Seen the latest AA advert on the TV?. Shows a woman driving along with a man alongside with the biggest tool kit (I think they say) and a big set of spares in the back.
It then goes on to say that with satellite location we will know exactly where to find you.
Is this a new idea and linked to your mobile phone or do you have some other gizmo in your car with you.
Looked on the AA site but couldn?t see any reference to it and wondered if my Green Flag also does the same. On our annual trip down through France and Spain I always try and have an idea of just where I am in case of breakdown, but often I think it would be a vague and not very helpful guess within 30 miles.
alvin
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I'd guess it's a GPS based service like SmartNav RAC Trackstar (same service as SmartNav). GPS can (and does) track your vehicle. Big Brother is here...
See www.smartnav.com
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GPS can't track your vehicle. It's one way. Your vehicle will know where it is from GPS fixing and will transmit this location using means other than GPS.
Sorry to be pedantic.
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A good point that I hadn't thought through!! How do they know where I am when I call up for a route then? Via mobile phone triangulation etc?
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And how does vehicle tracking work? (For stolen cars)
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Tracker, or whoever, activate the transmitter that is hidden in the car.
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My question really is how do the AA know where you are when you breakdown.
Is it if you call them by mobile phone and they then know.. or do you have to have some other device supplied by them.
alvin
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Sorry for the hijack Alvin!
I dont know...
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Perhaps it means that their vans have a sat-nav system built in so that if you can tell them exactly where you are then they can find you? As it appears to apply to all grades of membership, I can't see them giving expensive locating gear to everyone, or expecting all members to have a mobile.
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Steve has hit it spot on, that's exactly what it means.
They're just been a bit mis-leading in their commercials...
Blue
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Thanks Guys. I thought it sounded too good to be true.
it was just that the advert shows a satelite flying above the ladies car and the reassuring words that we can find you wherever you are.
From what you say its more of an aid for the AA man than the customer.
alvin
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Yup we can definitely tell you where you are as long as you tell us where to find you.!!!
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I think that if your mobile telephone is switched on your network can tell which 'cell; of their netword you are in. There was something in the Damilola Taylor trial about the time and location of calls made on a suspect's mobile and it was offered in evidence. Thye can locate you to within a hundred yards or two, I think.
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Wouldn't that be forbidden under the protection of data act(except for the police ocourse)
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Unless you specifically gave your mobile carrier permission to release that information to a third party. Of course to do that, it would require a billing and information processing system that is unlikely to be economically viable, but in theory sharing information is not prohibited unless there is not informed consent.
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I'm sure that you can be located re your mobile phone. Bin laden would verify this as the USAF were praying for him to make a call so they could reply with a smart missile.
alvin
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You can indeed be located with an accuracy of about a couple of hundred feet just from your mobile. Cell Site Analysis requires specific authorisation from a senior officer for even the Police to use it to help track silent 999 calls. I doubt very, very much if an organisation like the AA can use it.
Of course the phone has to be in range of 3 base stations for triangulation to become possible, but in most urban environments you are always in range of 3 stations.
Blue
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Cell Site Analysis requires specific authorisation from a senior officer for even the Police to use it to help track silent 999 calls. I doubt very, very much if an organisation like the AA can use it.
It\'s available to anyone that wants it. But you have to register your phone first.
www.findamobile.com
www.followus.co.uk/followus03.htm
It won\'t be long before transport managers, and the like, register all their employees mobiles on the above sites to track where they are (or supposed to be) during the working day. Big brother is definately watching you!!
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IIRC the Hamiltons pinpointed their location as outside the Ritz using their phone history when accused of assaulting a girl somewhere in East London at the same time...
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billing and crm systems are an awful lot more flexible than you think. And capable of a great deal more processing than you might expect.
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I can confirm that, having worked on the billing system for Singlepoint.
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Assuming that your location is on the map! They couldn't find me on my own drive last year as the development was just 12 months old and not on their electronic maps!
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I doubt it was on their printed (paper) maps either!
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Have a look at www.mapamobile.com
No more hiding down the pub. She will find you!!!!
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Tried to register with mapamoblie - you have to wait for a letter to arrive at your home address, THEN sign & post it back to them before they''ll let you do searches....
Be nice if they'd let you know that befopre they take thirty quid off you for registerting!!
Has anyone tried the others mentioned ? www.findamobile.com / followus.co.uk ??
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www.findamobile states that they are free of charge, but then if you read the terms and conditions it actually costs 33p per search, billed to the mobile that is searched for. Was thinking about registering to see what it's like, but my mobile bill is high enough as it is already, so maybe not.
Surprised these companies haven't been widely publicised, would have thought loads of parents would want to locate their kiddies.
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