Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers, killing approximately 6,000 teens every year. In New York alone, traffic crashes killed 64 teens and seriously injured nearly 11,000 in 2006.

Many teen crashes involve inexperienced teen drivers who were distracted by teen passengers or cell phones at the time of their crash. A National Institute of Health study explains that teens don’t fully develop the risk-assessment area of the brain until they reach age 25. That’s plenty for parents to lose sleep over.

What can parents do to ease their worries? AAA New York Traffic Safety Specialist Barbara Ward says parents can help their teens develop into safe drivers by driving with them at every opportunity. Also, she advises parents and teens to reach an agreement on driving rules, such as the one available at www.AAA.com/Teens.

As an extra precaution to monitor their teenager’s driving habits, parents might consider installing a tracking device in their teen’s vehicle as part of their behind-the-wheel training. Ward urges parents to involve their teenager in that decision. “There is concern that installing a teen-tracking device can undermine the trust relationship between parent and child,” says Ward. “It is the parent's choice and should be made with careful consideration.”

The idea is to encourage your teen to drive responsibly and cautiously, knowing that you’re watching from afar. “Usivng technology to monitor a teen driver’s performance not only adds to parents’ peace of mind but helps reinforce accountability standards for teen drivers,” says Ed Welsh, general manager for AAA New York’s Central Region. “The concept of an ‘electronic nanny’ also can help a teen driver stave off peer pressure from teen passengers to misbehave behind the wheel.”

Several companies sell reputable GPS-based tracking or alternative devices. We recently examined a GPS-based device sold by a Long Island company, Movin’ On Sounds & Security, Inc. (www.movinongps.com; $595 installed, plus a monthly fee; a discount is available for AAA members). Parents can choose from a highly detailed device used by municipalities, businesses and trucking fleets, or a simplified version that tracks a driver’s speed and whereabouts.

Once installed in your vehicle, the device uses satellite technology to transmit data to the Internet. Parents then can access constant, real-time tracking information on their home computer. “It archives information about the driver’s speed and whereabouts going back four months, so that you can know where Johnny is and has been,” says Movin’ On’s owner Bruce Cirillo. “Not all devices on the market track history like that.”

Movin’ On’s product also enables parents to set driving boundaries and receive e-mail or text message alerts that warn if teens are speeding or traveling to off-limits locations, Cirillo adds.
Neil Greenblatt, of Melville, N.Y., said he decided to install Movin’ On’s device in his 19-year-old daughter’s car after he caught her going out at 2 a.m. So far, Greenblatt says several speed alerts to his e-mail account prompted him to sternly warn his daughter that he would take the car away if she didn’t drive within the speed limit. “Now, my daughter is more honest with me because she knows that I’m watching her,” he adds.

Computer-based gadgets differ from GPS-monitoring devices. They plug into your vehicle’s OBDII connector (usually under the dashboard or steering wheel) and record driving time and behavior. You can then plug them into your home computer to review the results.

Some reputable brands include CarChip (www.carchip.com; $119) and SmartDriver (www.smart-driver.com; $495). Both companies sell gadgets that track speed, braking and acceleration and can help a driver calculate their gas mileage; however, they cannot track a driver’s location like GPS-based devices do.

“CarChip doesn’t offer real-time tracking with GPS but it does have a real-time audible alert that warns teen drivers when they exceed their parents’ parameters,” says spokeswoman Susan Kohl. “Parents also can review the data with their teens as well as combine CarChip with in-car cameras to get the exact trip history and details.”

Frank Velasquez, a sales manager for CarChip’s manufacturer, Davis Instruments, shared his own experience using CarChip. He installed CarChip in a rental car that his 18-year-old son, a scholar athlete and honor roll student, was using for a week. What he discovered shocked him: CarChip reports showed that his son drove at speeds of 88 and 93 mph. “It scared the heck out of me,” Velasquez said. “He was speeding half of the time, with his younger brother in the car.”

Subsequently, Velasquez confronted his son. “Once faced with the possibility of losing his freedom, my son changed his behavior,” he says.

Wright Gore, president of SmartDriver, suggests that parents use the device as a way of building confidence in their teenager, and to reward their child when they do drive responsibly. “A tracking device will certainly do a lot more good if the teen knows they are being held responsible for their driving behavior,” he says.