New app warns parents when kids are speeding
Parents can now have 'big brother' along for the ride when their P-plater kids go driving without them, thanks to a new smartphone application that sends an alert if they are speeding.
Speed Notify can detect when teenagers speed, and then relays a message to parents.
The alarm that sounds from the app isn't pleasant, but it's far better than a call from police after a road accident.
"Everyone likes to think their kids are doing the right thing on the road, but if you look at the statistics they say otherwise," the app's creator said.
The idea came to Penrith-based father, Peter Watson, after being passed by a speeding P-plater.
"I just thought to myself, if only his mum and dad knew how he was driving their car, because it was obviously their car," he said.
The app is downloaded onto both the P-plater and the parent's phones, and uses GPS to measure speed.
The parent sets a limit, and if their child exceeds it the app tells mum and dad exactly where their teen is.
Some teenagers will hate this app, but a lot of parents say a small loss of privacy for their children will offer a big relief.
"If I was a teenager I would have hated it, but as a parent it's probably not a bad idea," Sydney mum Carina Verwey said.
"Well we all know that they don't mature before 25, so we have to take some control before that," another parent said.
Only parents can control the program, and if their children turn it off they are sent another alert.
Speed Notify is available from the iTunes store.
