Keeping An Eye On Your Teen Driver Could Get A Lot Easier With New System

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Is your teen driver where he says he is? Keeping an eye on your kid (and your car) could get easier with a new system that will be available in millions of vehicles early next year.

Pressing a blue button on rearview mirrors in Chevys, Cadillacs, Buicks, and GMC trucks will connect you to the OnStar call center. You have to pay for the service, but it can come in handy during emergencies when they can track your location even when you are not sure where you are.

Now, OnStar is testing an extension of that  feature with their new system, 'Family Link,' that will tell you where your ride is when you are not in it.

"Whether it's an elderly person, a person that drives a lot in your family, or maybe even a young person that you're sending off to school," said Vijay Iyer, OnStar spokesman.

Iyer says a secure website will show you the location of your car and it can come in handy by smartphone browser when you have forgotten where you parked.

There are also automatic text and e-mail notifications you can set, and Iyer says soon they will add alerts so parents could see whether their kids are driving faster or farther than they are supposed to.

Family Link is initially available by invitation only. OnStar says they are offering it in 2011 and select 2010 GM models to 10,000 customers through the end of the year. Afterward, it will be opened up to a wide group of car owners. There is no word on how much it will cost.

The system adds to automobile tracking technology already on the market, including smartphone apps and aftermarket GPS 'black boxes.'

Reported by Ian Bush, KYW Newsradio 1060