Types Of Vehicle Tracking Systems

Vehicle tracking is not just about fitting a tracking device into a certain vehicle and letting another remote piece of hardware home in on the device whenever the need arises. Vehicle tracking is a technology, and like most technologies it has undergone great changes ever since it was first introduced for use within the shipping industry. In addition, like most technologies, vehicle tracking requires a system of some sort for it to operate to its fullest potential.

A vehicle tracking system is a set or collection of electronic devices used to track down the located of a certain vehicle by its owners or other third party groups. The scope of these systems also includes the protocol these electronic devices use in order to communicate with each other and perform their functions as intended.

Modern day vehicle tracking systems include:

LoJack - LoJack is a vehicle tracking system developed and manufactured by LoJack Corporation. Its name, LoJack, is a rather comical derivative of the term "hijack".

LoJack is an extremely effective form of a vehicle tracking system. It markets itself as 90% effective in terms of vehicle recovery rate, and actual tests seem to support this statement. One particular study showed that the use of LoJack and other similar systems not only prevents carjackers from getting away but also decreases the occurrence of car thefts in general.

GPS - The GPS is the most common type of vehicle tracking system nowadays. It is a satellite system that is being monitored and maintained by the government, which makes it very cost-friendly to civilians.

Another friendly feature of the GPS is that, being a satellite tracking system, it does not require direct line of with the sky, which makes it extremely efficient in a lot of ways. A significant majority of law enforcement vehicles use GPS as their primary form of vehicle tracking system.

Another type of vehicle tracking systems is the LORAN, which uses radio frequency similar to LoJack.