Geo fencing notifies you when an electronically tracked asset in motion, such as a car, boat, or person equipped with a vehicle tracking device, crosses a virtual boundary. The notification can be sent to a cell phone, email, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or a web-based tracking software. It usually includes the time, date and location that the virtual boundary was crossed, allowing for an immediate investigation or response to the situation.
The geo fence may be used to monitor whether a tracked asset stays within certain boundaries. It can also warn of an asset’s approach to a location, in the case of reverse geo fencing.
Geo fencing uses a Global Positioning System (GPS) vehicle tracking or other equipped with GPS technology to compare the asset position to predefined virtual boundaries. The geo fence may be established as a simple shape, such as a rectangle surrounding your yard, or as large, polygonal, overlapping areas. It can also define “off-limits” destinations, like an address or geographic area.
Most commonly used to manage mobile employees–a topic of hot debate–geo fencing applications are in their infancy. A broad range of applications potentially lies ahead. The following lists just a few of the current geo fencing uses.
Use a geo fence to:
Manage a fleet of delivery drivers, service technicians, sales representatives, school buses, taxis, snowplows and town vehicles within a region
Limit fleet travel and sales regions to specific routes
Ensure up-to-the-minute safety of valuable, hazardous or dangerous cargo
Manage employees by exception rather than scrutinizing trusted employees
Provide advance warning of arrival at customer sites, docking bays, and ports in order to minimize loading and unloading delays
Prevent crossing of city, state, or region borders or out of country cargo shipments
Provide warning that a child, family member or pet is leaving a yard, block, or city limits
Remotely disable vehicles if a boundary that has been crossed is restricted, unauthorized or unsafe
Alert victims of the approach of a known violent or sexual predator
Track domestic violence or sex offenders to enforce probation stipulations
Prevent vehicles from being stolen or used for unauthorized or illegal purposes
Prevent wildlife from infringing on livestock or crop raiding, such as in the case of Kenya’s Save the Elephant group.
Jackie Gately is a freelance writer. She can be reached at jackiegately.wordpress.com.
When deciding what type of GPS tracking system to buy, factor in how quickly you will need access to the data it gathers. There are two types of systems with very different handling of the data they collect.
An active GPS tracking system—also known as a “real-time” or “live tracking” system— provides almost immediate access to the location of vehicles, people, and property. Data collected by the tracking device is sent by cellular or satellite transmitter to a remote location within just a few seconds. It is ideal if you need up-to-the-minute information to respond to alerts, reroute drivers from traffic and accidents, and quickly react to an emergency. In addition to capturing precise location information, an active tracking system can report current rates of speed, direction of travel, ignition status, and even allow you to watch movement on your screen turn by turn. Some active systems instantly report alerts, such as out-of-boundaries travel or speeding violations, to a web-based tracking software which is accessible from any computer.
For less urgent information needs, consider a passive GPS tracking system, such as, the GPS Tracking Key. Passive tracking devices can offer a less expensive alternative to their active counterparts. They typically collect the same information as an active tracking system, like location, rates of speed, and travel routes. However, the data is recorded on an internal memory device (memory card or flash memory). It can be downloaded to a computer later, making it an excellent choice for less time-sensitive applications.
Whether data is collected by a GPS tracking device in real time or passively, both types of systems send data to be integrated with some type of map for analysis. The map may take the form of software provided with the GPS device, or it may be part of a web-based portal, like Google Earth or Microsoft Virtual Earth. The maps provide a realistic geographic representation of the area. Some mapping systems provide advanced analysis and reporting and tools to allow you to scrutinize data, find trends, or change visual perspective of the travel area.
Only you can decide which type of GPS tracking system meets your personal or business needs. With some research and careful consideration, you can rest assured that you’ve made the best decision to provide access to the data you need, and—more importantly—when you need it.
Jackie Gately is a freelance writer. She can be reached at jackiegately.wordpress.com.
The work of conducting a census starts long before the actual census begins. Those who will conduct our next census next year in 2010 have already begun to prepare, recruit additional workers and put the systems in place that will be needed to ensure the information that gathered gives an accurate account of our country’s population.
And before that data can be collected, officials need to get data on who actually lives where before they can get further assessments. This year officials in Ohio have already started looking for people that they can train to take on address canvassing.
This time all of the work to verify every address in the entire country will be conducted using an auto tracking device. So to all those people who think that the government is behind the times and moves slowly to adapt new technology, this will be welcome news. The government is not going to rely on paper and pencil alone as they count and get basic information on its citizens; it will be using GPS tracking to assist.
Although GPS tracking systems will be used in this process, officials still want to employ people to work in the areas where they live. And this makes sense because sending people to work in areas that are unfamiliar seems counterproductive no matter what kind of GPS tracking technology is being used as an aid.
GPS can also aid you in any number of projects. If you want to get an accurate record of vehicle use, a GPS tracking device can help. Whether you want to track your teenager, track your employees, track a person or even track your own driving habits, Rocky Mountain Tracking has a GPS tracking device that will work for you.
Call Rocky Mountain Tracking (RMT) today to speak with a knowledgeable expert who can assess your tracking needs and help you choose the GPS tracking device that will work best for you. RMT sells both active and passive tracking devices. You can pick a device and plan that will suit your needs and budget. There are even some tracking devices that you only pay for when you use them. With RMT’s state-of-the art NavIQ software, you can track your vehicle anywhere in the United States. GPS tracking products from RMT start at just $199 with no monthly fee.
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.
If you drive a vehicle, you probably record your mileage from time-to-time. Whether it’s for your tax records, employer, or just to find out how far and where someone else went with your vehicle, almost everyone has the need to track their vehicle and mileage.
The Tracking Key is the ideal tracking device to track mileage and keep track of travel history records. The device is a passive GPS that will record exact mileage, routes and addresses, speeds, dates and times.
Writing down your mileage from the odometer is a thing of the past. Who remembers to do that anyway? Sure, you remember to write down your starting mileage, but three stops later, you remember that you forgot to write that ending mileage. Those days are gone. Now, there’s a device that does it all for you. Now, you will be able to turn in mileage reports to your company with confidence that your records are accurate. If ever questioned, you will have the proof you need to back your word.
The GPS Tracking Key will accurately evaluate travel activities with proof of exact date, time, speed, direction of travel and location, and stop duration, and mileage. This system has a built-in antenna, and uses 2 AAA batteries which last about 4 weeks. The device will record 100 hours of movement and it pauses when it’s not in motion.
This mileage tracker is water resistant and equipped with a powerful magnet for convenient placement inside or outside the vehicle. The software is loaded with reports and maps and animates the vehicle movement on the map. The Tracking Key is hugely popular and the most reliable passive GPS device with many thousands being sold over the past few years. The Tracking Key can be purchased from Rocky Mountain Tracking, Inc. at www.RMTracking.com or call toll free at 877-477-9668. Order today and start tracking tomorrow!
Officials in Gloucester Township announced they have equipped three busses with GPS vehicle tracking systems according to the Courier Post. They say the reason for installing them is to gather information to prevent accidents.
In the past 3 years the district says they have had 40 bus crashes. The global positioning systems allow them to see the exact speed and location of the buses at all times, and they believe the data will identify driving practices that typically cause crashes.
The GPS tracking systems are linked with its municipal police department. The security and awareness is an added value brought on by the trackers as well as a panic button the bus driver can push to report a problem to police and the school. If the panic button is pushed, it immediately sends an alert to school officials, police dispatch, and a police supervisor.
The town received funding for the devices from the state’s Division of Highway Traffic Safety. A representative of the state’s Division of Highway Traffic Safety said she would like to see other districts implement GPS vehicle tracking systems for the safety of children. The district plans to continue adding GPS technology to their other busses as well. Since the trackers have been installed, no crashes have occurred on the buses that are being tracked.
It’s apparent that safety is not the only thing to gain here. Some GPS companies, like Rocky Mountain Tracking, have developed advanced tracking software that will help with fuel economy and reduce operating costs. The software will even identify which vehicles are idling longer than others or which vehicles are being used during restricted hours and days.
In the recent years, the cost of this technology has dropped significantly making it more affordable for schools and businesses to purchase. It’s believed that by the year 2012, nearly all commercial vehicles will be equipped with vehicle tracking systems.
A man came home to an empty house and his mentally ill wife nowhere to be found. Her car was missing as well. Fortunately, a GPS vehicle tracking device had thoughtfully been installed in her car prior to the incident. Not having a computer he was able to call the GPS company to get help in tracking down his wife. Through the web-based NavIQ tracking software, the GPS company (Rocky Mountain Tracking) was able to find the car and direct the police to a local park where the woman was about to take some pills and end her life.
Fortunately for both of them they were able to save her in time, all because of a little GPS vehicle tracking device. What’s even more important about this story is that this had been the fourth time the man had been able to make use of the GPS device in finding his wife in similar situations when she was apparently attempting to take her own life. Can you imagine if that were your loved one or someone you cared about?
Businesses use GPS for fleet and mobile asset tracking, parents use them for teen driving, but who knew you could have peace of mind with a person addicted to drugs? This incident is another incredible example of the variety of applications for vehicle tracking.
But to be fair we have to look at both sides of this issue: car dealers and leasing agencies also have some rights and they can also use GPS vehicle tracking technology to assist them in asserting these rights. Some consumers who default on their loans are given adequate notice about pending repossession and they do what they can to avoid it.
Repossession agents have pointed to an average rise of 15-20 per cent in the number of vehicles repossessed daily, and the number of repossessions jumped 10 percent in 2007.
As car repossessions hit a 10-year high in 2008, Rocky Mountain Tracking’s Smart Track GPS device can help car dealers and leasing agencies trace and recover their vehicles with minimal fuss. Repossession agents are not the bad guys; they are doing their jobs and would prefer it if they could carry out orders quickly and efficiently.
If this is your line of work, consider Rocky Mountain Tracking’s Smart Track solution. This discreet, anti-theft device can be installed unobtrusively in a vehicle and only need to be activated if and when it is necessary. You will only pay tracking fees if the car actually needs to be tracked. When the car is not being tracked, the tracking device rests out of sight.
“You could go for several years without ever having to pay any fees, and rest assured that your vehicles are protected with vehicle tracking,” says Brad Borst of Rocky Mountain Tracking. “In the event that a customer defaults on payment or a vehicle is stolen, you can pay a few dollars to recover the vehicle. At your command, the Smart Track car tracking web-based software will provide the vehicle’s current location and the vehicle’s starter can be disabled.”
If you lease cars, you certainly hope that it will not be necessary to track down any of the cars that your business has lent to consumers. But just in case you do need to get one of your vehicles, you can be proactive by already having a GPS vehicle tracking device like the Smart Track solution in place and ready to go when you need it.
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.
It is likely that some of you reading this have heard that GPS tracking can make a difference in the way you run your business, but you are probably skeptical. Maybe you think that one more machine, gadget or gizmo means one more thing you need to keep track of and you don’t have time.
Well, think again.
Certainly there are some machines and gadgets that end up wasting more time than they save, but this is not the case with a GPS tracking system. And when you purchase a GPS tracking system from Rocky Mountain Tracking (RMT), you get continued customer service, so you are not on your own.
One company in North Carolina took the GPS tracking challenge and found that tracking devices really do make a difference.
To make operations more efficient, this trucking company added GPS tracking devices to its fleet of trucks, which is made up of delivery and service units. And one year later they are quite pleased with the results. The general manager estimates that the company’s fuel costs have gone down by 20 percent, while at the same time they were able to increase productivity by 40 percent. Can you imagine–a significant reduction in overhead and a substantial increase in productivity? You many be able to lower your fuel costs by 15-20% of more.
While your business may be running smoothly, even you have to admit that you may need some help in order to achieve those kinds of results. And there is nothing wrong with getting a little help. With Rocky Mountain Tracking, you get the best of both worlds–sophisticated technology and dedicated human assistance.
RMT provides high quality GPS tracking systems to consumers and businesses nationwide. Our products can be used for a wide variety of different purposes, including: GPS theft tracking, vehicle tracking and fleet tracking. Our devices can track an object’s speed and work flawlessly with our software to display your data in an easy-to-read format. To find the device that works best for you, compare our products and you’ll be able to find the perfect product with the features you need.
Check out some of these testimonials from our satisfied customers and give us a call at (877) 477-9668 to see how we can help you save money and streamline your operations.
The geo fence may be used to monitor whether a tracked asset stays within certain boundaries. It can also warn of an asset’s approach to a location, in the case of reverse geo fencing.
Comments (0)
Feb 03 2009
For less urgent information needs, consider a passive GPS tracking system, such as, the 
In the past 3 years the district says they have had 40 bus crashes. The global positioning systems allow them to see the exact speed and location of the buses at all times, and they believe the data will identify driving practices that typically cause crashes. 
Fortunately for both of them they were able to save her in time, all because of a little GPS vehicle tracking device. What’s even more important about this story is that this had been the fourth time the man had been able to make use of the GPS device in finding his wife in similar situations when she was apparently attempting to take her own life. Can you imagine if that were your loved one or someone you cared about? 
