It’s GPS Fleet Tracking vs. Radar in Speeding Case
When it comes to getting stopped for speeding, who ya gonna trust? GPS fleet tracking technology or good old radar? That’s what a court in Petaluma, California is being asked to ponder in a case that has attracted national attention.
The city’s police department has spent $15,000 so far in an attempt to prove that an officer’s radar detector clocked a teen driver going faster than 62 mph in a 45 mph zone. The teen’s parents are contesting the citation, claiming the GPS fleet tracking device in the car would have alerted them by email if their son was driving too fast. But data from the GPS fleet tracking system show he was doing 45 mph before he was pulled over.
A law school dean says the PPD has an interest in winning the case because it wants to continue earning revenue from its radar-detector investment. The teen’s stepfather says human error caused the wrong to speed to register in the radar detector. No precedent is expected to be set by the final decision, but courts and defendants will look more closely at each technology’s reliability in the future.
Radar has its supporters, but our take is: Install GPS feet tracking unit in your teen driver’s car, truck or SUV. You’ll not only know where they are in real time, but you’ll also have peace of mind – if they follow your rules. So if your daughter says she’ll be at a girlfriend’s apartment until 11 p.m., ask for her friend’s address. Then, by logging in to a dedicated site on your web-connected PC, you’ll be able to confirm she’s at her friend’s place on a familiar Google Map. If her vehicle is at an over-21 club instead, she’ll have some ’splaining to do.
If you suspect your son is speeding the way you did as a teenager, your GPS fleet tracking system will alert you by text message or email if he exceeds a pre-discussed speed. You also can receive alerts if he enters or exits a “geofence” you create on your PC. That’s a geographic box around your home, the library, shopping mall or anywhere you choose. You’ll be certain your son (or at least his car) was “on his way home” when he said he was.
It might impress your teens that you’ll be using a high-tech method of tracking their whereabouts. With GPS fleet tracking, you’ll always have a “breadcrumb trail” of their vehicle’s exact route, from the time it left your home to its true destination. If he or she counters that you’re spying on them, remind them they have no cause for concern if they respect your driving rules, curfews, speed limits and other guidelines. If they’re as well-behaved as they claim to be, they’ll have nothing to worry about.
Not all teens object to being monitored by GPS fleet tracking technology. Some find it can actually help them – like being trusted as the designated driver by their friends’ parents. And if the unexpected occurs, such as a stolen vehicle or the teen “disappearing,” you’ll know precisely where the car is in real time or its last tracked location – a significant aid to law enforcement.
Using a GPS fleet tracking system to follow your kids while assuring their privacy is a delicate balance. Many parents have their teens sign a “driving contract” that spells out what’s expected of them when they get behind the wheel. Like any contract, tradeoffs are involved. You expect them to be safe; they expect you to respect their privacy. With GPS, you’ll have proof that they’ve upheld or broken the contract in the form of detailed reports on speed, location and other variables.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.