Tracking device for car?

[NHdisneylover]

When OnStar was developed by GM in the '90s, it was a very different world. Cell phones, GPS, etc...were in their infancy stage. Bluetooth didn't exist. OnStar offered a service that you really couldn't easily get otherwise. Instant contact with help, and geocoded to locate you or your car if you couldn't. That type of stuff is now available on even the most basic of smartphones, which 99% of the population has. As talked about in this thread, there are endless ways to not only track where your car is, but what it's doing, where it's been, etc... There are endless personal assistant apps, which is another thing OnStar offered. GM is trying to come up with new services for OnStar to help keep it attractive, I think I read somewhere that they're going to start allowing customers to order food/drinks through OnStar, using the cars' touchscreen interface.

OnStar isn't a bad thing, I like it. It's just not as cutting edge, new, different, relevant, etc...as it once was.

I guess so. I have no experience with OnStar but we have a similar thing in our BMW. We don't use it often becuase, yes, it can often be easier to just use our phones, but if one of is alone behind the wheel it sure is convienient to press a button and keep safely driving while asking that they find me a gas station near my route which is open (gas stations in France close pretty early, as we've learned!) or the closest ATM which takes my bank card without fees, etc. We've also used it to report an accident when we were unsuare of the names of roads we were on----they could see insantly where the car was and relay the location to the police to send help for those involved in the wreck.

The BMW ap let's us see where our car is anytime---I think it is meant so you can find where you parked---but DH's phone gets auto updates so sometimes when I keep the car and he is travelling he will send me a message and ask how i liked the movie, or if we found anything interesting to buy at the mall, etc It's sort of freaky and sort of funny. Heck, I don'T even have the app but google soemtimes sends me updates on the traffic conditions he's driving. It's all very Big Brother.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

I don't have kids and don't plan to, but this thread is super interesting. I hope lots of posters weigh in. Cool topic, OP!

I am finding it super interesting because I have never heard of a tracking device on a car, and I do have kids. My DD just got her license last week. I mentioned this thread to my DH, and he thought I was crazy. I am very confident she will not go where she is not supposed to go, but I am a tad worried she will let a friend ride with her. In Indiana you are not allowed to have anyone, except siblings, ride with you the first six months. All of her friends' parents are on board with this law, and she knows I have eyes everywhere!

 

[lifesavacation]

Not picking on you at all, just a general question. Where do you draw the line on spying on them? In other words, what constitutes "speeding"? If you're on the highway and the speed limit is 65, around here you'll be a rolling roadblock if you go 65mph. Pace of traffic is 70-75mph, fast lane is 80+. Again, not criticizing you at all, just curious where people would fall on this topic of where you want to make sure the teen is safe vs. being too helicopter-esque.

And please, don't lecture me about teen safety in a car...car crashes are what I do for a living, literally. I'm keenly aware of these types of things. My oldest is only a hair over 2 years away from driving, and I'm not quite sure yet how I'll tackle the tracking him vs. letting him have some freedom issue.

Well I wouldn’t call it spying since she knows about it. She’s only 14 and was riding with older kids I don’t know, so I don’t consider that being a helicopter parent. And they were going 75 on the freeway when the speed limit is 60. I consider that speeding, as do LE in our area. YMMV.

 

[wenrob]

I am finding it super interesting because I have never heard of a tracking device on a car, and I do have kids. My DD just got her license last week. I mentioned this thread to my DH, and he thought I was crazy. I am very confident she will not go where she is not supposed to go, but I am a tad worried she will let a friend ride with her. In Indiana you are not allowed to have anyone, except siblings, ride with you the first six months. All of her friends' parents are on board with this law, and she knows I have eyes everywhere!

It’s not about going or not going where they’re supposed to. It’s knowing they made it from point A to point B in one piece. At least it was for me. When I was a young driver I had to notify my parents when I was leaving somewhere and let them know when I arrived. They wanted to know I got to where I was going safely. Same thing.

 

[cvjw]

If I have to have something like a tracker to reliably know where they are, they aren't ready for the responsibility of driving.

My boys are very responsible divers. I keep a tracker on them for my peace of mind. If my oldest is driving to or from from school, I can check to make sure he made it safely. If my younger son is later than usual coming home from school or soccer, I can see where he is and know practice ran longer than usual.

And heaven forbid something bad happened to either one of them, I could locate them and provide assistance.

 

[Mizzoufan]

My boys are very responsible divers. I keep a tracker on them for my peace of mind. If my oldest is driving to or from from school, I can check to make sure he made it safely. If my younger son is later than usual coming home from school or soccer, I can see where he is and know practice ran longer than usual.

And heaven forbid something bad happened to either one of them, I could locate them and provide assistance.

don't they have phones for that reason

 

[Kitty 34]

This thread is interesting. My sons drove without tracking devices on them and did fine. It makes me wonder what they will do with their children, tho, some day.

 

[wenrob]

don't they have phones for that reason

I never wanted to potentially distract my DD when she was possibly driving.

 

[wenrob]

This thread is interesting. My sons drove without tracking devices on them and did fine. It makes me wonder what they will do with their children, tho, some day.

My DD tracks me when I’m out and about, lol.

eta: Did they call you and let you know when they made it somewhere? At least when they were new drivers?

 

[Dan Murphy]

It's just not as cutting edge, new, different, relevant, etc...as it once was.

A better thought, yes.

I like the features that OnStar has built in. I like 4 of the 5 basic feature categories it provides, but gladly use Waze over OnStar for navigation.

 

[marlynnp]

It’s not about going or not going where they’re supposed to. It’s knowing they made it from point A to point B in one piece. At least it was for me. When I was a young driver I had to notify my parents when I was leaving somewhere and let them know when I arrived. They wanted to know I got to where I was going safely. Same thing.

Then why is a hidden tracker needed? I have my daughter text me when she gets in the car and then again when she arrives at her destination.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Sorry, but add me in with the NO secret tracking and surveillance crowd.
Seriously.

Only parent I have known that would do that has a kid who has not spoken to them since their 18th birthday.

Since that is my personal take, I really would not know what is out there.
I do know that most all cars have ALL of this 'black-box' info... (not just the OnStar)
When we alllowed our insurance company to monitor our car for 30 days, in order to get a discount on our premiums.... They knew every single tiny thing about how the car was being driven, where exactly it was located, etc.

 

[wenrob]

Then why is a hidden tracker needed? I have my daughter text me when she gets in the car and then again when she arrives at her destination.

I asked the same question. The only person who wants to hide the tracker is the OP. They have not come back to say why they want to hide it. The rest of us here who say we’ve used some form of tracking have stated our kids knew about it.

 

[jevs]

Hard for me to comment either way given driving age is 18 here, and there is no way I’d even consider it at that age.

 

[KristiMc]

I use Life360 for my 16 year old. It's not that I don't trust him, it's just for my peace of mind to let me know that he got where he was going safely. For those of you that don't have drivers that think it is odd to track - let us know if you still feel the same way when you have young drivers.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

OP, as a Mom of a 25 yr. old that was never tracked, but maybe should have been, I suggest you do what you think is best for you & your child. What someone else does/did with their child is irrelevant. They may be surprised at their child's behavior, when they were away from them. IME, the parents who expected their child to always make the best decisions were the ones who were most likely not living in reality. Sorry, I can't offer any suggestions, but I'll offer support. It really annoys me, when people basically saying, "I wouldn't do that with my child, which obviously makes you wrong." The term "helicopter parent" is even worse. I could say what I think of some of the parents that use that term, then describe their parenting style, but I won't. It's not my job to raise their child & it certainly wasn't their job to raise mind.

 

[Klayfish]

I do know that most all cars have ALL of this 'black-box' info... (not just the OnStar)

Yes, all cars monitor an amazing amount of data. However, it doesn't record anything unless it senses an "event", such as an accident. Even then, you need specialized equipment to retrieve the data. This is why all of these apps and devices exist. They will give some basic data, such as speed and location.

It's amazing how the advances of technology, much of which is designed for safety sake, has created new social/parenting challenges surrounding safety. That's not a comment for or against monitoring, it's just a "side effect" of modern technology. Only 10 or 15 years ago, the only way to monitor was to have your child call from a payphone...or take a picture of where they were, using their Polaroid.

 

[kimblebee]

I use Life360 for my 16 year old. It's not that I don't trust him, it's just for my peace of mind to let me know that he got where he was going safely. For those of you that don't have drivers that think it is odd to track - let us know if you still feel the same way when you have young drivers.

My daughter is 17, doesn’t drive, but goes in cars all the time with young drivers. I wouldn’t for a second consider tracking her. If I want to know she got somewhere, she texts or calls.

For the pp who said they called their daughter to tell the driver to slow down, don’t you think your daughters phone ringing would be a distraction to the driver? That the conversation could have been a distraction too?

It’s your kid, your rules but I would have died of embarrassment if my mom did something like that to me. Reminds me of a movie I just saw..The Circle.

 

[cvjw]

don't they have phones for that reason

They certainly do. Unfortunately, they are teenage/young adult boys who do not always remember to text their mom.

Both know about the trackers and are fine with it.

 

[manning]

Drone. They'll never know it's there.