Rocky Mountain Tracking

By Greg Bartlett

Many states have a system in place that requires registration of known sex offenders in the county where they live. In addition, many of these states require those with a profile that indicates a likelihood of them repeating their crimes to wear GPS tracking devices so that authorities can monitor their movements. However, there are two different approaches to GPS technology as it relates to known criminals. One is a passive mode that only produces data for review and corroboration after a problem arises. The other is an active mode that allows police to monitor the movements of known criminals in real time and catch them before they are able to harm another person when their device shows them behaving in a manner that indicates they are looking for a victim. Which system is best?

A few months ago, a case came up where a known sex offender was being tracked in real time by police. He began to move in a pattern that indicated he might be looking for a victim, and police were alerted and began to monitor him closely. When he found his intended victim and made an attempt to kidnap her, police were right there before he could do anything more than grope the woman and attempt to drag her into some bushes. He was arrested and sent to prison, the data from his GPS tracking device provided the physical evidence needed to get him convicted as a repeat offender and sent to prison. All this took place without any actual harm coming to his victim.

In a more recent case, a registered sex offender was arrested for attempting to rape and for killing a 13 year old girl in a field that was a frequent hang out for homeless transients. This man was also wearing a GPS tracking bracelet, but his was set up on a passive system that simply monitored and recorded data about his movements. That data was enough to get a full confession from him after his arrest, but a young girl is now dead.

With the two different systems for GPS tracking, it is sometimes difficult to decide whether active or passive monitoring is best. In the case of known sex offenders, the active mode seems to be the better choice because it can allow the authorities to act in a more timely manner that could save an innocent life while still providing the evidence of intent and the attempt that are needed to put the criminal away.

By Chris O’Toole

You already know that GPS can protect just about anything from your safety to your country. But what about the purest form of beauty and intellectual stimulation? What about that which captures the physical beauty of our world in an era where beauty is harder and harder to find? Well, don’t worry because GPS is like Batman, its jurisdiction has no borders.

Recently, “Alan” nearly lost something that cannot be replaced. Money, cars, and houses are tough to lose but are ultimately homogenous, insurable, and replaceable. A work of art lost is lost forever. “Alan” was not just a private collector. He was the proprietor of a renowned art museum that enlightened thousands of people every day. This robbery would have sucked divine inspiration from the face of the earth.

The robbers acquired the masterpiece by stealing it right off of the train that was transporting it. When the antiquated coal monster came to a halt, the handlers discovered that their package was not on the train. Paranoia ensued. Calls were made and authorities were alerted. Fortunately, the package was discovered in the dirt a few miles from the train station. It was opened and confirmed as the painting. Somehow they had gotten lucky.

Now, this could have been the end of the story without a GPS tracker. The result? The robbers walking away with the real painting with no one to discover the replica until the trail was completely cold. However, the collector immediately noticed a discrepancy between the tracker and the painting. Somehow, the tracker wasn’t in his living room. It was hundreds of miles away. The collector keenly appraised the painting and discovered the fraudulence.

Today, the real painting hangs brilliantly in the display of Alan’s museum and percolates the creativity, awe, and inspiration of thousands. The crude replica would have surely earned the disdain and disgust of Alan’s museum-goers as it was barely satisfactory enough for authorities to be duped. Fortunately, it never came to that with the clever implementation of a GPS tracker.

Many newer vehicles are coming out of the factory with GPS tracking systems built into them. However, they don’t offer the end user direct access to track their own vehicle, so most people prefer after market devices. More companies and individuals are adding GPS tracking systems to their existing vehicles that are not so equipped. The primary reason people are adding these systems are the reduction of car theft and an increase in the rates of recovery and arrest in the cases of theft. An added benefit of having a GPS tracking system in a vehicle is the ability to save lives in the event of an accident.

If a GPS vehicle tracking system is wired into the vehicle’s systems in such a way as to be activated when the airbag is deployed, it immediately begins broadcasting a signal upon impact. Some companies have a dispatcher or other person monitoring for the appearance of these GPS signals who can contact emergency services as soon as the signal appears and direct them to the exact location of the accident. This can be a life saver in rural areas.

Individuals who own vehicles equipped with a GPS tracking system often subscribe to a service that monitors for signals from the system and can contact emergency services. Some of these services even have the ability to establish voice contact and determine the severity of possible injuries to pass along to EMS personnel responding. Sometimes, especially in a bad accident, just hearing someone talking to one is enough to help calm him/her enough to prevent shock from complicating major injuries. Having someone contact him/her at the indication of an accident can have lifesaving calming effects. This can make a person feel that someone is watching out for him/her when he/she needs it.

GPS technology has created many new systems that have a multitude of uses from navigation to tracking and locating stolen vehicles. One little realized, yet huge, benefit of having a GPS tracking system installed in a vehicle is the ability to have a signal automatically activated in the event of an accident that can alert someone to the accident who can locate the nearest emergency services and have help dispatched within just a few seconds of the accident. GPS vehicle tracking, in this scenario, is truly a lifesaving system because it reduces the time lag between the occurrence of an accident and the notification of authorities from possible hours in a rural area to only seconds. This gives EMS personnel a better chance of arriving in time to provide lifesaving care if needed.

By Jackie Gately

According a US Department of Justice study, 75% of law enforcement calls for domestic abuse assistance occur after separating from batterers. The risk to personal safety escalates once an abusive relationship ends. Consider taking these steps to increase your protection.

1. If there is reason to believe you will be stalked or your personal safety is at risk, the local police station can issue an emergency restraining order that includes your home and work.

   
   

2. If you believe your children are at risk, extend the order to schools. Provide supporting paperwork to school officials.

   
   

3. If you must drop-off or pick-up children for visitation, do so at a pre-arranged, public place. Keep your car doors locked.

   
   

4. If approached by your batterer, don’t get out of the car or even roll the window down more than a few inches. Better still, drive away.

   
   

5. Let neighbors know what’s going on and use their curious nature to your advantage: welcome the extra pair of eyes making sure you’re safe.

   
   

6. Inform neighbors, co-workers and children to call 911 if they see the batterer near your home or work.

   
   

7. Install a GPS tracking device in your car so someone you trust knows where you are at all times.

   
   

8. Carry a cell phone. If you can’t afford one, contact The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence for a phone equipped with 911 service.

   
   

9. Avoid places where you expect your batterer to be. Likewise, don’t advertise your whereabouts to avoid an unexpected visit.

   
   

10. Keep house doors and windows locked, including back doors and garage entrances.

    
    

11. Don’t accept or respond to the batterers phone calls, emails or text messages. Interacting invites the cycle of violence to begin again.

    
    

12. Keep pepper spray handy. A spray to the face and eyes might provide the moment you need to escape an unwelcomed visit. Pepper spray is legal in all fifty states, but check about specific laws regarding purchase, possession, and use.

    
    

13. Keep a phone by your bedside to call for help if you wake up to a home invasion or suspect entry.

    
    

14. Get a house alarm or a dog to alert you to visitors.

    
    

15. Some states, including Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Utah, and Washington, allow electronic monitoring as part of a restraining order. A GPS tracking device alerts authorities if a batterer enters a restricted zone.

Jackie Gately is a freelance writer. She can be reached at jackiegately.wordpress.com.

GPS tracking technology is not just for serious business, it is also being used quite often for play.

Geocaching is a high tech, modern-day version of a scavenger hunt and the whole world is playing. Using a handheld GPS device, you can join in the fun of searching for hidden objects using clues that you have obtained online.

Geocaching has its own etiquette. Since this is a game for families and people of all ages, you should not hide anything that is risque or something sharp like a knife. And once you have tracked down a cache, you are asked to make a even or better exchange by leaving a item of equal or greater value to replace what you have taken from the cache. After you find a cache, you are also asked to make a record of your experience by writing in the logbook you find at the cache and by also making note of your find online.

People playing this GPS-aided scavenger hunt are using handheld GPS devices and these are not the same as the GPS tracking devices that Rocky Mountain Tracking sells, but they still demonstrate the power of GPS tracking technology. When an object need to be found , GPS tracking can help. The handheld GPS devices can help find geocache items buried deep in the ground. A GPS tracking device can keep track of an object even in hard to reach locations.

If you are need to keep track of or find something then you want a GPS tracking device that can pinpoint movement and give you an accurate record of what moved where and when. We don’t like to think about out property being stolen, but it is good to know that we have a way to get it back should something like that occur. And it is not always theft you have to worry about: some business owners have found that GPS tracking alerted them to the ways in which their employees were misusing equipment.

For example you can use GPS tracking as an anti-theft solution to keep an eye on your equipment because you cannot be with it at all times. You have the option of buying a GPS tracking system to track your equipment on a continuing basis or one that works on-demand, giving you location information only when you need it.

By RMT GPS News

Researchers at the University of the West of England, Bristol, found that an in-car information system from GPS could improve the safety of older drivers, according to Science Daily.

Older drivers currently face difficulty with reading signs which distracts their focus from the road causing them to driver slower. It’s believed that an information system in the vehicle advising them of road signs could increase their reaction time. The system would display road signs, track the vehicles position, and give audible notifications of events, such as, speed, speed limit changes, etc.

Researchers also believe this would build their confidence and give them continued independence. A survey was conducted among 65 to 85 year old men and women. It was determined there was a positive psychological effect with those who were still driving as the freedom gave them a better quality of life.

On the other side there are advocates against older drivers who are trying to place limitations on them. A system is currently in development that will put restrictions on senior’s driving. It would regulate speed and distance between vehicles. A survey shows strong opposition to this new system that would restrict drivers.

Although, the in-car information system utilizing GPS has created favorable interest among many, Dr. Charles Musselwhite, who led the study says, “Our research highlights issues that have been overlooked by car designers and those advising older people on lifestyles.” He also points out that his primary objective is to promote safe driving and independence.

Dr. Charles Musselwhite is not alone in his findings. Researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have found that seniors who continue driving are less likely to enter nursing homes or assisted living centers than those who have never driven or have given up on driving. An increase in senior independence also makes sense from a financial perspective as nursing homes are costing patients approximately $69,000 annually. The Hopkins study findings were published by the American Journal of Public Health. The study was conducted over a 10-year period 1,593 seniors between 65 and 84 years of age.

“We hope that understanding the very real health impact that losing the ability to drive has on seniors will encourage families to plan contingencies to assist elderly members with transportation issues,” says Ellen Freeman, Ph.D., an epidemiological researcher at Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute.

Technology developed by Mobileye already offers the ability that could increase the safety of seniors behind the wheel. Their camera-based safety solution for accident prevention offers audible alerts, such as, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, and headway monitoring and warning.

The promotion of safe driving by seniors with the use of GPS is not a completely new concept. “It has been our belief for several years that the implementation of GPS tracking technology will improve safety among older drivers and give them the freedom they deserve,” says Brad Borst, President of Rocky Mountain Tracking, Inc., which is one of the leading GPS tracking companies in the United States. In fact, they have written many articles to introduce the idea, such as: Keeping Track of Elderly Relatives, and GPS Tracking Can Help Seniors Stay Independent, just to name a couple.

Borst says family members and care givers are most concerned about the SAFETY of older drivers. The company receives numerous reports that older drivers occasionally have a temporary phase of disorientation and need some guidance getting back to a street they are familiar with to get where they are going. This often leads to the senior being stranded without help and a family member worried not knowing where the elderly person is located.

The company’s RMT Rover GPS vehicle tracking system has provided their GPS to hundreds of elderly drivers. The tracking is conveniently accessible online from any computer allowing the senior additional safety and the care giver peace of mind.

When we tell you that installing GPS tracking devices can save you money, many times we are referring to the savings you get when your vehicles are running more efficiently and there is less were and tear on them. The decrease in wear and tear means that your vehicles will need to be repaired less often and will last longer.

However, there are other ways in which GPS tracking systems can help you to save money that do not involve keeping your vehicles in good repair.

One Tampa Bay police department found that some of its officers were attempting to “save” the department money by using the vehicles less…however, they were still harging the department for hours that they did not work. So in reality, they were attempting to defraud their employer. The police department set out to investigate a number of its officers with them aim of getting to the bottom of suspected fraud.
After reviewing records from GPS tracking systems in conjunction with time cards, receipts for gas and records of surveillance, investigators found that four officers were being less than honest about the hours they were working. The investigation showed that one tenth of the officers who were investigated were not being truthful about the hours they were working. On the one hand it is good to know that a majority of the officers are not trying to get more pay than they deserve. Still, though with municipal budgets getting tightened everywhere, municipalities can’t afford to let money be siphoned away in this manner.

The four officers who were found to be padding their work logs with hours that they were not working no longer work for the police department. Three of them retired and one of them was fired.

On the other hand, GPS tracking technology does not only let you know when vehicles are not being used, it can also alert you to unauthorized use of company vehicles. With our software you can not only track but easily establish an alert system for events like a driver going outside of a designated area or staying idle for too long. Idle time and stops at unauthorized locations can become costly for your business; with a GPS system you can ensure that this does not become a problem.

Call Rocky Mountain Tracking at 877-477-9668 to speak with an expert about the GPS tracking system that will work best for your company and help you manage your fleet.

Some areas of Florida will now see a program that is similar to “Amber Alert,” except that it aims to keep senior citizens safe rather than young children.

“Silver Alert” will give information about the physical attributes, as well as the make and model of the missing senior citizen’s car, along with letting the public know where the person was last seen.

Florida is not the only state to enact this program, other states including North Carolina, Texas, Colorado and Michigan also have similar programs. Some of the inspiration for Florida’s Silver Alert program came after a woman in her eighties perished in her car a week after she had driven away from the assisted living facility where she lived.

It is great that some states have decided to enact programs such as Silver Alert to help families keep track of elderly loved ones. But we want you to know that you have options and can implement safety measures of your own whether your state has them or not.

A GPS tracking device can be used to keep track of parents or other elderly loved ones. As the case in Florida demonstrated, an elderly person who is not incapacitated can still come to harm if they wander off the beaten path or somehow become disoriented. Haven’t you been lost yourself? You probably have, but you likely also have a cell phone or perhaps even a GPS tracking device in your car so that you could be found. Don’t you want to do the same for your elderly loved one?

Your family members or the staff at an assisted living facility may not be able to prevent an elderly relative from getting lost, but you can use GPS tracking to make certain that they stay safe.

A personal GPS tracking device can give you up to the minute information about someone’s whereabouts and keep you informed of their movements. This means that your loved one will not have to wander far, for you to be aware that they are not where they are supposed to be. You will not have to endure a heartbreaking search that lasts for days and days and your elderly loved one will not have to go through a prolonged period of disorientation and discomfort.

Call Rocky Mountain Tracking and talk to one of our experts about a GPS tracker.

As we get ready to embrace a new national administration, that new administration is preparing to take up where the previous one left off. From all indications the hand-off will go smoothly, but if you have ever taken over for someone then you know that this is not always the case.

One set of administrators in a Tennessee school system experienced this firsthand a few years ago and we can only hope that things have improved since then. When they took over, they were strapped with a suit from bus drivers who claimed that they had received adequate pay for the extra hours that they had worked. Can you imagine starting a job with a lawsuit on your hands from day one? Those who file the suit said it was aimed at the former administration, but the lawsuit surely brought some headaches when the new group came on board.

For their part, school officials in the previous administration alleged that the bus drivers had doctored the timesheets or filled them our fraudulently in order to claim more pay than they deserved.

Had this school system been using a GPS tracking system to monitor bus routes, they might have been spared this lawsuit. Whether you have a fleet of school buses or a fleet of limos, using GPS tracking for fleet management can aid in accurate record keeping, saving you time and money.

With GPS tracking, you can–
Eliminate paper logs. GPS software keeps a digital log of speed, stops, route, and arrival times. This record is far more accurate and harder to dispute than paper logs. A digital record is not subject to human error. It creates more detailed records without any additional hassle.

Prevent  fraudulent claims. With a good digital log you can prove that your fleet was where it needed to be when it needed to be there

Increase Efficiency. On average, each vehicle could complete at least one extra stop, job, or delivery per week by using the one of our web based systems.

Improve  response time and  customer service. By knowing where your vehicles at all times on a real time map, dispatchers can easily send the nearest vehicle when a new job arises. This saves both money and time.

Monitor  driver activities. Many of Rocky Mountain Tracking’s systems report all vehicle activity and immediately alert fleet managers by cell phone and email of speeding and unauthorized use of company vehicles.

The typical mid-sized moving company has anywhere from 20 to 30 trucks in their inventory, ranging from the small U Haul type of truck to big-rig size trucks for those big moves. With so many trucks driving so many different places, it’s crucial that fleet safety managers have a strong fleet safety program. Besides the normal elements of a safety program such as ongoing safety instruction and awareness and continuous fleet safety maintenance, fleet managers should also ensure that the fleet is installed with the latest and best safety devices. One such device is the Lane Departure Warning system, a necessary ingredient for any successful fleet safety program.

How does it work?
The Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system utilizes a simple enough forward facing camera that’s mounted inconspicuously on the front windshield. This “high-tech” camera then takes continuous pictures of the lane markings and then transmits that information to an electronic chip. That chip then is able to notify the driver of any unintentional lane swerving by both an audible rumbling sound and through a visual alert on the dashboard. This notification can be given to the driver even before he actually moves into the other lane, or if preferred, only once the driver begins to cross the lane. This high-tech system is so advanced that it can even read lane markings during inclement weather such as snow, rain, or a deep fog. Nighttime reading is also no problem for this high-tech device.

Picture the following scenario. Imagine that a moving van driver is caught in traffic and he’s trying to reach his destination in time. He calls his client to tell them that he is stuck in traffic, and without noticing it he swerves into the other lane. He hears a loud honking from a car that he failed to see in that lane. Luckily, he moves back into his lane just before he causes an accident. With the LDW system, this near miss would never have happened. That’s because as soon as the driver starts to unintentionally drift from his lane, he’s alerted by both an audible and visual alert. The near miss is averted and the driver continues on his way.

Driver-based technology systems improve fleet safety by reducing the number of accidents on the road.