. In some cases, entire theft rings have been apprehended using the bait car method.

Vehicle GPS devices can be used for other purposes as well. Many businesses use them to decrease fuel usage and increase worker efficiency. Parents use them to keep an eye on their teen drivers. Family members use them for safety purposes to keep tabs on a loved one who travels a lot. And they’ve even been used to answer questions about unexplained travel or late nights. Whatever questions you have about how your vehicle is being used, GPS tracking can help you find answers.

Perhaps the most common reason people install the omniscient little devices, however, is to protect their cars from theft. Thanks to GPS tracking, police recovered Pawan Kumar’s stolen car and identified the three alleged thieves. It’s something you hope never happens to you. But if it does, GPS tracking can be there to help you pick up the pieces, apprehend the thieves, and get your vehicle back.

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GPS Tracking Foils Carjackers