How GPS Trackers Can Help in Emergency Situations

Photo by Nikolas Noonan on Unsplash

GPS trackers are tiny, cost-effective devices that have the power to save lives. These accessories identify the precise location of someone or something in an emergency, helping users protect loved ones, personal belongings, and even the general public. Learn more about GPS trackers for emergencies below. Then discover how LandAirSea (LAS) provides the high-quality surveillance technology you need. 

What Are the Benefits of GPS Trackers for Emergencies?

Here are some of the advantages of using GPS emergency locator units in an emergency:

Find Belongings in a Natural Disaster

GPS trackers for emergencies prove useful in natural disasters such as storms, floods, cyclones, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Attaching a tracker to valuables such as important documents or a safe before a natural disaster makes it easier to find those items if the worst-case scenario happens. For example, quickly locating an asset in debris after a property collapses. GPS will still be functional even in the worst emergency, helping you identify belongings when you need them the most. 

Locate Missing Individuals

Loved ones can go missing in a storm or other adverse weather event and might be in severe danger. Contacting these individuals can be difficult if phone lines go down, making your search efforts fruitless. Investing in GPS trackers for emergencies can solve this problem. Giving a loved one a GPS device before a natural disaster or other situation occurs can help you find them quickly when it's safe to do so. Just identify their location on your desktop or smartphone and take action or pass GPS information to rescue teams. 

Monitor Movements of Elderly Individuals 

Attaching a GPS device to an elderly loved one's walker or vehicle lets you monitor that individual's location in real-time on your computer or smartphone. You can create a geofence — a virtual geographical boundary on a real-world map — around your loved one's home and receive notifications when they leave their property. This can be useful if an individual suffers from dementia or another condition that might cause them to "wander off" and get lost. 

Dispatch Emergency Responders

Law enforcement already uses GPS to dispatch responders in an emergency. This technology reduces the misrouting of dispatchers and ensures these professionals arrive at the correct location. You too can use a GPS tracker if you offer assistance in an emergency. For example, if you provide first aid to other people in your hiking group. You can attach a tracker to everyone's backpack in your group and identify someone's location if they walk off and later notify you about an injury. That ensures the missing person receives the medical care they need. 

Another example of GPS trackers for emergencies is a school event or field trip where a child suffers an injury. If the child has a GPS attached to their bag or in their pocket, a school nurse or someone else with medical experience can locate the child quickly by looking at your smartphone and provide instant care. 

Public Safety

GPS can improve public safety by allowing emergency response teams to identify locations across a wide geographic area. In a scenario that involves a natural disaster or a large-scale crime, these teams can instantly find landmarks, buildings, streets, and emergency service resources and potentially save lives. GPS was a critical technology during Hurricane Katrina, the Pakistan-India earthquake of 2005, and many other subsequent events. 

How Does GPS Work in an Emergency Situation?

GPS stands for global positioning system. It refers to multiple satellites that orbit the planet and send signals to GPS devices, helping you pinpoint an exact location on earth. Whatever the emergency, GPS trackers like those made by LAS can help you:

Improve Emergency Response Times

In life-or-death situations, you don't have much time to take action. GPS trackers speed up response times by quickly identifying a person's location (if they have a GPS device on them) wherever they are in the world. Depending on the circumstances, you can locate a person via their GPS device on your desktop or mobile device or share information about the person's whereabouts with law enforcement or emergency response teams. 

Two of LAS' products, LandAirSea 54 and LandAirSea Overdrive, allow you to share the GPS location of someone in distress via innovative ShareSpot technology. For example, you can send a loved one's GPS coordinates to law enforcement if they go missing on a hike. 

Find the Fastest Route

GPS emergency locator units let you find the quickest route to a location, helping you find someone who might be in trouble. For example, you can avoid lane closures, road works, congestion, and other factors that might delay an emergency response, enabling you to reach someone in the fastest possible time. Just look at the map on your smartphone or computer connected to a GPS device and identify the best route to find someone in distress. 

It's important to note that not all map software is reliable and, in some circumstances, can hinder rescue efforts if the information is outdated or inaccurate. That's why LAS uses a combination of different maps to help you respond to an emergency, such as:

• Google Maps
• Google Earth
• SilverCloud  

Receive Location Notifications

By the time you discover someone is in trouble, it might be too late. For example, a loved one could have wandered off during a camping trip in the forest, and you might not realize they have been gone for several hours. Using GPS trackers for emergencies helps in this situation. As mentioned before, you can create a geofence around a particular area, such as your camping site, and receive real-time notifications when a loved one with a GPS device leaves this area. That can help locate your loved one quickly and prevent them from straying even further. 

Not all GPS devices provide real-time notifications. LAS lets you customize the alerts you receive on your smartphone so you always receive the latest location insights. 

Which LandAirSea Emergency Locator Units Are Best?

LAS has created surveillance products for nearly 30 years and works with industries such as law enforcement, local government, border control, and the military. Here are some of the company's best GPS trackers for emergencies:

LandAirSea 54

LandAirSea 54 has a battery that lasts up to 12 months, making it a good fit for those who don't want to continuously charge a GPS device. It's also waterproof and dustproof, which proves useful when locating persons and valuable items in emergencies like floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. ShareSpot technology lets you share real-time GPS information with whomever you like, which can speed up recovery missions and help you locate loved ones. Other features include historical feedback, speed alerts, geofence alerts, battery alerts, and Instafence. 

LandAirSea SYNC

LandAirSea SYNC plugs directly into a vehicle's OBD-II port, removing the need for charging and batteries. This product, therefore, is great for monitoring elderly relatives and other vulnerable people who get lost on the road or drive to the wrong location. Other features include historical playback, geofence alerts, speed alerts, and arrival and departure notifications. 

LandAirSea Overdrive

Like LandAirSea 54, LandAirSea Overdrive utilizes ShareSpot technology, helping you devise an emergency response with other people. This dustproof and waterproof device has one of the most powerful batteries on the GPS market, lasting up to four times longer than LandAirSea 54. Other features include geofence alerts, battery alerts, fence alerts, and a dark mode. 

Want to learn more about how to use GPS in emergencies? Contact LAS to find the best product for your use case.

Why Choose LAS?

Here are some benefits of investing in GPS trackers for emergencies from LAS:

• GPS products are up to 80% cheaper than comparable devices on the market 
• Pay-as-you-go/subscription-based pricing on select models
• Online video tutorials and guides for activation and installation
• Excellent customer service
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• No hidden fees 
• Devices work with the free SilverCloud app
• Attach trackers with the provided cables or industrial-strength magnets

Final Word 

Investing in GPS trackers can help you prepare for an emergency like a natural disaster or a loved one going missing. The latest GPS tracking technology protects people and possessions and generates real-time location insights that can potentially save lives. LAS' range of products makes it easier to respond to emergencies. 

If you want more information on GPS trackers, contact LandAirSea, and a member of our friendly team will answer any questions you may have.