Five Reasons Why a GPS Tracking System is Better than Cell Phone Tracking
What do you do when a loved one has gone missing or an employee inexplicably falls behind schedule, and they aren’t answering their cell phone? As worry starts to set in, the first instinct might me to track them down with Enhanced 911. Another, and probably better strategy, would be to use a real-time GPS vehicle tracking system.
E-911 is the ability to track someone down by using their cell phone. Just about everybody carries a mobile device. All mobile phones have this basic service because it was ordered by the Federal Communications Commission after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It is supposed to provide authorities with latitude and longitude coordinates. That information should be enough to narrow down a search to a certain area.
This service normally lies dormant in a phone until it is “pinged” at the request of emergency authorities.
In many cases this does work and certainly many lives have been saved as a result of the FCC’s forward-thinking. Just recently Eric Smith of Rock Falls, IL was arrested for allegedly abducting his girlfriend’s 13-year-old daughter Joy Haahr and taking off to California with her. Police tracked the two down in Iowa using the kidnapper’s cell phone tracking system.
But there are tragic stories as well. A year ago in nearby Quincy, IL, a motorcyclist was ejected from his bike on a rural road late at night. He called 911 but did not know his location, and later he passed out. Emergency responders could only get a read on his location a swath about a mile wide. The phone lost power. The man ended up in a farm field and died before he could be found.
Here are five reasons why vehicle tracking systems are preferable to cell phone tracking:
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GPS tracking is always “on.”
With cell phone tracking, the phone must be turned on, so you must have a willing recipient to the tracking. A California college student James Wernke has been missing since Dec. 12. His cell phone either died or was turned off, preventing police from tracking it. Vehicle tracking systems are always on while the car is moving, as long as there is battery power (or vehicle electrical supply).
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GPS receivers are not tied to towers.
Sometimes phones are equipped with GPS tracking chips but usually that tracking is done by triangulation of cell phone towers. Think of the times you’ve dropped a call or had no signal on your cell phone and then decide if this is dependable service in a crisis. Wireless providers track the location of a missing person’s phone. Sometimes the caller could be more than a mile away from a tower and not in good cell range. Vehicle tracking systems are tied to GPS tracking satellites, which are much more accurate and reliable.
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GPS tracking provides more data.
E-911 acts on a “ping” or a prompt and it provides a single latitude and longitude locale with each shot. It’s a snapshot in time. Vehicle tracking will depict an entire trip on a map, because it grabs GPS tracking coordinates at regular intervals. Vehicle tracking systems also tell the user about speed and direction. More information is better.
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You track, rather than police.
Cell phone tracking is for the greatest of emergencies and police and emergency personnel get the location readings, not you. With vehicle tracking systems, there is no need to have police or emergency services involved. We all worry terribly in situations that are not technically emergencies. A college student delayed by weather, a husband who took a last-minute detour and an elderly parent who is late to return from bridge club are all cause for concern. A vehicle tracking system would find them.
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GPS tracking devices have better location accuracy.
Cell phone locating is generally pinpointed within several hundred yards and in extreme cases, it’s stretched to a quarter mile. When you’re trying to find a person, that’s an awful big area to cover. GPS tracking systems are accurate within feet.
The world will never give up its mobile handheld devices. They are like an appendage of our own bodies. Since we are almost never separated from our phones, it is a very good idea to have the ability to track them and the FCC is to be applauded for requiring e-911.
But it is not foolproof. A GPS-based vehicle tracking system will provide more precise information and it can be accessed sooner. When someone goes missing, action can be taken immediately, before things go from bad to worse and panic sets in.
Source: Good Morning America; The Quad-City Times
Tags: cell phone, Communication, emergency, GPS, Towers
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