Davis Instruments makes the Car Chip ($179 at carchip.com), an easy-to-use little gadget that plugs into a dashboard connector. It logs speed, hard braking and hard acceleration. To download, unplug the gadget and connect it to your computer.
Road Safety International (road safety.com) offers a $280 box that sits under the driver’s seat and plugs into the dash. It monitors hard turns in addition to braking. You can even program a piercing alarm to go off if the driver speeds.
Trackn.com’s device ($499, plus an $80 installation fee and airtime charges of about $66 per year) records speed and uses GPS technology to track a vehicle’s location. It’s pricey but cool: if your kid gets too far away, it will call you on your cell phone.
