Vehicles’ tracking system unlikely to work on Friday

Suspension of cellular services puts car owners at risk as well

KARACHI: Car owners with tracking systems installed are likely to see suspension of services on Friday, as blockage of cellular mobile networks would hinder the vehicle monitoring system as well.

The development means that it would be next to impossible to track vehicles during the 12-hour period cellular services are suspended, putting car owners at risk of theft and snatching incidents.



Pakistan will observe the Chehlum of Imam Hussain (AH) on Friday. With security at high alert, the government has found an easy way of tackling the issue - block cellular services.

However, with it, e-commerce businesses as well as those that use the GPS tracking service through cellular mobile towers are likely to face logistical issues.

According to details, some customers have been informed that the vehicle tracking system is unlikely to function on Friday. To recall, several cases of blocked vehicles were reported during Muharram as well.

Pakistan sees an addition of around 250,000 cars on its roads every year, a number that includes both locally-assembled as well as imported vehicles.  An estimated 50% of them have a tracking system, putting the number of cars at the risk of being snatched or stolen in the hundreds of thousands.

According to CPLC data, between January 1 and October 31 of the current year, 173 vehicles were reported snatched while 1,053 were stolen, suggesting a serious issue for the country.

“The suspension of cellular services does become a problem for the industry,” said an official on the condition of anonymity. “Banks only insure those vehicles that have a tracking system. So when you say that the tracking system won’t work, it puts those insurance companies at a higher risk as well.”



However, the good news for vehicle owners is that the insurance would still cover the claim even if the tracking system was found to be not working. All car owners have to do is register their complaint on a landline number tracking companies have issued for the purpose.

Additionally, a tracker company official said that the location of the vehicle would be available as soon as it goes in an area where broadband signals are available.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2017.

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