If you have a GPS tracking system installed on your car, then you would know. GPS or Global Positioning System uses several dozen earth-revolving satellites to help pinpoint a car’s location, using microwave signals. Data is collected and can be used passively or actively. Passive tracking means that the owner can access the data when the car returns to base, to determine where it’s been. Active tracking means that the owner can track the car live via regularly transmitted signals, which can be downloaded to a computer software program or even a cell phone.

There are quite a few applications for GPS tracking in your car, not just getting directions or figuring out where you are if you’re lost. For example, if you were a business owner, it would be prudent to know if your company vehicles are used in the manner in which they should be by your employees - in other words, driven within the speed limits and for business purposes. If your employee drives out a specific jurisdiction or speeds, you’ll know about it.

If you’re a parent of a teenager, it’s got an even more important application - keeping a “virtual” eye on your teenager, when they’ve got the car. Some tracking systems not only let you know where the car has been or where it currently is, but how fast it was driven in getting there. You can find tracking systems that will send you a phone alert, text message or email if the car is driven over your pre-set speed limit, or if the car is driven beyond your pre-set boundary or “fence.”

So, if you wake up in the middle of the night, only to find your two most prized possessions missing, namely your child and your car… well, it doesn’t take a mathematician to put 2 and 2 together. But, at least, with a GPS tracker, you’ll get your answer a bit faster - no need to wait at the door.