April/May 2002

Eurowatch fights pan-European crime

A vehicle and load tracking service that helps drivers obtain police assistance if they are victims of crime while abroad has been launched by TRI-MEX International, a specialist in real-time cross-border tracking of freight movements by road, rail, sea or air. It is called Eurowatch.

The company says 200,000 lorry crimes are committed each year across Europe, and annual losses have grown to more than 10 billion euros. Special problems arise when the vehicle is out of its home country, since police emergency numbers can't be dialled across borders, tracking data can't be forwarded and there can be language problems.

 

Eurowatch provides a single telephone number that a subscriber can call from any country. A key feature of the service is its ability to forward vehicle tracking information direct to police in real time.

There is a central Web site and a network of national service providers in each country, who have accreditation to police and provide service cover 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.