Want to Know How Fast Your Teen Drives When You’re Not in the Car?

Iconosys, a Californian technology company, has developed an application for parents to keep track of their teen drivers’ speed via a smart phone. My Max Speed documents speeds by geo-location tracking every 5 seconds, accurately confirming speed at any time.

According to a press release, My Max Speed 2.0, logs the users speed to a spreadsheet every 5 seconds during travel. This information is exportable in batches or in 5-minute data snapshots and each speed recording can be tapped to display the exact physical location in a map format. It also has another feature, Guards Up. This enables speed reports to be sent to another through email or shared on Facebook. It can also be programmed to set an allowable travel perimeter and send notifications by text message when that perimeter is violated by the programmed phone.

"There are hundreds of reasons to run My Max Speed on your smart phone. We expect many will help protect drivers' rights while others will make the roads safer. For example, our children are more apt to drive slower/safer if they know there is a chance that we will be checking their speed reports," Wayne Irving, CEO of Iconosys and father of three teenage children said in a press release.

In 2009, speeding was a contributing factor in 30 percent of all fatal crashes, and 12,628 lives were lost in speeding-related crashes. The economic cost to society of speeding-related crashes is estimated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to be $28 billion per year. According to Allstate, 55 percent of teen drivers admit to going more than 10 percent over the speed limit.

"Losing a child or family member is a difficult reality to face. With the introduction of Guards Up!, parents and guardians now have a simple way to help protect those in their care," Irving said. "As the Smartphone becomes the ubiquitous productivity tool we cannot leave home without, we become empowered to use the technology to take on an essential role in protecting our family. It's our hope that Guards Up! sets minds at ease and makes a difference in keeping children and those under our care safe." 

An extra benefit, parents also have the option to log their own speed and use it for confirmation should they doubt a reading on a radar activated speeding citation.

Find out how the app works here.