A car impounded for alleged boy-racing was tracked half an hour later by a GPS system on a joyride, reaching speeds of 100km/h in a 50km/h zone.
The car’s owner, a woman who wanted to be known only as Nicky, said her car was taken by East City Towing – which is contracted to work on behalf of the police – at 1.55am on Sunday from Mt Wellington for alleged “boy-racer activities”.
When she got to work on Monday, she checked her Snitch GPS tracker to see where her $12,000 Nissan Silvia had been taken.
To her surprise, the tracker showed it had been to the yard, but had then been taken out again.
“I saw there was activity around where the impound yard was and it was going very fast as well and I thought there was no way it was on the tow-truck when that happened because the tow-truck wouldn’t have been able to go that fast in that short space.”
Snitch records show Nicky’s car was taken out of the Pakuranga Heights impound lot on Cascade Rd at 2.30am – not long after it arrived.
It was driven around Ben Lomond Cres, reaching speeds of more than 100km/h, then returned to the impound lot before being driven further up Cascade Rd where it again reached more than 100km/h.
Nicky’s car reached 113km/h in the 2.7km it travelled. Ben Lomond Cres is a 50km/h zone and the stretch of Cascades Rd that was driven that night is 60km/h.
“I was pretty pissed about it all. And I want my car back because I don’t trust it being in that car yard,” Nicky said.
East City Towing director Mike Holliday did not respond to Herald emails asking about Nicky’s car or return calls.
When the Herald visited East City Towing’s yard yesterday afternoon, Nicky’s car was in the garage.
Nicky has told the police about the tow-truck company’s joyride in her car.
She said it was “pretty hypocritical” that her car was taken away from her for allegedly being involved in boy-racer activities, but those who took it from her did exactly that.
Her car, which she bought five years ago, has been impounded for 28 days, but she has appealed to have it released earlier.
Nicky wonders how many other impounded cars have been taken for joyrides.
“The police officer I told this to said they’d never had a problem like this in the 12 years they had worked with them.
“And I said, ‘Well, how do you know that? You only know that now because I have a Snitch. Not everyone who has their car impounded has a Snitch so they can check that sort of thing’.”
A spokeswoman for the tow firm denied that the car had been taken for a joyride.
She said it was on the back of the tow truck when the truck driver noticed a figure “appear from behind our jumbo bin who then ran across our driveway towards a vehicle that was parked on the neighbouring property with its lights off. This vehicle then sped off with no lights on.”
He chased the vehicle in his truck, with the Silvia still on board and the ignition on, but lost sight of it and returned to the yard.
“The truck was then driven into our yard behind two security gates and parked up with the vehicle still on the back of the truck.”
She disputed the speed captured by the GPS, saying the truck could not have reached that speed.
Snitch director Jeremy Mclean said the details of the tow-truck company’s joyride in Nicky’s car were 100 per cent accurate. The GPS device contained a piece of hardware which recorded when the vehicle was turned on and off, where it moved and how fast it was going.
Snitch is a New Zealand company, based in Auckland.
The maximum fine for travelling up to 50km/h over the speed limit is $630.
If the speed is more than 40km/h above the limit, the driver can also have a 28-day licence suspension.
If the speed is more than 50km/h over the limit, the driver could be charged with careless, dangerous or reckless driving.
By Amelia Wade
Come and visit the Snitch Brisbane Team at the Logan Live & Local Expo, this Friday and Saturday (23, 24 March) 10am – 4pm.
Attending will be Jeremy McLean (Snitch Inc Founder), Eric Pretty and newcommer to the Brisbane team Ameil Matthews.
This event is at the Logan Metro Indoor Sports Centre, 357 Browns Plains Road Crestmead. The Expo is designed to showcase businesses in a forum where exhibitors can connect with other businesses and the wider Logan community whilst featuring their goods and services.
Vaughn from Auckland Motorsport has negotiated the best price ever on SnitchGPS Vehicle Tracking. Normally $995.00, AMS members can now purchase this revolution in vehicle security for a fraction of that price.
For a limited time, AMS members can purchase a Snitch SA43 for only
$595.00….this is used on www.snitchgps.co.nz
There are two options for monthly service fees:
$20.00 per month
or $200.00 for a year, paid up front.
All includes GST.
This does not include installation, but we can recommend a number of installers around New Zealand.
The SA43 can also be connected to the pager out on most star rated alarms, to receive a TXT message if your alarm is activated.
Anyone who is interested should get hold of Vaughan, BigV@AucklandMotorsport.co.nz or Snitch Inc, sales@snitchinc.com or 0508 SNITCH (0508 764 824)
Payments by credit card, cash or bank transfer accepted. Can be picked up from Dominion Rd, Auckland or postage added.
All purchases also support Auckland Motorsport. http://www.aucklandmotorsport.co.nz
Live reads by Campo, the sexiest man on the radio….on Brisbanes 97.3fm.Click the links to listen:
Some More About Campo
Drive Home with Campo
Monday to Friday 3pm -7pm
In the beginning there was nothing.
Then there was Campo.
Drive home with Campo every day from 3-7pm. Let his silky voice keep you company in the car with prizes, news, traffic and the best music from the 80s, 90s and now.
Campo is the founder of Swim4Kids, a 100-kilometre open water swim in a shark cage that raises money for the Royal Children’s Hospital. You can visit the web site for Swim4Kids here.
Some facts about Campo:
- Campo is the sexiest man alive.
- Campo’s brother played rugby league
- Campo doesn’t have photos taken of him. Photos line up to have Campo inside THEM.
- Campo once repaired a fridge by singing to it.
- Wikipedia wasn’t successful until Campo let it host an article about him. You can read it here.
Campo and his dulcet tones are on the wireless every day, swooning Brisbane playing the best music from the 80s, 90s and now from 3-7pm.
(source http://973fm.com.au/shows/non-stop-music-for-your-drive-home/)
ArmadaGPS Now supports the Garmin DEZL560LT for use with our Messaging Package.
Designed exclusively for the trucking industry, the Dēzl 560LT sat nav from Garmin is ideally suited to the in-cab environment. With its large 5-inch display, rugged design, extra loud speaker and optional video input for tricky reversing manoeuvres, it was made for life on the road.
Drivers can customise dēzl by inputting their vehicle’s specific attributes: weight, length, clearance height and maximum payload, and the sat nav will calculate the most appropriate route, taking these details plus truck speed limits, hazards and exit services into consideration.
For more information on the DEZL560 LT contact Snitch Inc in New Zealand on 0508 764 824 or in Australia on 1800 764 824.
Swim4kids is a charity event dreamed up by Brisbane Radio DJ Campo, from 97.3FM. Participants swim in a “tag team” swim from the Breakfast Creek Hotel, up the Brisbane River and across Moreton Bay to Tangalooma Island Resort and back. Participants swim inside a purpose-built cage which is pulled along by the Tangalooma Flyer.
Snitch Inc provided tracking on the Tangalooma Flyer and provided public access to ArmadaGPS, so Radio Listeners could see the progress of the swimmers online.
Listen to Jeremy Mclean and Campos Swim4Kids on air chat
Listen to Campo talking about swim4kids and tracking the Tangalooma Flyer
Call point, providers of Mapping Data in Australia called upon Snitch Inc for a case study.
Click on the link below to read more
Not to be outdone by the fabulous views from the new building in Auckland, Snitch PTY is now based at Level 19, 10 Eagle Street, Brisbane, Queensland, in a historic Grade A building in Brisbane’s financial hub.
The building is a landmark development which has housed a range of multi-national tenants attracted by the stunning facade and prime location. With its commanding location on the Brisbane skyline, it is a fitting location for Snitch PTY Ltd as it establishes successfully into the Australian market.
Snitch moved premesis today, leaving West Auckland behind, for a brand new inner city office.
The new address is Suit 3b, 109 Dominion Road, Mount Eden, Auckland 1024.
Feel free to drop in to meet the team, and have a cup of freshly brewed coffee.
Owning 11 vans is no small task for the YMCA Tauranga. There’s the daily logistics, fuel, maintenance costs, insurance, registration and ensuring that all the vehicles are delivering our precious cargo – our participants – safely and efficiently.
Thanks to Snitch Inc, a New Zealand owned and operated business specialising in GPS vehicle tracking, managing these tasks got a whole lot easier.
As part of its efforts to be a responsible corporate citizen, Snitch installed its state of the art, Armada high resolution GPS tracking units in each YMCA van. With the click of a mouse, the Y can get real time information about the location of each van, what speed they’re going, and how many kilometres they’ve travelled.
“We’ve got a fantastic product and we’re really proud to be sharing it with such a great organisation as the YMCA Tauranga,” said Jeremy McLean, Snitch’s Business Development Director. “Our units enable fleet owners to concentrate more on their core business. In this case it means the Y can focus more on helping youth and community. For us here at Snitch, that is a very worthwhile mission.”
From the YMCA’s perspective, the partnership has already seen improved service, better timekeeping, less paperwork and a more accurate cost analysis of its fleet.
“We’re a very mobile organisation and vehicles are one of our largest assets,” said Amy S. Thaler, YMCA Tauranga’s CEO. “Being able to more effectively look after those assets, as well as be able to see where our vans are at any given time is a powerful tool. It also means that the drivers of our vans are even more accountable for the manner in which they deliver our cargo, regardless of whether its kids, kayaks or frozen meals.”
In addition to providing geographic information, each Armada unit assists with real time vehicle diagnostics by either texting or emailing the YMCA with warnings about low batteries, excessive G force, alarm activations or if a maximum speed has been exceeded.
“Installing Snitch’s units has been as much about safety as it is fleet management,” adds Thaler. “It is imperative that we have safe and reliable vans. After all, the valuable lives of our participants and staff depend on our vehicles starting first go and performing as they should.”
By Lise Mackie










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