Skip to main content

US police use GPS tracker darts

Police in Florida and Iowa are using a GPS tracking system that shoots a dart-like tracker at a target vehicle, enabling them to remain a safe distance behind, but still have a way of tracking the vehicle’s location and speed.
September 2, 2014 Read time: 1 min

Police in Florida and Iowa are using a GPS tracking system that shoots a dart-like tracker at a target vehicle, enabling them to remain a safe distance behind, but still have a way of tracking the vehicle’s location and speed.

The system being enables police to shoot the GPS tracker from an air cannon that is attached to the front of a police car; the tracker sticks to the vehicle and tags it. Once the GPS tracker is attached to the vehicle, police are able to monitor its speed and location from a remote location via a real time map, without the need for a potentially dangerous high speed chase.

Related Content

  • EU rules extend the ‘long arm of the law’
    November 27, 2013
    New EU legislation allows authorities to collect fines from errant foreign motorists even after they have returned to their own country. New European Union legislation means drivers in many Member States can be prosecuted for breaking traffic laws when driving outside their home country. While not all the Member States will not be signing up to Directive 2011/82/EU facilitating the cross-border exchange of information on road safety related traffic offences, for those that do the deadline date to impleme
  • 'No lack of political drive' on ITS
    June 11, 2012
    This issue of ITS International contains a feature article based on interviews with leading figures of the ITS associations of the United States, Europe, Japan and Malaysia. A key point made is the importance of political leadership or policy direction in driving take up and implementation of ITS technology. This industry actually need not complain of a lack of drive on the part of politicians, or so it seems from other projects reported in this issue. True, the US would welcome a new transport bill and the
  • Just Zip it! Lindsay takes to the road
    October 10, 2018
    Greater vehicle connectivity is going to have huge implications for traffic management. David Arminas climbed aboard a Lindsay Road Zipper to see what this might mean in future As vice president of barrier specialist QMB Canada, Marc-Andre Seguin is sanguine about the future for moveable barriers. On the one hand, it looks good. The oft-stated advantage of moveable barriers is that the systems are cheaper to install than adding a lane or two to a highway or bridge. Directional changes to lanes can boost
  • Meeting the challenges of smartcard fare payment
    July 4, 2012
    David Crawford monitors a growing trend in contactless smartcard ticketing The north east United States has become a hive of activity in the smart fare payment arena. In October 2011, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) published, as a preliminary to an imminent procurement process, the detailed concept of its New Fare Payment System (NFPS). Based on open payment industry standards, this is designed to be implemented on all MTA bus and subway services operated by New York City Transit (