Your Teen Drives Safer When You're Not in the Car

The First Year Behind the Wheel Is the Most Dangerous

Teen drivers ages 16-19 are three times more likely to be in a fatal crash than drivers 20 and older. Speeding is involved in 30% of those fatalities.

You can’t ride along forever. But you can know exactly what’s happening when you’re not in the car.

Sentry Driver uses your phone’s Bluetooth to detect when you’re within about 2 meters of your Tesla. When you’re driving, monitoring stays off. When your teen takes the car, you get complete visibility - automatically.

5 Ways to Keep Your Teen Accountable

Speed Limit Alerts

Set your own threshold - 5 over, 10 over, whatever you decide. You’ll get an alert the instant they exceed it, with the exact location and time.

Curfew Monitoring

Configure allowed driving hours with start and end times. Set different rules for weekdays vs weekends. Choose specific days of the week. Timezone-aware, so 11 PM means 11 PM.

Geofence Zones

Create circular boundaries around school, work, or anywhere else. Mark zones as “allowed” (alert when they leave) or “restricted” (alert when they enter). Know immediately when boundaries are crossed.

Accident Detection

Three sensitivity levels: Low (2g), Medium (4g), or High (8g). Higher sensitivity catches smaller impacts but may trigger false alerts. Lower sensitivity only alerts for serious collisions. You choose the balance.

Driving Behavior Tracking

Track hard braking and sudden acceleration events. Three sensitivity levels let you decide what counts as “hard.” See counts per drive to spot patterns before they become problems.

How Automatic Detection Works

1. You drive to work - Your phone is detected via Bluetooth (within ~2 meters), monitoring stays off
2. Your teen takes the car - Your phone isn’t detected, monitoring activates automatically
3. They speed on the highway - You get an instant push notification with speed, location, and time
4. They get home - You review the trip: distance, duration, max speed, hard brake count

No app needed on your teen’s phone. No “forgetting to turn it on.” No way to disable it.

Building Safer Habits, Not Just Catching Mistakes

Research shows teen drivers who know they’re being monitored drive more safely. The key is transparency.

Tell your teen about Sentry Driver before they take the keys. Explain the rules you’ve set and why. Use the drive history - complete with distance, duration, and max speed - to have real conversations about their progress.

The goal is safer habits that stick, even after monitoring ends.

“Only Alert When I’m Not There”

Every alert type includes an option to only trigger when the owner is absent. When enabled, Sentry Driver uses Bluetooth detection (RSSI threshold of -75 dBm, roughly 2 meters) to determine if you’re in the car.

Your teen drives the same whether you’re watching or not? Great - you’ll have the data to prove it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my teen need to install an app?

No. Sentry Driver works through Tesla’s Fleet API. Only you need the app. Your teen doesn’t install anything, pair anything, or change how they drive.

How accurate is the speed data?

Sentry Driver uses Tesla’s own telemetry - real-time location, speed, and heading. It’s the same data Tesla records for every drive, accurate to the second.

Can I set different rules for different situations?

Yes. Create multiple speed limit rules, multiple curfew windows, multiple geofence zones. Configure each alert type separately with the sensitivity level that makes sense for your family.

What happens if there’s an accident?

You’ll receive an immediate notification based on your chosen sensitivity level (Low detects 2g impacts, Medium 4g, High 8g). The alert includes the exact location so you can respond immediately.

What data do I see for each drive?

Every trip logs: start/end time, distance, duration, max speed reached, hard brake count, and acceleration events. Plus an event log with timestamps and locations for anything that triggered an alert.