Is my company car being tracked without my knowledge?

I have a company car which I use for work and private use on a daily basis. I have not been told that there is any kind of tracking device in my car.

I pulled up at my home last night after visiting a relative and it was dark outside, I turned off the lights and took the keys out of the ignition. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed green and red flashing lights on the floor below the front passenger seat. I thought it was probably some kind of toy left in my car by my young neice but upon inspection, it turned out that there was a grey box under the seat with a series of lights on it.

The car has GPS built in and the receiver is mounted above the rearview mirror, the rest is mounted in the centre console so i doubt that this box has anything to do with it

It is well hidden and can only be seen by getting right down to the floor in the back. The lights are only visible when it is very dark.

What is it, and why haven't I been told about it if it is to track my movements? I have to fill in a mileage record and where I have been weekly anyway so if It was tracked they wouldnt need me to do that would they?

Edit to say: I don't have to record my personal movements, just the mileage.

[edit on 17-9-2007 by fiftyfifty]

You probably have the same kind of system that is use by some rental car companies to monitor mileage and to tell if the car leaves the state.

I don't know how sophisticated they could be but I imagine somebody else in this board may have some more information that I have.

Your "company car" may very well be tracking you. There was a recent incident in Michigan where a man was fired from his job because his company was able to track his movements through his company supplied cell phone.
The company was able to determine, through his cell phone records (every cell phone is, basically, a GPS) his location and movements. The man was fired because the company could prove that he was not where he supposed to be.

It doesn't take much to assume that a company car is "bugged" with a GPS unit. The company is certainly within it's rights to equip their vehicles with devices to help prevent theft and, as a by-product, to keep tabs on their employees.

Yeah, I agree with BT, I did a search on tracking devices and is going to blow you mind.

They can track you anyway they want and then use it against you.

Anybody can buy the devices for spying on driving tens, spouses and company cars.

This site tells what the devices can do.

www.gpsonsale.com...

Perhaps you should think over having the company car and use your own.

[edit on 17-9-2007 by marg6043]

What is the car model fiftyfifty?

There are a lot of cars out there with various add-ons - mobile phone / BlueTooth adaptors, iPod and Aux adaptors with control units slung in every bit of free space - under the seats is not unusual.

reply to post by marg6043


It is unbelievable that your privacy can be invaded like that. However, the unit in my car is bigger than that, I havent seen it properly so i will try and get a better look later on this afto, maybe a photo


there is no chance that I would or even could use my own vehicle as I do mega mileage!

response to Britguy.. It is an 05 Toyota Corolla. It has no aux feature, bluetooth or anything extra that would warranty a box there. Like I say, all of the satnav equipment is in the centre console and above the mirror.

fifty, you have got to send a picture. I can't wait to see what it is. My curiosity is really piqued.

I just found a thread on the UK Toyota owners club about a box under the drivers seat. many replies and 3 years later nobody had yet come up with an answer
If it looks like a factory fit then it's probably an integral part of the cars systems, if on the other hand it looks like an aftermarket fit then go ask your nearest dealership.

Or.... hit it with a brick and see if the car still runs ok without it

It's all very likely. A friend of mine worked fitting these for a while. The company can see where you are as closely as your GPS navigation can.

Over here in the UK, at the time my friend was doing it at least, it was all completely legal, part of that being that the vehicle belongs to the company so they have the right to know at any time where their property is. They also used it to make sure the vehicles weren't being used outside of office hours for personal use.

They used to hide them out of the way, because drivers would often disconnect them in order to hide the fact a journey didn't take as long as they were claiming, or in order to use the vehicle out of work hours. The disconnection though was obvious to the company, and would result in a warning, or even the sack for repeated disconnection.

[edit on 17-9-2007 by bobafett]

I'm curious why you would think that you have any right to privacy when you're driving a vehicle that belongs to somebody else. It's good practice for any company to keep track of their assets.

If it's the one from Britguy's link, it's RF of some sort but it doesn't look right for GPS - maybe it's the module for the keyless entry system?

Could it be that the car manufacturer has starting using the Onstar system or something similar to it? Chevrolet has been putting that system in most of their newer vehicles for a few years now. So it wouldn't be much of a stretch to think that most other car manufacturers have been installing similar systems.

If thats the case then yes they can track you.

i'm an auto tech....well, forced retired..injured.

anyway, post a pic of as much of it as you can...i can at least tell you if it is supposed to be there.

to answer your question though, of course they are trackng you...well, the car. it's their car and these kits can be found anywhere....
they may not monitor it/the car/you now cause ther eis no reason too but do some crap wrong, they'll probably have a look and see if you are where you are supposed to be...

i would really like to see a picture of what you're talking about....

After further investigation, I have realised that there is a DVD player sized box in there which is labelled 'Toyota Voice Navigation System' However this is rear facing with a DVD slot and has no lights from what I can tell. There is another component to the rear of it to the side which must be the unit that has the lights and i can't get my camera in to get a decent shot.

I am on my work laptop atm so can't upload pics but I will show you what I got later on this evening if I have time!

Yes there is a chance that your company car may be fitted with a tracking device. There are companies that offer this kind of technology in the UK. I was going to work for one of them about 12 months ago.

In the UK, the companies house directors of your company may be liable in a court if they were aware of employees in company cars speeded and breaking over motoring laws and did nothing about it. There are directors in prison today who were aware of speeding offences and did nothing about and an accident was caused.

Some insurance policies may require you company to track the car

The answer is to get the cash and have your own car. (This was one of the reasons I declined their job as they wanted me to have a company car which would have caned me on tax and would not get me enough to cover the increased tax)

Do you have the nice GPS unit with the map that shows up on the LCD in the dash, and can talk you to your destination like a TomTom?

If so, that's what you're seeing, the maps are on a DVD that you can switch out if you change locales.

Originally posted by fiftyfifty

I am on my work laptop atm so can't upload pics but I will show you what I got later on this evening if I have time!

Don't you think if they are following your movements in your company car, that they would be following your movements on your company laptop. Maybe even gleening that 50/50 is also the employee 'John Doe', and may need 'help' because of his fascination into 'Shadow People' and UFOs...

I don't know. I would probably never log into a forum like ATS on someone else's computer myself.

DocMoreau

reply to post by fiftyfifty


something like this?



www.carbuyersnotebook.com...

a navigation system..

you have nav on your dash?

reply to post by DocMoreau


It's very probable but the way I look at it is, As long as i'm getting my work done and not doing anything illegal then it shouldn't matter. If they were found to be spying on me then Im sure that would be in breach of my privacy and they would be the ones liable for prosecution? I don't really have any strange fascinations that go too deep lol ATS is just a bit of something different.

I just don't like the thought of having every movement tracked when I am supposedly allowed to go where I want, when I want in the vehicle.

Boondock - It looks similar to that yes, but it is silver. I have the black and white LCD on the dash with voice nav.

Freedom - I would love to have my own car, the tax is extortionate!! ?However the nature of the job doesn't allow it.

Originally posted by fiftyfifty
Boondock - It looks similar to that yes, but it is silver. I have the black and white LCD on the dash with voice nav.

.

well dude, thats what it is then...it was an aftermarket setup....
nav system....