Should Your Parents Track Your Location Debate
When Scott Kelly’s daughter turned 18 he could not help but be proud and happy about how grown up and mature she had become. Rachel, Scott’s daughter, had received her driver’s license about 6 months ago and loved driving. She would drive to school, to friend’s houses, the bowling alley, everywhere. With the driver’s license came independence, but Scott came fear. Scott knew all the alarming statistics about teen driving and teenage drivers and how crash rates were very high for the age group due to inexperience and a poor ability to deal with distractions.
When Scott read an article on a popular teen driving website about the benefits of a GPS tracking device for parents, he began to think that a real-time GPS tracking system could be the solution to alleviate his constant worrying. Scott watched news stories on car tracking device systems being used to catch cheating spouses and vehicle tracking devices being used to catch criminals such as drug traffickers, but he thought GPS tracking being used for teen tracking applications was an amazing concept. Scott thought he could buy a real-time vehicle tracking device, take it to a local audio alarm store for installation, and then be able to monitor his daughter’s driving speed and location in real-time with the GPS tracker. He felt his worries melting away at the thought.
Can My Parents Track My Car?
Can your parents track your car? The answer is yes! Teen tracking devices can monitor any vehicle 24/7, providing information such as live location updates, if speed limits are being adhered to, and a complete understanding of driving habits. GPS vehicle trackers can track a teen’s location, including the exact addresses they arrive/depart! Teen vehicle tracking systems can be hidden inside the vehicle, OBDii port, or hardwired to the vehicle, which allows parents to have total access to driving habits.
Live GPS Tracker For Teenager Car
Scott purchased a GPS tracker called the SilverCloud GPS online from a website for $199.00. Scott learned through his research that all real-time GPS tracking requires wireless charges and, therefore, a monthly service obligation would appear on his credit card statement every month for $39.95. The good thing was there was no contract for the wireless service and he could cancel the service at any time at no charge. This was perfect because Scott really only wanted to use the tracking system for about 6 months to confirm that his daughter was either driving safely or discover she was not and he could then help shape her driving behavior.
As originally planned, Scott took the real-time GPS car tracker to a local audio alarm retail store and they installed the device into his daughter’s car within 15 minutes for less than $100. The installers even mentioned that they see a lot of parents now using GPS tracking systems for teen tracking applications.
When Saturday night rolled around and Rachel asked her father for the keys to the family car, there was no hesitation or multiple statements/ questions such as:
- Call Me When You Get There
- Don’t Drive Too Fast
- Don’t Go Over Here Or There
Scott let his daughter know that a GPS tracker was installed in her car, how the GPS works and that the real-time GPS would report speed, location, addresses, time en route, time departed, and other useful information. Initially, she felt that her father was invading her privacy by monitoring her vehicle’s travels via GPS tracking; however, once he explained that her car insurance would be reduced because the tracking system helped regulate safe driving and also could act as a theft recovery system, her anger subsided slightly. Scott even explained to his daughter that he could help her if she got lost. All he would have to do is log onto the website and find the location of the teen GPS tracker and then he could use a program like Google Maps to guide her or reroute her if there were a traffic jam, accident, or if she was simply lost in an unfamiliar location. Most importantly, he explained to her that the live GPS information gave him a secure feeling knowing she was safe. He reiterated to her that:
- The GPS tracking system would lower her car insurance costs.
- The vehicle tracking device would allow him to find her location and reroute her if she became lost.
- The real-time GPS tracker would act as a car theft recovery device if anyone ever stole the vehicle.
- The tracking device would make him feel more comfortable that she was safe and at the locations, she said she would be at.
- Mobile tracking apps would make it easy for him to find his teenage daughter if a car accident occurred.
Rachel understood the benefits of the real-time GPS tracker, and although she did not feel a live GPS device in her car was a good idea she did not feel it was a bad one. Especially since GPS tracking applications are used on phones every day. The only difference is the professional tracking systems were more reliable, accurate, and detailed. Scott even explained to his daughter that when she went away to college he could help route her or recover her car if it was stolen because the live GPS worked everywhere in the United States.
Rachel never argued about the real-time GPS tracker and her father was able to sleep just a little better knowing that he could always find his daughter with a few mouse clicks via GPS monitoring technology.
Is your teen going on a road trip? If so, read our recent article about letting a 17-year-old go on a road trip alone!

Sage is a freelance writer with a background in information technology.