Patent ID: 8115656

Claim:
A vehicle monitoring system comprising: a communication subsystem configured to provide two-way wireless communication; and a controller mounted in a vehicle and configured to receive data indicative of a location of the vehicle and to control the communication subsystem to transmit the data indicative of the vehicle location toward a communication center and receive operational information transmitted from the communication center and to indicate one of a plurality of operating modes in which the system will operate; wherein the controller receives a mode change command that specifies one of the operating modes for operation and that is included in the operational information, and in response changes operating mode between an authorization mode in which the controller transmits an alert signal to the communication center, the alert signal comprising the data indicative of the vehicle location and data indicating that the vehicle location change is unauthorized, in response to determining that vehicle location has changed without detecting an authorization signal within a predetermined time interval after determining that the vehicle location has changed, and a tracking mode, in which the controller transmits the data indicative of vehicle location continuously at predetermined intervals regardless of the authorization signal.