Kyle's Corner (FYI) Making certain your pride and joy stays with you

October 29, 11:46 AMAutomotive ExaminerKyle Busch

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The Skytrak GPS system

E Car Security.com

If you drive an upper
level vehicle that was
manufactured a couple
years ago, it is increasingly
unlikely that crooks will
be able to lift your pride
and joy. Rolling code
alarm systems and more
advanced vehicle immobilizer
systems mean that vehicle
thieves cannot simply learn
to hotwire a vehicle from a
few videos.

However, one problem solved
does not make for complete
security as more recently a new trend is happening in which crocks break into
homes to get possession of vehicle keys. Now the debate around the office cooler
is where one should leave vehicle keys before the owner retires for the night.
Forgo leaving the keys on a hall table as some angling crooks have used a fishing
rod to secure the keys through the mail box slot. On the other hand, some people
prefer to leave keys where a crook can find them rather than having to possibly
confront the thief.

TrackStar is an arm of security provider TraficMaster. It is the UK’s market
leader is vehicle recovery systems. Similar to other systems on the market, the
heart of the system involves a black box installed in an unknown location of
the vehicle. It detects unauthorized vehicle movement if the vehicle should be
loaded on a flat bed truck and it uses GPS to track the vehicle if it is driven off.
The central control system is able to track the vehicle’s location, direction, and
speed. If the GPS signal is not able to be received by TrackStar, the vehicle can
be located through GSM (Global Systems Mobile telecommunication) positioning.

TrackStar can also record the amount of driving the owner has done each
day for business or personal use as well as the time of day the driving took
place. Additionally, the driver can enter the business mileage rate and the
system will calculate the correct amount of mileage reimbursement
for each month of driving.

The mileage reimbursement tracker is a great asset as most people
(unless you are extremely organized) end up at their desk with a stack of
fuel receipts, a PC logged on to Google maps and with some luck hopefully
claim roughly the amount of money they are owed for business driving.

The vehicle tracking sticker in the window of a vehicle is a great initial
deterrent for a vehicle crook. In addition to protecting your vehicle
investment, car tracking systems will also help to lower your insurance
rate. Anything that promotes driving and lowers insurance costs is a
good thing indeed!

Visit the following link to see the Skytrak tracking system.

Kyle Busch is the author of “Drive the Best for the Price…” He
welcomes your comments or car questions at his auto web site:
www.DriveTheBestBook.com.