Email

When is it good to have a whistleblower around? When that whistleblower is a GPS tracking device that proves your innocence. For Shaun Malone of California, the GPS tracking device that he thought was his enemy, became a key component in his defense.

GPS tracking technology and a police officer’s radar gun have gone to battle, since the GPS tracking device reported that Malone was not going as fast as the police officer who ticketed Malone says. As new technology enters our lives, we have to find ways to deal with how we apply it and how we govern ourselves in relation to new machines and gadgets. Cases like this set new precedents for how speeding tickets are contested.

Malone went on trial after being charged with driving 62 mph in a zone where the speed limit is 45 mph. This charge, of course, paints the picture that he is a typical, reckless teenage driver. Good thing for Malone that his stepfather, a retired law enforcement official, installed a GPS tracking device purchased from Rocky Mountain Tracking on the car Malone drives.

Although Malone was not thrilled at the idea of having his driving habits tracked by a GPS vehicle tracking devices, it is that tracking that may keep him from being penalized for speeding when he was not doing so.

Malone’s stepfather has pointed out that the he did not buy and install the GPS tracking device to avoid speeding tickets, however. The device was put in place to keep his stepson safe. Many parents decide to track teen drivers using a GPS tracking device to make sure that the young drivers in their households are not speeding, braking suddenly, driving without a seatbelt or driving into forbidden territory.

Still, it may turn out that this tracking device keeps Malone safe in a different way than was intended.