Tue 07/22/2008 8:35 PM

covert gps tracking devices

GPS navigators are a great technology, especially for those who drive for a living. The state of Rhode Island just installed GPS devices in all of their paratransit buses to help drivers find the pickup and drop-off locations for their clients. Of course, these don't help when the address for a business is for a whole complex and the scheduling department has failed to give the driver the specific information to find the correct building/unit. Nor when the driver is a stubborn techno-phobe who insists the thing is "off by at least four miles" and drives right by your house, refusing to believe it when it says, "Arriving at destination on the right." But I digress. If you eliminate the human stupidity factor (including old and outdated maps which require a human to update them), they are pretty useful little gadgets. I know I will have to have one if and when I finally drive my own vehicle. Going this long without ever having been behind the wheel has left me with a terrible sense of direction.

But there's another use for GPS that I find rather disturbing. There are some companies that are selling covert GPS tracking devices that can be hidden in a vehicle. Is it ever ethical to use such a thing? Maybe to track your own vehicle in case of theft, and maybe to track company-owned vehicles driven by employees, though I have mixed feelings on that. But imagine a controlling husband putting one of these in his wife's car. Or a paranoid and jealous wife tracking her husband to try and catch him cheating. Some have even suggested using these to track their teenage children. Well I'm sorry, but if you don't trust where your child will go, then don't let them drive. If you tell them you trust them but then track them behind their back, you are a liar and untrustworthy yourself.

What do you think? Would you ever use one of these?

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3 comments/trackbacks

comment: from Emily

Yes, I would most definitely install one of those on my teen's vehicle. Depending on your cellular carrier, you can also track them through their cellphones. My cell carrier sends periodic "this phone can be tracked" messages - so I had to discontinue the service.

And I'm not calling my teen a "liar" per se - because she does not TELL me where she is going. She yells "bye mom I'll call you" as she's hopping in the car.

Tue 07/22/2008 10:50 PM

comment: from HelloKit

@Emily: I hear what you're saying about your teen not telling you where she's going. But do you not trust her to stay out of places where she shouldn't be, without you knowing exactly where she is all the time? If not, then maybe she's not ready to be driving. It's the same reason I don't believe in web filtering software: if the kid can't be trusted to stay away from bad sites, they shouldn't be surfing unsupervised.

On the other hand, if you're upfront with your teen about the fact that you're tracking her, my feelings on that are completely different. But based on your comment about discontinuing the tracking service on the cell phone, it doesn't sound like you were. Don't expect honesty if you can't give it in return.

BTW your blog is one of my regular reads. I hope you don't take my differing opinion on this personally!

Tue 07/22/2008 11:13 PM

comment: from Emily

Oh, not at all. I'm only telling about 1/4 of the story, so your reaction was completely expected.

I *expect* my daughter to respect the rules. I'm pragmatic enough to realize that it's not about trust, it's about her flapping her wings a little bit. I know for a fact that she practices truthiness.

It does drive me slightly insane, and we will get through this.

Tue 07/22/2008 11:36 PM

covert gps tracking devices

3 comments/trackbacks

comment: from Emily

comment: from HelloKit

comment: from Emily

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