Was watching the police tracing a few stolen cars on "road wars" last night. The equipment used in tracing these stolen cars seemed to be very low technology and, if I am not mistaken was achieved by plod driving around and listening to a radio signal getting louder as they got closer to the stolen vehicle.
Surely with modern technology the police could be directed to the stolen car much the same way as we find our way around using satellite navigation.
They would then be informed "arrived at stolen vehicle" instead of destination.
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The only system I have seen gives them the exact location on a map on screen.
In the 1980's it used to tell them the direction to drive and the signal strength by way of a large illuminated * asterisk type thing made of red LEDs.
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A lot of those 'Road Wars' programs (well at least the ones I have seen on Freeview) are a few years old now. Look at the other cars on the road whilst they are being filmed and you will see that it isn't exactly modern and up to date.
As for the technology used in tracking devices I would suspect that it has moved on a little since the programs were filmed and it may be somewhat better these days. I also think that there are a few different tracker systems on the market and they have always worked in their own unique ways. Ie some of the better systems have always been able to pinpoint to the car to the exact spot the just by satellite signals etc, where as the cheaper versions may be the ones that you are watching and they just emit a radio signal.
Also don't forget which system makes better TV viewing - the one where thay have to find the car themselves by using investigation/common sense or the one where they just drive straight to the stolen car.
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I think there are basically two different devices.
Tracker - where iits like the old James Bond movies and transmits a signal that is detected in plod cars kwith a pointer to the direction the car is and signal strength - plod drives round DF'ing the car.
GPS and mobile phone based ones where the position is transmitted to a control centre so anyone with a radio or mobile can be told the position.
AFAIR tracker was moderately cheap whereas GPS based ones are still quite expensive and need a monthly subscription.
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I think the standard Trackers are still a cheap and cheerful VHF beacon - fairly crude. There are other systems which make use of GPS locator with a GSM modem link back to base - but I suspect they may be not much good if the vehicle is winched up into an enclosed truck and carted away (as is often the case with thefts of high-value cars). You have to pay a subscription on all of them - and its not cheap!!
I imagine that in 20 minutes a reasonably knowledgable tech could locate and defeat the system. They are probably good against joyriders but not much good against the pro's.
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had a parking ticket put on my car while it was reported stolen
only found out cos the ticket was in the glove box when we got the car back
if they cannot even be bothered to check out any tickets against stolen register what is the point?
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To be honest, if my car gets nicked, I dont want it back. You never know whats happened in the time it was out of your care.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I've got a fair idea of what'll happen to it - thrashed to within an inch of its life. Which then begs a question: if your stolen car is recovered do your insurers pay for a full examination to see what parts need replaced? ie tyres, clutch, brakes, even engine & gearbox etc???
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The cost of such an inspection would be greater than the value of some cars, and the information revealed would be minimal.
Within a reasonable cost, how could you possibly have a gearbox inspected? Far too many parts.
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My tracker is an RAC Trackstar plus. It cost £325 to install & buy, and has a £10 monthly fee, due to it's GSM transponder inside. I believe it also has a VHF tracker too. A professional thief would be able to find it by tracing wires, but it wouln't be an easy job in the dark or in a hurry as it involves removing the dash etc. If it was in a container, it would be useless, although this isn't a method that would be used to nick a 9 year old Boxster I suspect. Although I wouldn't want the vehicle back as I worry that thrashing it on a cold engine would do massive potential damage, I suspect if a professional thief drove it away, they would drive it carefully to avoid drawing suspicion. There isn't any issue with joyriding where I live. I only had it fitted as a condition of insurance - as I have 9 points on y license, it was still cheaper to do that than find another insurer.
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I've just bought a 9-year old 911 that has a Tracker fitted but as my insurers said it would make no difference to my premium (£600 fully comp for 4,000 miles pa) I shalln't be subscribing. I too would not want the car back if it is ever stolen.
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But do they cover you for theft if it is stolen & the tracker is not activated? In my car, the cover wouldn't include theft without it & that makes me nervous what with key theft being the new hotwiring.
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if they cannot even be bothered to check out any tickets against stolen register what is the point?
Who are 'they'. Local authorities i.e. your council issue parking tickets and you report your car stolen to the police. How would the local authority parking warden know the car he's just ticketed is stolen?.... and how would the police know which cars a warden had ticketed?
There isn't some great one-for-all computer system that does the lot and all Govt depts can access it.
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On a related note, in the US Mercedes are catching flak at the moment because one of their cars was involved in a hit and run, and they're refusing to activate the tracker so the police can get the driver.
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that's a good one, haven't heard of that before......would imagine it would be an offence over here i.e. Obstructing a Police Officer s.89(2) Police Act 1996...(unless of course PU knows differently)
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I would agree that that might be a useful stick to beat them with.
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