photo by Alex Jumper on Unsplash
GPS tracking systems are awesome investments for your next family road trip. Get a vehicle tracking device for the car and personal trackers for your family members. You can even get an ankle tracker for your dog! A GPS tracker can help keep you and your family safe during road trips. Read on to learn more about what a GPS tracker does and how you can use it on a road trip.
First Things First: Navigation Systems vs. GPS Tracking Systems
When you hear “GPS,” you may think, “I already have one of those in my car and on my phone.” It is important to note that a navigation system is separate from a GPS tracker. Both are good to have on a road trip for different reasons. A navigation system helps drivers to reach their final destination. Simply enter an address, and the system will give drivers step-by-step directions on how to get there. A lot of cars have built-in navigation systems, and most mobile phones have them as well.
A GPS tracker, on the other hand, will not tell you where to go. Instead, it will help you locate the position of a person, animal, or vehicle. For example, a vehicle tracker can tell you where your car is parked. A GPS tracker comes with several different alerts and notifications so that users can know if their family members or vehicles are safe.
Keep Track of Where You Park Your Car
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A vehicle GPS tracker will help you keep track of where you park your car on vacation. While on vacation, you may park your car, jump out, and go sightseeing. Hours later, it could be difficult to remember where the car is. A GPS tracker will give users the real-time location of their car. Here are a few examples where this could be helpful:
- City Road Trip: You have reservations at a restaurant, but can’t find parking nearby and end up parking blocks away. After dinner it is dark, and you can no longer remember where you parked. The GPS tracking device on the vehicle will help you find the car.
- Beach Road Trip: Beaches are very crowded during the summer! Often this means that parking lots are full, and tourists need to park their cars blocks away from the beach. Beach streets can all look the same, and it can be confusing if you decide to walk even further once you get down to the beach to stake out a spot. At the end of the day, you may have forgotten whether you parked on 12th Street or 21st Street. Have no fear! Your GPS tracker will lead you right back to the location of your car.
- Mountain Road Trip: A mountain vacation is all about exploring! If you are driving and spot a trailhead, park the car and hop out! After spending hours hiking around the forest, you may become disoriented about where you began and where your car is. Luckily, a GPS tracker will help you find the car.
Vehicle Safety
In addition, the vehicle tracker provides families with reassurance that their car is safe. Sometimes on vacation, you might have to park your car far away from your hotel or get it valeted. When the car is out of your sight, you will still know the location via the GPS tracker. This is especially nice to have during city vacations, because you may not know the safety or crime rate of the street you are parking your car on. Worst case scenario: your car gets stolen, but the police will be able to instantly track it down thanks to the GPS tracker.
Monitor Driver Behavior
Vehicle GPS trackers can monitor the behavior of the driver and track car crashes. If you are the parent of a college student who is heading on a spring or summer break road trip, you will want to equip the vehicle with a GPS tracking device for a couple of reasons. First, the device can detect poor driving behavior. It can track things like harsh braking and acceleration to help users know if their family member is driving too aggressively. Another reason to get a vehicle tracker for your kid’s car is that it can detect crashes. You can relax about your kid taking a road trip, because the vehicle GPS tracker will alert you if they are being unsafe or have gotten into an accident.
Keep Track of Family Members
photo by Hu Chen on Unsplash
A personal GPS tracker is the perfect way to keep track of a family member on a road trip. Do you have family members who like to be adventurous on vacation? Give them a personal ankle tracker to wear so that you can track their location while they are out on their adventures. Here are some vacation activities where people might need ankle GPS trackers:
- Hiking
- ATV riding
- Dirt biking
- Rock climbing
- Kayaking
- Trail running
- Surfing
These devices are waterproof so they can hold up against the elements. The ankle tracker comes with an SOS emergency call feature so you can rest assured that your family could call for help if they needed to. Know that your family is safe by tracking their real-time whereabouts on their vacation adventures.
Keep Track of Pets
Last but not least, GPS tracking systems can keep track of pets on vacations. Do you like to bring your dog with you everywhere but are worried about him running away? Put an ankle GPS tracker around his leg or collar. This will give you peace of mind that he won’t run off without you being able to find him. Let your dog out to run free after a long road trip without fear of losing your pet.
GPS tracking systems are extremely helpful to have on road trips. From monitoring the location of the car to keeping your family members safe on their road trip adventures, these trackers are a must! Get one for your vehicle and for each member of your family (including your pet!). For more information about GPS trackers and how they can be used on a road trip, contact us today.
