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When Peggy Stein of Towson, Md., went to Ocean City as part of senior week in 1980, her parents simply had to trust her to stay out of trouble. With advances in technology that allow parents to track their teenagers through their cellular phones or in-vehicle global positioning systems (GPS), parents such as Stein might not know what their teenagers are doing, but they know where they are. "I have a good child, but she does have a wild steak like her mother [when] I was a teenager," Stein says. "I know exactly what I did. You build trust. I trust my daughter, but there is peer pressure."
Stein, who owns SignalTrac http://www.signaltrac.com/, an in-vehicle GPS, with Vicki Lewis, says she felt secure allowing her 18-year-old daughter Kelly to go to Ocean City, because she received a report of the position of her car and real-time alerts if her daughter entered or left a certain area. Stein plans to keep tabs on her other teenager, Caitlin, 13, when she is old enough to drive.
"Kelly went to OC, and she took her car because a lot of kids were going down," Stein says. "I know it's parked outside their condo they are staying at. They have free bus service for senior week. I told her do not drive the car while you are down at Ocean City, only to get groceries and park it. That's what she has done." Some of Stein's clients use SignalTrac because they are hoping to lower their car insurance rates and want to keep their teenagers accountable for their driving skills. Under the Dashboard
Since SignalTrac is a Web-based application, parents may log onto the Internet and view a report of their teenager's location, history and driving speed. If your teenager skips school, you receive an e-mail alert letting you know he or she has left the area of the school. Stein, who recommends parents use their own judgment when deciding whether or not to keep the device covert, says the device goes under the dashboard. Teenagers could tamper with the device, she says. "It's just a way of controlling," Stein says. "I have a major writer out of Hollywood who actually put one in his 16-year-old daughter's car. He gave her the car with the unit in it, and now he knows where his daughter is at all times." Some parents meet up with their teenager if they are somewhere they aren't supposed to be. "As long as your name is on the car, there is no privacy," Stein says. "You don't have a problem with stalking. As long as your name is on the car and you are the title owner, you are allowed to put this unit in." What About Trust?
Stein, who's personal belief is that most people don't get common sense until they are 40, says some people think it's not nice to track your teenager. "There are some people who think it's spying on your children, like reading their diary," she says. "It's not the same thing. It's a safety feature. The usual parent has sleepless nights especially when their kids are 16 years old. Because technology is only improving, you don't need to take a tranquilizer." SignalTrac
http://www.signaltrac.com/ |
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