By Greg Bartlett

When kids are young, parents set boundaries for how far away they can venture from home. When they are very young, the boundary may be the neighbor’s driveway. As they get older and hopefully more responsible, the boundaries can be extended. When they get their driver’s license what can a parent do about keeping the teenage driver within their boundaries?

Giving a teenage an operator permit and access to an automobile provides them a measure of independence that they have never had before. Prior to access to a vehicle, the teenager was predominately under the watchful eye of the parent. With the parent stated boundaries can be transgressed with near impunity. The only way a parent can be sure that the boundaries are not exceeded is through a vehicle tracking system.

GPS tracking systems can be very elaborate. There are tracking systems that can be preset for a mileage radius from the home. If that radius is exceeded, the parent is provided with several options.

The first option is simply that an alarm is provided by the vehicle tracking system to the parents computer, land line or cell phone. This alerts the parent that the vehicle has exceeded the pre determined limit. What the parent does with this warning is up to the parent. Through the vehicle tracking system, the parent can watch where the vehicle goes, where it stops and how long it is stopped. This can later be discussed with the teenage driver letting them know that their restricted area for driving has been exceeded.

The parent can make a more radical and often dramatic response. Many tracking systems can be wired into the ignition of the vehicle and the vehicle can be immobilized through the use of the vehicle tracking system. Should the restricted limit be exceeded, when the vehicle comes to a stop, it can be remotely immobilized. Imagine the teenage driver returning to their car and not being able to start the vehicle. They know that they are beyond the limits but now must contact the parent and ask that they come and get them.

A vehicle tracking system can also provide data as to the speed that the vehicle is being driven. While most teenagers think that they can drive as well as Jimmy Johnson, all parents know that they cannot. Knowing how fast the car has been driven and on what roads provides the parent the opportunity to provide further driving instructions for the teenager.

A vehicle tracking system installed in a teenager‘s car provides the parent the assurance that agreed upon limits are not being exceeded and that the vehicle is being operated in a safe manner. Without a vehicle tracking system in the teenager’s car, the parent will have no idea of those parameters and be at the mercy of the teenage driver.