In order for us to understand what GPS tracking is we should probably take a quick look at something everyone has experience with – shipping a package. If you go with a courier service to ship your package you might get a long list of all the available services that the courier is offering. Some of the services will be automatic, like getting a conformation that your package has been delivered, and they will not cost you a penny. One option that is going to end up costing you some money is to get your package tracked with GPS tracking technology. This type of service is now offered by most couriers.

GPS is an acronym that stands for Global Positioning System. It was developed by the U.S. Military based off of the principle of trilateration. GPS has many applications and has been developed over the years to the point where it has become extremely affordable for companies and consumers to implement. GPS has been great for people to interact with maps in a whole new way – from driving navigation to wilderness exploration. This technology is great because it can be used by anyone for almost any reason to interact with their geography.

Trilateration allows for the computer system in a GPS device to be able to place that device in the know world. Trilateration takes the known distance from three or more satellites and uses it to figure out where the device is on the surface of the earth. In the hands of a courier, this device will track their movements from delivery to delivery. If it is a tracking device, courier companies can track the package in real time as it goes with the courier and they can make that data available to their customers.

The tracking feature of GPS tracking devices is created by communication over some type of wireless network. Most devices are going to communicate over a GSM, or cell phone, network while others are going to do so via commercial communication satellites. Either way, once the device knows its location it communicates that data over this wireless transmission infrastructure so that other people know where the tracker is in the world.

When it was first developed, this technology was so expensive only the US military could take advantage of it. But now, after years and years of the computer revolution, it is so affordable that it is getting crammed into practically every single mobile gadget in the world. Cell phone, personal navigation devices, and PDAs are just a few of the things that come with GPS pretty much standard. Cell phones are probably the single most powerful GPS tracking device in the world right now in terms of it availability, cheap cost, and widespread use. There are billions of cell phone in the world right now and more and more of them are being created with GPS technology each and every day. It is only a matter of time before we all start using GPS tracking for every day things.

Those that have not taken a moment to inquire about GPS tracking for cars could be in danger of having their vehicle stolen with no chance of recovery. Some might not have looked into it because they feel that GPS trackers are only for those that have a lot of money, or that they are unnecessary for safety. It is important to understand that neither of these ideas has basis in fact and are just excuses that people use to try and minimize their own failings for not taking to time to research and make an informed decision about purchasing tracking technology. We should all take a very serious look at whether or not car theft is coming our way and what are the different things that we can do to prevent it in our own lives. For some of us, this is going to require the installation of a GPS tracker in our vehicle.

Data out of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has found that cars are stolen as often as every twenty-six seconds in this country. That is a pretty phenomenal statistic considering that in 2005 there was a car accident every five seconds! To put the theft statistics another way, one out of every two hundred cars will be taken by a car thief. Urban areas are at the highest risk for getting their cars stolen and would probably benefit from getting a car tracker more than any other type of resident. Among urban areas, those in California, Texas, and Florida are the worst states for such crimes. Recovery of vehicles without GPS tracking devices is not that great at a mere sixty-five percent – not what a car owner wants to hear when they find that their car is stolen. Do you want to leave the recovery of your car to what is approximately a coin toss?

If you don't, then the solution is going to be install some type of GPS tracking system. Through the power of GPS technology you will be able to tell when your car gets jacked, where they are taking it, and give all that information to the police who then can go in immediately and recover your car and catch the criminal. The likelihood of the police performing the arrest successfully is extremely high. They just need access to your tracking account and they can have your car back to you by morning. The police love it because they can put a criminal behind bars and deter future crime in all one fell swoop.

Many people might still look at this evidence for owning a GPS tracker and balk. “I still can't afford something like that,” they might say. This can be a very real concern for people, but there are some interesting ways to save money using a tracker. For one, some insurance carriers look favorably on car owners who have taken the initiative in securing their own property from theft and theft recovery. If you ask them if you can get a discount on your insurance premium they may be very happy to do so. With these savings the tracker could pay for itself in a few months, leaving you more secure and spending less money on insurance over the long run. Now that is a deal.

GPS tracking is really powerful and now more affordable than ever. If you haven't given it some serious though, then you should really consider it now.

There is an really easy way to tell where a person is at on the issue is to pretend like you are the owner of a business that offers GPS vehicle tracking systems. How they choose to respond to you lets you know if they a business owner or if they are just an employee.

Generally speaking, the first words of the lips of someone who works for someone else is something like this - “That sounds a lot like 'Big Brother' to me. You know, from Orwell's classic novel 1984.” Yes, you might even be able to see their eyes glaze over as their minds are filled with fancies of mind-controlled drones who work hard but are not allowed to have any thoughts of their own.

But when you think about it, what exactly is wrong with a business taking an interest in its assets, in monitoring their vehicles? Or what is wrong with a business making sure that the job that they are paying someone to do is actually getting done like the employee says it is? There are some serious issues at stake here that mean a lot more than who owns the vehicles or who has the right to know what is going on with their assets.

It is all about trust, accountability, and covenant. When businesses employ someone they make an agreement with that person to pay them such-and-such wages for such-and-such work. If an employee does not get paid they will become very upset. If a worker does not work the employer will get very upset. This is the way that things are.

We all know that this is the way that things work, but it is much easier for employees to make sure that their bosses are living up to their end of the bargain. They can simply look at their paycheck and know if they are being paid the agreed upon wage. Employers have very little that they can do, especially when they employ many people who go far and afield from the office.

This is where GPS vehicle tracking comes in. It allows a business owner to be able to know what is going on with their vehicles. It lets them monitor their employee's activity and make sure that they are living up their end of the bargain.

There are several different ways that employees can 'steal' from their employers and not live up to their end of the bargain. One of these ways that GPS tracking can help bosses reduce is speeding. We all know that fuel is extremely expensive and we all now know that speeding is not a very fuel efficient method of transportation. It also wears out vehicles prematurely, putting costs upon the owner and the business that should never have been put there. There is also the increased insurance rates that will inevitably result from speeding.

GPS tracking helps owners locate this type of problem and put a cabash on it. This will help them save a lot of money in the long run and make their business more effective and productive. There is simply nothing like being able to discipline a poor performer to make your business that much more productive.

GPS vehicle tracking is extremely powerful and should be used by fleet owners of all sizes for a variety of reasons.

GPS tracking is making this a world where it simply does not make any sense to rob banks. It never really was that great of an idea to begin with, but now that GPS tracking technology is making inroads into all sorts of places it is even worse for those who would think about stealing money that does not belong to them. Both bank robing and auto theft have fallen on dark days because the chances of getting caught are extremely high because of the prevalence of GPS tracking technology.

There is only one reason why this is the new trend and it is all about the use of GPS tracking by police, banks, and private citizens to keep their own property more safe and secure. There are countless news stories that have been reported of where banks and private citizens are leveraging and utilizing GPS trackers to help keep cell phones, bags of money, and cars safe from those that would seek to steal them. These devices are used by the police to track down the suspects and make them pay for their crimes.

In once instance in the Chicago area, the robbers were apprehended within 30 minutes of their crime. They were arrested and the cash was recovered and return to the bank.

By using GPS tracking technology to catch thieves the police are able to capture criminals and have a huge case against them all from one single pick up. They apprehend the criminals and put them behind bars in a safe and effective manner, saving tax payers money and keeping country safer for all of its citizens. These types of crimes are diminishing as a result.

Banks are also safer for patrons and employees to use because criminals are more afraid to hit them up. Banks can then pass the reduced costs along to consumers who will find more money in their bank account due to interest than they had before.

It is interesting that bank robbing and vehicle stealing (horse stealing, etc.) have been around for an extremely long time, but now there is a serious pinch being placed on this age old category of criminal. They simply don't have the resources anymore to battle the power of GPS tracking technology and what it is going to do for safety and security in the world.

Who do we have to thank for all this technological induced peace – the US military and cell phone companies. The GPS system was created by the United States military as a way for them to be able to track their military assets – aircraft carriers, tanks, helicopters, bombers – so that they could be aware of their movement around the world. They made it available to the public and since then it has exploded into all sorts of other areas.

Cell phone companies came along and created a network where information can be transmitted wirelessly and efficiently across wide expanses. This enabled private companies to come along and create GPS tracking devices that used the GPS satellite system and the cell phone networks to create full fledged GPS tracking devices.

There are a lot of good things about GPS tracking technology besides the security and comfort that it provides. For one thing it can be extremely user friendly, being easily operated by someone who is savvy enough to use the internet. These tracking devices work quickly, are extremely accurate, and are completely wireless in their communication methods. They also can be very easily installed wherever you want to be using it, making them a practical necessity for anyone who owns a fleet of vehicles or who just wants to keep tabs on their personal vehicle.

In addition to all this – all the benefits that a business owner or car owner receives – the technology is extremely useful for individuals without cars, government agencies, and parents. Here are just a handful of the benefits that owning and operating a GPS tracking system will provide for people of different stripes:

• Vehicles. The benefits enjoyed by vehicles are many. The first is that the tracking system will provide security for a particular vehicle in a wide array of circumstances. For instance, a tracking device will be able to monitor your speed so that you can be sure that you won't go over the speed limit when driving. It will also help you conserve fuel because you will be forced into using more efficient routes and better driving habits.

• People. People can be aided extensively by the use of GPS tracking technology. For example, if a car or person is taken when they have a GPS tracking device it can be extremely easy for the police or some other authority to be able to track the person or property and return it to their rightful owner. They will also be able to get lots of help by being able to call their friends and let them know where they are via the GPS so that they could come and help them.

• Then there is the ability for parents to be able to monitor their children's activity and to keep them extremely safe. If your child chooses to wear a device like a GPS tracking watch or some other type of tracking device you could be able to help them if they were ever hurt or taken by someone else. Also, if you have a teenager that you want to keep safe and check up on to make sure that they are not doing wrong things with their time then a GPS tracker can really benefit you in your efforts.

• Business. Businesses also benefit quite a bit from GPS, but especially GPS fleet tracking technology. Large or small, fleets of all sizes can see significant improvements in productivity and a reduction in costs by switching to a tracking system. Workers will work harder, driving routes will become more efficient, fleet maintenance will improve, and customers will be happier. Its a win-win-win for any business.

Making the most of your GPS tracking systems is easy if you use your imagination, work with your service provider, and follow through with your plans. There simply is nothing like being able to log onto a computer and find out exactly where a car, person, or employee is and to be able to take action on that information. It is very empowering and makes you feel like a better person. GPS tracking really is something special.