As human beings, we all know that our lives are finite, and that all of us will reach an end point. Most of us think we’ll pass away in bed, surrounded peacefully by loved ones. But according to an unnervingly comprehensive study by the National Safety Council, we have a 1 in 1,183 chance of dying by accidental drowning, a 1 in 9,737 chance of dying in an air or space transport incident, and a 1 in 174,426 chance of dying due to a lightning strike. There are lots of ways for us to be killed, but believe it or not, GPS tracking solutions can make us safer.
5 More Ways GPS Can Save Your Life
We know, it’s a little hard to swallow, given that we associate GPS systems with fleet management and avoiding traffic jams. But creative thinking and next-level problem solving skills have devise ways to use this tech to protect us. Recently, we shared 5 incredible examples of this. Now, we’d like to share 5 more.
- Back in the day, one of the (many) risks military pilots took was finding a visual marker before making an air drop. The weather had to be perfect. Now, specialty GPS systems designed for airdrops allows pilots to make precision drops at much higher altitudes. They can perform a drop in the middle of the night during a storm, and be confident they’ll land right where they need to.
- Every year, we hear about tragic boating accidents where a person is washed overboard during a terrible storm and essentially vanish. Luckily, advanced GPS systems are being developed that will be able to provide nearly instantaneous location information for people blown into the water, and increase the speed and efficiency of rescue personnel.
- A kidnapping is one of a parent’s worst nightmares. According to the Center For Missing and Exploited Children, over 250,000 children are abducted on a yearly basis. But GPS tech allows people to fight back and keep their kids safe. Smart products for kids, like trackers placed either around a child’s wrist or in a backpack, allow parents and guardians to know the exact location of their kids at all times.
- Driving a vehicle is a horrifically dangerous activity, and it’s one that most of us completely take for granted. GPS systems are being partnered with other technologies to create self-driving cars. The theory goes that these vehicles can reduce many of the aspects of human error, and drastically reduce injuries and fatalities while on the road.
- A few years ago, a 27-year-old man was on his own camping in the Great Outdoors. His day got bad as he was suddenly bitten by a rattlesnake, and the day got really bad when he realized that physical movement would spread the snake venom through his bloodstream faster. He called for help and used his GPS system to lead medical personnel to his location, where he was successfully treated. Without a functional GPS system, his story would have had a very different, and much less happy ending.