Auto Security Systems: Monitor Your Vehicle, Save Money

Plenty of products and services can help you protect and monitor your vehicle.

By Bob Violino

Posted Dec 11, 2007, at 1 p.m.

There’s no shortage of products and automobile features that can help consumers protect their vehicles from theft and improve vehicle safety.

Some of the newer technologies include:

• Satellite tracking systems that enable vehicle owners to know exactly where a vehicle is located at any time
• “Black boxes” that are installed in cars and act as monitoring devices to gauge driving and vehicle performance
• Web-enabled services that allow car owners to stop a vehicle if it’s been stolen

In addition to these products are the auto security tools that have been protecting vehicles for years, including car alarms, keyless ignition systems, motion sensors, glass-break sensors and remote starters.

Here’s a quick overview of these products to help you decide which are right for you.

Satellite tracking systems

Global positioning system (GPS) car-tracking technology allows you to locate and track one or more vehicles. With these real-time monitoring systems, the location and other relevant information, such as the vehicle’s speed and direction, is sent to a receiving station, and software is used to plot the vehicle’s location on a map.

The new GPS-based tracking systems “are quite effective in locating a stolen car,” says Egil Juliussen, principal analyst at Telematics Research Group, a firm based in Minnetonka, Minn., that provides research on the automotive and mobile electronics industries. “But the distinguishing factors versus the ‘old,’ that is LoJack [a system that uses a radio frequency transceiver hidden in a vehicle], is that the [GPS-based tracking systems] provide a better user interface to the customer, through a Web site, that will show where the car is.”

GPS-based systems can provide information such as average speed and driver behavior, Juliussen says. “These applications are good to use with teenagers and other drivers [who] need some ‘constructive feedback,’” he says.

But if you’re trying to defend against the professional car thief, the GPS-based systems are usually not better than LoJack or radio beacon systems, Juliussen says. “The reason is that the GPS-based system must send its location via cellular phone network. And cell phone systems can easily be jammed — especially GSM [Global System for Mobile Communications] systems,” he says. “Hence, the professional car thief will bring a cell phone jammer and defeat the GPS-system.”

A LoJack-type system is less susceptible to jamming, Juliussen says. “Even though LoJack is an old technology, it still works well, but only when the car is stolen,” he says. “Probably the best approach is to have a combined LoJack and GPS-system.”

GPS systems are fairly expensive, with some costing more than $500. Here are several samples: Viper GPS System, Brickhouse Security options.

Black boxes

These devices enable you to monitor activity in your car. Products in this category, such as the CarChip package from Davis Instruments, consist of a tiny data logger that continuously collects and stores data from the car's computer control systems. You can download the information to a PC and use analysis software to check speeds, travel distances, hard stops and engine performance. The data logger can store up to 75 hours of trip details before the information must be downloaded to a computer.

Similarly, Progressive offers a program called TripSense, which measures your driving habits and allows you to earn discounts on insurance by showing how much, how fast and what times of day you drive, to customers in Michigan, Minnesota and Oregon. To participate in the program, request a free TripSensor for your vehicle, connect the TripSensor to your vehicle’s diagnostic port, and send the driving data to Progressive online to claim your renewal discount, which can range from 5 percent to 25 percent. The system collects data such as start time and end time, miles driven, number of sudden starts and stops, and vehicle speed at 10-second intervals.

Web-enabled tools

These products and services allow you to track the location of your car if it’s stolen and order the vehicle to be stopped. For example, a service called SecureTrac from FieldWorker Products not only provides an anti-theft system, but the ability to monitor and remotely control vehicles.

If a vehicle is towed without the ignition on, a message is immediately sent to a server and the vehicle automatically “reports in” at a predefined interval. SecureTrac receives the message and sends it to the owner’s cell phone or pager to allow him or her to take appropriate action from any Web-enabled device. Cars identified as stolen can be remotely disabled.

Car alarms

There are dozens of car alarms on the market, ranging in price from less than $50 to more than $500. High-end systems include features such as keyless entry, random code alarms and an on-board relay that, when the security system is armed, disables the car’s starter to prevent the ignition from being bypassed.

Keyless ignition systems

This technology eliminates the need for an ignition key. One such system uses a start/stop button that’s enabled with a radio frequency identification card. Another product uses a fingerprint scanner that limits the ability to start a car to only people whose fingerprints are stored in the system.

Motion sensors

Motion sensors are designed to sense movement within a car's interior or outside the vehicle. Some products use a microwave frequency to detect field disturbance in a contained area. Motion sensors are also components of some alarm systems.

Glass-break sensors

These products, some of which are also available as part of car alarm systems, use audio sensors to detect attempts to tamper with or break a vehicle's glass. They’re relatively inexpensive and can help bolster protection against vehicle theft.

Remote starters

With remote starter devices, you can start your vehicle via a remote control. Frequently part of car alarm systems, they usually cost less than $200. Some starters include features such as a keyless ignition system and an LCD display that monitors whether the doors, hood and trunk are open or closed.

Each of these products and services can help keep you safe, protect your vehicle from theft and lower your insurance rates. Given the wide range of price and capabilities, you should be able to find the right system to meet your needs — without straining your budget.

Bio: Bob Violino is a freelance writer who has covered a variety of business and technology issues for more than 20 years.

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of Progressive Casualty Insurance Company or its affiliates.