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By Greg Bartlett

There are two fascinating trends in science and technology that have a marked impact on roadway safety at the moment. The first is better neurological understanding of how the human brain works, and the second is the rise of common place Global Positioning Satellite technology, particularly in the form of vehicle tracking systems.

The first trend comes from FMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery) of the human brain in operation. The resolution of this tool has increased nearly as rapidly as computers have advanced, though for different reasons. We’ve simply gotten better at making good electromagnetic systems. They’ve also gotten cheaper to build and operate, which makes a lot of studies possible. One fascinating study done is long term imaging of human brain development. It turns out that maturity in the brain comes from severing connections between parts of the brain. During teenage years, parts of the brain mature at different rates. Some scientists have explained away the usual “teenager behavior” as just the faster maturing of the parts of the brain that reward taking risks. These parts of the brain don’t have their connections severed as rapidly as the parts of the brain that heavily weigh future consequences.” (Some modern philosophies would still take issue with this conclusion, I am sure).

Now, consider the flip side of this. The human brain is in general development through about the age of 25. The connections that get broken to bring about maturity continue throughout our lives, albeit at a much slower pace after the age of roughly 15. What this does mean is that every horror story you’ve ever contemplated about your teenage driving (and the accompanying insurance rate hikes) has a sound basis in neuropathology (supposedly). One of the ways to eliminate this worry is a cheap GPS vehicle tracking systems.

GPS stands for Global Positioning Satellites, which use relativistic time dilation. The time it takes for a signal to propagate from orbit down to the planetary surface, plus geometry and a lot of scary math, generates a positional coordinate system on the surface of the earth that’s accurate to within a foot. Some even tighter solutions are used for some military and scientific applications. GPS transceivers that report their location (or record them) are now available as aftermarket conversion kits for some cars and are standard equipment on some newer cars. If you’re worried about what your teenager is up to, and where they’re going, these provide a record of every place the car has gone. Even if you aren’t buying your teen a new car, consider getting this system put on your family car to help maintain your peace of mind.