Sacramento parents test technology that prevents teen drivers from speeding

Parents are getting a chance to check out a new way to control their kids' driving without even being in the car.

Elias Van Ekelenburg, with the nonprofit Safety Center in Sacramento, is allowing parents and their teens to try out a GPS technology called Intelligent Speed Assistance.

It's a device that connects to a car and prevents drivers from going over the posted speed limit.

"It basically measures what the speed limit is on a particular road," Van Ekelenburg said. "It continually updates and connects directly to your gas pedal."

Van Ekelenburg said it's an extra way to keep young drivers safe as they're getting experience behind the wheel, noting that"with teen drivers, we see a much higher rate of speeding."

Driving too fast is one of the leading causes of fatal crashes in California. The California Highway Patrol says it was a factor in last month's deadly crash in Sacramento County along Scott Road where a 16-year-old driver and her 14-year-old passenger were killed.

"Regardless of what other poor decisions were made that night, if that vehicle had been held to a safe speed limit, those girls probably would have survived that crash," said Michael Travars, president of LifeSafer, one of the companies that manufactures the technology.

"In general, it costs around $120 to $250 a month to put in your car," Travars said. "We think of them as training wheels. As soon as your child knows how to drive safely, as soon as they've learned not to speed, take it back out of your car and return the car to normal."

State legislators have also discussed making the technology mandatory for all drivers who have been found guilty of multiple high-risk speeding violations.

The Safety Center will be holding another free demonstration for parents and teens next month.