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Vehicle trackers crack down on car thieves

New technology developed in the region which can disable vehicles remotely looks set to be taken on by a national car hire firm, and could be rolled out for use by the military.

Tyneside-based vehicle tracking firm FleetM8 has revealed details of the new system which will be targeted at any companies with large vehicle fleets and organisations involved in national security.

The system has initially been developed to ensure the ignition of a vehicle is disabled via an email system if requested.

This means if a vehicle is stolen or hijacked, once it stops, the engine will be unable to be restarted.

However, scientists behind the technology are also developing a system - which is likely to be more suited to military purposes - that can stop a vehicle dead in its tracks following a remote signal.

The company is now in talks with a national vehicle hire firm which is keen to use the device to prevent dishonest customers from taking their hire cars overseas and not returning them.

FleetM8 plans to set up a ‘geo-fence’ around the UK’s ferry ports which would combine with onboard software and notify the company when drivers tryied to disappear overseas.

The company already uses a similar system in London’s Westminster district that prevents pub delivery wagons from receiving parking tickets during deliveries. Geo-fencing technology is used to set up short-term virtual parking bays in areas which are usually heavily restricted in terms of parking. A message is sent to the local authorities to alert them that a delivery is taking place and a parking ticket should not be issued.

FleetM8 is not the first company in the vehicle-tracking sector to have made use this type of technology, but, with an international client list, it could become one of the largest.

The company has contracts with the Indian Government to track 250 buses in the Karnataka region and in the UK tracks buses owned by national transport plc Arriva.

FleetM8 was launched in 2008 by North East inventor Dr Phillip Tann and Neil Herron – a well-known regional campaigner for motorists hit by parking and speeding fines.

Mr Herron said the new vehicle-controlling system could present the company with numerous new lucrative opportunities.

He said: “This is a massive market and the technology could even be used to prevent terror threats - for example, if a terrorist tried to drive an oil tanker into a major event like the 2012 Olympics, it could be used to stop the vehicle.

“One of our other potential customers is a national hire firm that has a problem with vehicles being taken abroad and not returned. If a vehicle entered a ferry terminal it could be disabled and the authorities alerted.”

Dr Tann hit the headlines three years ago when he used his own tracking device to prove that he had not been speeding when a fine was issued.

Northumbria Police claimed he was doing 42mph in a 30mph zone, however, Dr Tann’s vehicle was fitted with a tracking device which proved otherwise.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .