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One parent, who also writes for his local newspaper, penned a column stating that as a journalist he has written too many articles about young people having their lives cut short by car accidents. So when one of his teenaged children was recently given a driver’s license he could not help but think on all of those stories he had done on teens behind the wheel in car crashes. As he continued to think, he also remembered all of the times he had driven recklessly when he was a teenager.

All of this thinking about what can when teenager get behind the wheel, led this father to action: he decided to make use of a GPS tracking device to keep track of his son’s driving habits and whereabouts. Don’t get us wrong, we know that getting a driver’s license is a very important rite of passage for teenagers. And they do need to get driving experience under their belts—how else will they learn? At the same time, parents cannot help but be nervous. Teens are fun and energetic, but they also tend to take more risks than adults do. Still, the way the world works, people cannot wait until they are past the teen years to start to learn to drive. This is why parents often decide to use a precautionary measure, such as a GPS tracking device, when they let their teens out on the road.

Auto accidents are the number one killer of teens. Almost 6,000 teens die every year in auto accidents. Teens account for 14% of all motor vehicle accident deaths. 5,288 teens died in motor vehicle accidents in 2005 in the U.S. Crashes are the leading cause of death among teens, accounting for more than one-third of all deaths of 16 to 18 year-olds.

While your teen certainly does not have to be one of these statistics, you do need to recognize the risks involved. Teens often make poor decisions and deliberately seek thrills. And they are even more likely to engage is dangerous behavior like speeding when they have passengers in the vehicle.

Getting a teen tracking device not only helps you to look out for one of your most precious assets–your teen–it also means that you are taking precautions to prevent other drivers from being injured as well.

A GPS tracking device can alert you to unsafe driving behaviors so that you can talk to your teen and take whatever other action you think is necessary.