On December 17, 2008, Gloucester Township Police Department Chief Edward Smith and Gloucester Public School District Superintendent Thomas Seddon held a press conference to announce the use of GPS technology aboard the Gloucester Township Public School District school buses and to demonstrate the function of the system.

 The Police Department and the School District have partnered to implement the Track Star AVLS GPS vehicle tracking system to enhance the safety of both students and school bus drivers.

Making use of grant money provided by the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, Gloucester Township has implemented the first of such programs in the state. Suzanne O'Hearn, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, said "It's a great, innovative program that I think will go far."

The program involves the use of the Track Star AVLS GPS vehicle tracking system, which has been in use in the Gloucester Township Police Department for some time, on the school buses. The system displays the movement and activity of the buses, including their speed, in real time on computer map displays monitored by police dispatchers and school officials as well as in the police cars themselves. Emergency events such as automatically detected crashes or activation of a "panic button" by the driver cause alerts to be received instantly in all three locations. "This deployment configuration highlights the benefits of the unique capabilities and system architecture that the Track Star AVLS system brings to GPS vehicle tracking technology", said Michael Hughes, President of Track Star International, Inc. "We have enjoyed a very positive relationship with the Gloucester Police Department, providing them with the GPS tools necessary to increase officer safety and enhance incidence response. The addition of the school buses to the system there is a testimony to the effectiveness of our products", he added. Since the Track Star system was already in place at the Police Department, all that was necessary to provide this technology to the bus fleet was to install the GPS equipment. The devices report into the existing Track Star AVLS system at the Police Department.

The program is intended to provide the police department with immediate information, including location, when an emergency arises on one of the school district buses. Drivers are able to activate the "panic button" installed in the bus to summon immediate response to incidences such as accidents, fights between students, aggressive drivers or any other critical situation. Beyond these emergency alerts, the school district derives benefit from being able to monitor the movement of buses, analyze routes and monitor driving patterns.

Police Chief Smith said that the system data is used to help identify factors in school bus crashes and to enhance the enforcement of traffic laws related to school bus operations. An enforcement action that was implemented along with the GPS technology has resulted in 46 traffic arrests including one for driving while intoxicated and three for illegally passing a stopped school bus. Chief Smith said that the grant request was made in response to a number of complaints received by the police department regarding aggressive driving and motorists passing school buses. Smith said, "We took those complaints very seriously."

The system is installed in 10 of the school districts fleet of 105 active buses and while other districts in the state of New Jersey make use of GPS technology on their buses, the Gloucester system is the first to tie the bus tracking information and emergency notifications to the municipal police department. "We are looking forward to increasing the safety and security and our awareness of where exactly the buses are at any moment", Seddon said.

For additional information on the Track Star AVLS GPS Vehicle Tracking products contact Michael Hughes or visit www.trackstar.com . Track Star products are available directly from Track Star International or from any of our dealers.

ABOUT - Track Star International, Inc. is a privately help corporation located in New Hartford, NY. The company provides GPS vehicle tracking software to municipalities, law enforcement agencies, school districts, utility and service fleets and various general transportation fleets. The company was founded in 2000 and produces uniquely scalable and flexible GPS vehicle tracking software that supports a wide variety of GPS devices.