Georgia company working with Mazda to help parents track their children's movements in vehicles
Parents always want to know what their children are doing, where they are going and with whom. A Georgia-based company is making part of that easier for parents with its AutoSearchGPS device. EarthSearch Communications, Inc. now is testing its new program with Mazda USA. The vehicle-management device — currently offered as an option to Mazda vehicles at select Atlanta dealerships — is the latest weapon to be deployed in the increasingly desperate battle to reduce teen driving fatalities. "This technology offers parents a variety of protective measures to minimize the deadly risks associated with teen driving," says Kayode Aladesuyi, CEO of EarthSearch Communications, Inc. (ESC). "Since speed is the determining factor in many teen driving accidents and fatalities, many parents choose to put a speed restriction on their children's driving behavior." Parents are alerted via phone if their child exceeds a pre-determined speed or strays beyond a certain perimeter, he added. The parent also has the option of remotely disabling the vehicle from their cell phone as soon as the driver turns off the ignition. The device, AutoSearchGPS Vehicle Management system, is currently available as an add-on option in Mazda products at five Atlanta-metro dealerships: Rick Case Mazda, Sutherlin Mazda, Jim Ellis Mazda of Atlanta, Jim Ellis Mazda of Marietta and Mazda of Roswell. For more information on dealership locations, visit www.earthsearch.us/products.php?section=Autodealer. The vehicle-management device has the following state-of-the-art capabilities from an application on a cell phone or computer: Despite stringent state legislation and driver education programs, car crashes remain the leading cause of teen deaths (16- to 20-year-olds) in the United States. Traffic safety sources report more than 3,400 teen driver fatalities every year, 275 last year in Georgia alone. The thought of losing a child to a car accident is every parent's worst nightmare — it is impossible to ignore the staggering statistics. Sixteen-year-olds are three times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash than the average of all drivers. EarthSearch recently partnered with RoadWise, a national driver education group dedicated to reducing teen driving deaths, and WBS Radio B98.5 FM in a community-based effort to educate parents on what they can do to protect their children on the road. "This is a rare piece of technology that truly makes the world a safer place — particularly for our children," states Tamela Danzey, vice president, RoadWise America, a technology-based driver education company in Duluth, Ga. For detailed parental information, visit www.earthsearch.us/products.php?section=people_search. Georgia officials have tried a variety of strategies to curb teen driving fatalities, including laws, like the Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibility Act (TADRA), that restrict the hours during which teens can legally drive. Experts have given such efforts mixed reviews in regard to effectiveness. Despite these efforts, teen driving deaths continue to be a major safety concern across the country. Driver safety expert and former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Dr. Jeffrey Runge, has referred to teen driving fatalities as an epidemic. "We're talking 1,400 injuries a day, 15 deaths a day," Runge notes. "It's not only the personal cost. There's a huge economic cost. Every brain injury, we believe, costs society about a million dollars." The NHTSA estimates the economic impact of auto accidents involving 15- to 20-year-old drivers is over $40 billion. By all accounts, teen driving deaths will continue to be a serious problem as the youth population surges. Based on current population trends, there will be 23 percent more 16- to 20-year-old drivers on the road in 2010 than the 26 million there are today. For more information visit, www.earthsearch.us/products.php?section=auto_search. |
