Signal Track GPS System, For Paranoid Parents And Untrustworthy Kids

Loading...

KING5
Posted : 2007-09-18 04:37:35

Molly Jackson is the teenager every parent would love to have. She's a solid student, holding a 3.5 GPA, and is a member of the marching band and sailing team.

And still her dad worries about her safety every time she gets behind the wheel of a car. Greg Jackson, like so many other parents, has reason to worry. Each year 5,000 teens are killed and another 30,000 injured in car wrecks.

But now there's a way to monitor your teen's driving. You can watch their speed and know where they've been and where they're going, every time they start the car.

It's called "Signal Track," a tiny global positioning satellite system that can be installed discreetly and easily in any vehicle. Once installed, simply log on and learn all you need to know about your teen's driving.

"There has got to be some trust and it's hard work to teach," Greg said. "It's much easier to punish."

But where is the line between trust and protection? Dr. George Sayre, a family therapist and assistant psychology professor at Seattle University, has some insight.

"What happens down the road when they have a problem that they need to come to you and you are now the adversary they don't trust you, you don't trust them," he said. "It's a police state kind of a relationship."

That's how Molly saw it when she found out her father was monitoring her driving.

"What!? How long has this been going on, Dad?" she said. "Part of being a teenager is being able to be free. I guess it's part of having a car and it's not showing a lot of trust."

Trust or protection? That's the question parents must battle when deciding whether to install a tracker into a teen's car.