GPS vehicle tracking is a relatively new application of the GPS technology.  Initial limitations were in the size of the tracking unit and power requirements.  There have been discussions of privacy issues with GPS vehicle tracking as well.  The ethics of using the system either overtly or covertly have caused legal questions for commercial use.  At this point, is seems the general over use question has been answered.  Many trucking companies and package delivery services use GPS vehicle tracking to manage their service routing and on time delivery.  This also gives their customers a feeling of control as they can view their product in route. 

An emerging technology is the covert use of GPS vehicle tracking.  Both in law enforcement and civilian applications, the question come up as to what is an individual’s right to the observation of their position.   Law enforcement is not as slippery a slope as a court order is generally used to request application of this system.  Civilian use of the GPS vehicle tracking is more contentious.  Teen vehicle use, detective investigative use and corporate fraud investigations are some of the programs that have been called into question.  We will not answer the question of ethics on this page, but just bring up for your thought, the use of GPS vehicle tracking systems.