Text Messages to keep tabs on teen car traveling

by Lauren Hanley

“It’s ten o’clock do you know where you child is?” A question often played on Channel 5 News at Night to remind and test parents; it is a brief and thought provoking question. Good parents would be able to respond to this question accurately and others not so much. However, now with high-tech surveillance systems in teenager’s cars any parent can modify their teen's driving behavior every second of the day, from inside their car. It gives new meaning to the term “helicopter parents.”

“Data released Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed that in 2006, 68 percent of drivers between the ages of 16 and 20 who were killed in car accidents at night were not wearing seat belts. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is conducting a long-term study on the efficacy of tools to track teen driving and effect on accidents. “

GPS notification system alert parents when teenagers are driving over the speed limit or past curfew with a text message. Video and audio recorders are also available to capture footage of reckless driving or simply spy on the teenager.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, senior vice president for research Anne McCartt, as quoted by ABC News, said “Parents have had a mixed reply. Many teenagers feel as if it is an invasion of privacy.

What happened to trust within a family? Parent should trust their children to make the right decision and learn from their mistakes. Devices like this merely encourage parents to be imperious and snoop. If a driver has his/her license then they are capable of driving and following the rules of the road. If they did not possess this ability then they would not have passed the driving exam. After all, the driver has completed extensive driving time and classes, they deserve the privilege to drive without being stalked.

This notification system may also have a negative affect on a driver. The teenager may intensely worry about making a mistake in front of their parents causing the driver to dismiss their driving environment, resulting in an accident.

I highly doubt that the GPS system will have much decline affect on accidents; it will only tatter parent-child relationships. I get angry when my mom plays the 21 questions game before I leave the house. With her looking over my shoulder 24/7 as I am driving, I will go crazy. Teens are going to have a nervous breakdown and do even more scandalous actions to escape their parent authoritative eye.

Most importantly, this device is just plain creepy. What if someone other than a parent is watching the footage or getting the text messages as to where a driver’s location is. This really freaks me out.

Parents should just learn to trust their children and have faith that their teens are capable of driving; cameras and other nonsense are not necessary.