When discussing the use of GPS equipment to monitor drivers for insurance purposes, the discussion inevitably turned to jamming the devices. It seems that we are not alone in considering this possibility.
The illegal use of Global Positioning System (GPS) jammers in the UK has been revealed in a groundbreaking study.
GPS jammers are believed to be mostly used by people driving vehicles fitted with tracking devices in order to mask their whereabouts.
In one location the Sentinel study recorded more than 60 GPS jamming incidents in six months.
The research follows concern that jammers could interfere with critical systems which rely on GPS.
That last bit strikes me as being the same kind of scare tactics that told us mobile phones and laptops would cause aircraft to fall out of the sky or petrol stations to ignite in a ball of fire. Ah, yes, see? It’s health and safety, innit? Can’t be having people masking their whereabouts because of that, donchaknow.
However, the story contradicts itself. These jammers have a limited range – after all, they are only masking a box in the vehicle, so don’t need a wide range. So, then, how on earth is equipment with a range of at most a few hundred metres driving along a road going to:
… cause problems for other safety-critical systems using GPS.
Not least, apparently ships at sea will be affected. They cite a truck that apparently caused interference for an airport, which is mighty convenient. It must have been pretty close, then.
Make your minds up people, either they are limited devices with a range of a few hundred meters or they are so powerful, they will invoke Armageddon. Which is it?
These “low power” devices that can get a signal 200m sound amazing.
We should get the designers on to the Wi-Fi system as mine doesn’t seem to be able to get through the kitchen window.
Can’t have speeeeeeeeeders getting away with it can we?
Taking a long term view, I suspect that this is what it’s all about.
Owners of company vehicles get access to the tracker data now. “In the future” it will probably all go to PNC or DVLA as well, so that speeeeeeeeeeeeding fines can go in the post automatically at every transgression.
How does this stand with the view that a company has the right to adapt their vehicles in any way they choose that happens to be legal? Puts a whole new light on the issue methinks.
I don’t have a problem with companies tracking their own vehicles. Private property and all that. Indeed, I wouldn’t have a problem when driving such a vehicle on company business. This is because I won’t use company vehicles for private purposes as I keep a Berlin wall between my private and my professional life.
It’s not the vehicle I was getting at LR, but the data. For now, that data is the property of either the vehicle owner or the tracking company.
But, what if legislation were enacted for Police/DVLA/theft camera parasites to have access to the data?
Then perhaps it’s just a matter if time before the laws requiring all vehicles to have a tracker fitted.
Feeling just a wee bit paranoid today……
Of course a jammer would also make nicking an expensive Tracker equipped vehicle that much easier…… 😯
I had not looked into these before hearing about them on the radio the other evening, and see that these devices are only £20 or so (on eBay , from China).
But I did wonder if this was a ‘problem’ that was being invented because GPS devices are now being rolled out for insurance tracking…. I can see that kids might want to disguise when they were driving and at what speed if the insurance company would load them if they use their cars outside the hours (and speeds) that they would like.
Oh noes!!! If a jammer drives past me, I might not be able to use FourSquare for a whole 3 minutes! Disaster!!!!
Jamming a GPS device has always been child’s play. I’m not going to tell how it is done however as I have one on my car in case someone nicks it.
When I find away to stop Google and Facebook tracking our web browsing now they have bypassed browser privacy settings I’ll let you know.
Er. Not sure i get the point really. If you jam the GPS signals from being received there’ll be obvious traces, discrepancies in mileage etc. (car says 1000 miles since last inspection tracker says 200…) which doubtless the insurance companies would use as an excuse not to pay out when you needed it.
And as for “cause problems for other safety-critical systems using GPS.” People don’t use GPS for safety critical systems because a) it’s mostly irrelevant b) it’s not reliable enough.
That thought went through my mind. Better to disable the box and be done with it. Or, better still, don’t take out a policy that involves being tracked.
I remember this argument being used by Tony Benn, back in the 60s, to shut down the Pirate Radio stations, namely that their transmittions were interfering with the emergency services, like Ambulance Fire and Police. These twats never stop do they?
I was told that they can be jammed by driving the stolen car into a steel freight container, although a rep from one of the tracker manufacturers that I spoke to recently denied this.
The idea is that the thieves come along with a wagon and container trailer, drive or winch the cars up a ramp into the container and bugger off. The tracker is then located and removed/disabled whilst the car is in the container.