Wichita ? Greg Fox knows firsthand how sensitive the camera that monitors his son’s driving is.

It has even ratted him out on occasion.

Fox shares a car with his 16-year-old, and the camera that’s supposed to help his son learn how to drive better also catches Fox from time to time. So when the reports come in about what the camera saw, Fox sometimes reads about himself.

The Teen Safe Driver Program is just one part of an arsenal of technology helping parents keep tabs on their teens: some cell phones can track their locations, GPS devices can be tucked into backpacks or vehicles to do the same, and some software can tell parents where their children go online.

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States, accounting for 41 percent of teen fatalities, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Teens are nine times more likely to be in a car wreck than their parents, and crash rates increase 700 percent when teens are not driving with their parents, studies show.

Under scrutiny

About 115 Wichita families are using the driving program, offered free for a year to American Family Insurance customers with teen drivers.

The program puts a camera in the teen’s vehicle. Any time the driver does something considered unsafe – a quick start, a sharp turn – the camera sends a “no-no” report to the parents.

When an insurance agent told the Foxes about the program, they liked the availability of discounts for using it.

“But we also were beginning to wonder what kind of driving was going on when we weren’t there,” Fox said. “I know how I drove when I was 18, and I’m lucky to be alive.”

Drive Cam, the San Diego company working with American Family to provide the service, hopes to begin selling the program on the private market by the end of the year, spokeswoman Kathleen Glass said.

That would mean consumers who aren’t American Family customers would be able to access the program but at a cost. Pricing has not been set.

Fox and his family signed up for the program in August. Now two family cars have a camera that monitors driving, one in his 18-year-old daughter’s car; the other in his.

Fox said when he pulls into the lot at his office, there’s usually no one else around. So instead of coming to a gentle stop, he sometimes hits the brakes hard enough to trigger the camera.

Fox said his family also was interested in protecting their teenagers from false accusations. Teens often get blamed in accidents even if it’s not their fault, he said.

Quicker learning

American Family first offered the program in Kansas in August. Katie Schamle, an agent for the company, said nationwide, about 2,000 families use the cameras. In Kansas, 168 do, most in Wichita.

The company recommends the program for teenagers 15 to 18. Schamle thinks it’s beneficial to drivers 15 to 16 because “you’re getting to them quick enough so they haven’t developed bad habits. They’ll learn from their mistakes quicker.”

The cameras also can be beneficial when crimes such as abductions occur, Schamle said. The camera is recording all the time, but only sends data during a trigger event such as unsafe driving or an abduction.

Drive Cam receives the data and prepares the reports for parents. The program takes teens’ right to privacy seriously, Schamle said. Parents receive weekly reports, but if Drive Cam staff believe there’s an urgent matter, they will contact the parents immediately.

Fox said his daughter wondered what her friends would think.

“But once she saw how small the camera was, she actually thought it was kind of cool.”

Most driving mistakes recorded by the camera have been taking corners too fast and going over speed bumps too fast.

Paul Daigle’s two sons, one almost 15 and the other 17, got cameras installed about a month ago in the vehicle they will share. The 15-year-old doesn’t drive anywhere by himself, Daigle said.

So far, the camera has been triggered by hitting the brakes too hard and oversteering, Daigle said.

“They weren’t averse to the idea,” he said. “The way I explained it to them, especially the oldest one, is that it’s just a tool.

“A tool can be used in a lot of ways. I said that being a teen, the burden of proof will be on him in an accident. This will be irrefutable proof of what happens. I told him, ‘Not only will that play well in court but that will play well with your mother.'”