Tracking a Lost Car in New York City

“Dude … where’s my car?”

I remember muttering those words — and no, I wasn’t referencing the movie, nor was I talking to anyone in particular — the instant I approached the place I was sure I parked my car the day prior, only to be presented with a vehicle that was decidedly not mine.

I was living in Manhattan just after graduating college. The Upper West Side is littered with ample, meter-less parking on the street, but the caveat is you need to constantly move every day or two to accommodate street sweeping, garbage pickup, and the likes. It’s kind of a pain, but hey: free parking.

Anyway, I digress.

The point is: My car was nowhere to be found. I was in a bit of a panic, to say the least. Was it stolen? Had it been towed? The city is chock-full of seemingly contradictory parking signs, so either was a viable option. All I knew for sure was that it was not in the space where I definitely left it. I didn’t know what to do or who to call — Smartphones had yet to make their debut to the world — so I quickly walked back to the apartment I was staying at to figure out my next steps.

Over the course of the next 48 hours, I repeatedly searched databases for towing records and made multiple calls — including to my uncle who was a cop in New Hampshire, where my car was still registered, because clearly he must have had access to some kind of secret car-finding database, right? — but to no avail.

Feeling hopeless, I finally resigned myself to defeat. My car was gone. Barely a month in the city and I was already a victim. So I grabbed my things and started to slowly make my way toward the nearest police department to file a stolen vehicle report. But as I walked, an idea popped into my head; I changed directions, walked another block, and turned the corner. And there it was: my “lost” car. Safely parked in the actual spot I left it a few days prior. Except now its windshield was adorned with several costly parking tickets.

But hey, at least it wasn’t stolen? That counts for something, right?

I know it seems like some big, random tangent, me just prattling on about some gaffe I made more than a decade ago. Truth is, I hadn’t thought about this in quite some time, particularly once the requisite torment from family and friends simmered down. But the memory reared its head again when I started working with Actsoft and began thinking more about scenarios warranting GPS tracking.

I felt such anxiety when I thought my car was gone, and I started to wonder how exacerbated that feeling would be for a person in charge of the well-being of a company vehicle, or an entire fleet of them. Comet Fleet devices provide such a profound peace of mind; the ability to accurately track your property in the event of a theft means you can rest easy, knowing your investments are protected.

Beyond just tracking after the fact, there are alerts you can set up so that, if your vehicles are moved from designated locations, during times when they shouldn’t be, you’ll be immediately alerted. So instead of hours potentially lapsing between the incident and the time you find out, it can be an almost instant notification.

All this is to say: When it comes to keeping your vehicles in check, don’t be me. Don’t let yourself be that person, wandering around aimlessly, losing hope. Know exactly where your assets are at all times and rest easy at night.

Have any questions on how Actsoft can help you?