The Associated Press

EDMOND, Okla. — Keeping an eye on people’s movements is big business to Jerry and Cindy Hunter of Edmond, owners of USFleetTracking Co. in Oklahoma City.

The Hunters sell equipment and service to track vehicles of all types across the world. Their small dashboard-mounted receiver/transmitter uses Global Positioning System technology and reports the vehicle’s position on computer screens.

Those who purchase the system can even receive e-mail or text message updates on a vehicle’s location.

Jerry Hunter holds two doctorates, one in software engineering and design and one in circuit design. For eight years before establishing USFleetTracking Co., he built 911 emergency dispatch systems.

Now his devices are used on automobiles, trucks, helicopters, small aircraft and other forms of transportation in places as far removed as Australia, Iceland and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office is one of many law enforcement and emergency response agencies that use the technology.

Other customers include construction companies, charitable organizations, landscapers and road departments virtually anyone who owns a fleet of vehicles.

“About 85 percent of our market is businesses,” Hunter said. “I can’t imagine having a business without having something like this.”

Hunter said USFleetTracking typically can give business owners a return on investment in less than one month, thanks to reclaimed time and mileage.

Hunter cited one Louisiana police department that reclaimed their expense in fewer than three days. The department found their officers were taking patrol vehicles home and spending time there between calls.

“Those are your tax dollars at work,” Hunter said.

Parents also use the devices to monitor their teenage drivers; wives and husbands purchase the units to keep tabs on one another’s whereabouts.

“The driver has no clue it’s there,” Hunter said.

Competitors’ systems usually update information every 1 to 5 minutes, or in increments of up to four hours. Hunter’s device updates as often as every second. Purchasers can view the vehicle’s activity in real time or replay up to 90 days worth of history.