Teen GPS Tracking Part 2
How’s My Driving Signs: One of the simplest ideas can also be the cheapest. Services that center around an 800 number call-in system to report unsafe acts are widely available. You’ve all seen vehicles from Class 8 over-the-road trucks to neighborhood delivery fans with one of those: “How’s my Driving? Call 1-800-xxx-yyyy with comments or compliments” sings on the back.
Just a few of the common commercially available services are here:
http://www.safetyalert.com/
http://www.saferoadusa.com/
http://www.teenscenemag.com/sections/reallife/teen411/driving.php
Disclaimer: I have no connection with any of these services, make no money from them and have no idea of how effective they actually are. They all center around the model of placing a sign on the vehicle and taking reports called in by other motorists and providing a report to the customer .. in this case a parent. Costs seem to run from about $1 to $3 per month.
Pros: In my view these kinds of services are infinitely better than nothing. The fact that the sign is on the vehicle sends a strong message to the teen that the parent cares. Certainly if the vehicle does something completely unsafe an observer may well call the number to report the act. And … they’re cheap.
Cons: These services, to a large extent abrogate the parental supervisory responsibility we’re talking about. They rely on a third party to a., actually observe a violation and b’, care enough to take the time to call it in. They do nothing to monitor unsafe acts that aren’t observed, nothing to inform the parent when the vehicle is in places the parent doesn’t want it to go, and it lends itself to abuse as well. What if another driver has a grudge against your teen, or didn’t quite see what happened? You’re going top get a call and then you’re going to be locked into the situations of the stranger’s word against your teen. Arguments and communication difficulties with teens are challenging enough, this method, in my view, only adds to a parent’s woes.
Recommendation: If you want to try this out, just make your own sign and put it in the car’s rear window. If you don’t care to give out a private phone number, personal 1-800 numbers are available for a buck or two a month from thousands of services .. just do a search, Clusty.com. is your friend.
Well, as usual I’m writing ‘long’ so I’ll close out this post and look at techniques you can use with the teen’s inseparable companion, the cell phone, next issue.