GPS Tracking Tightening the Grip On City Thieves

Bike theft can be as devastating as car theft to the owner, but is treated very differently by the authorities. This emotional trigger is the reason for the rise in demand for technological advancements in the GPS bike tracking market. Smart tech products are providing powerless cyclists the tools needed to combat the plague of city bike theft.

A survey conducted by Van Lierop in Montreal and published in the International Journal of Sustainable Transportation revealed the shocking truth that bicycle theft can happen more than once in a cyclists lifetime. Couple this with the seemingly flippant way that bike theft is handled by the police, the market for GPS bike trackers becomes evident.

Even Google experienced a continuous stream of bike theft at their headquarters in Mountain View California. Thanks to GPS tracking they have been able to locate a few of their missing rides, some had even traveled as far as Mexico.

A low priority crime

Bike travel is considered a sustainable means of transportation, yet when it comes to protection, cyclists are often left in a lurch. Police consider bike theft to be of low priority due to the highly pressurized crime environment that is synonymous with a city environment. Investigations into this are often limited by many factors such as identifying and apprehending the culprits. Therefore the matter of protection lies with each cyclist in order to gain a semblance of mental rest when parking their bikes in the city streets. Cyclists must assume responsibility for finding cost effective GPS bike trackers in order to protect their property.

Sherlock on the case

Sherlock, the invisible GPS tracker, is the brainchild idea of Pierluigi Freni, who after great frustration with having his bike stolen in Turin, decided enough was enough. Indeed this final straw found him wondering, what if he had an app that could track his bike the same way people track lost iPhones. The resulting answer was the invisible GPS bike tracker Sherlock, just like it’s fictional detective counterpart.

Sherlock can be considered ‘petite’ for an anti-theft gadget for cyclists. The invisibility factor of this piece of tech makes it ideal, as it ‘sits’ inside the handlebars. This ingenuity means that thieves cannot simply remove the device and get away with your mode of transportation.  

The device is activated when parking and should the bike be removed an alert is sent. In addition to this, all the information of both the bike and its owner is included in the app as a ‘bike passport’. The development of this part of the app was in conjunction with police.  

No need to play superhero

With this innovation comes some concern for vigilante type behavior in pursuit of the culprit. It goes without saying that should you find yourself in a situation where your bike is being stolen and confrontation is not a possibility, call the police. With the tracking, the culprits are able to be found without you having to risk your life or put yourself in unnecessary danger.

Do you have any suggestions for GPS bike tracking devices? Share them below!