• Story Highlights
• Father hopes to use GPS readout to challenge stepson's speeding violation
  
• Case pits performance of radar guns versus GPS devices
  
• GPS device notifies parents via e-mail when son exceeds 70 mph
  

WINDSOR, California (AP) -- Given the option of contesting a traffic ticket, most motorists -- 19 out of 20 by some estimates -- would rather pay up than pit their word against a police officer's in court.

A retired sheriff's deputy nevertheless hopes to beat the long odds of the law by setting the performance of a police officer's radar gun against the accuracy of the GPS tracking device he installed in his teenage stepson's car.

The retired deputy, Roger Rude, readily admits his 17-year-old stepson, Shaun Malone, enjoys putting the pedal to the metal. That's why he and Shaun's mother insisted on putting a global positioning system that monitors the location and speed of the boy's Toyota Celica.

Shaun complained bitterly about his electronic chaperone until it became his new best friend on July 4, when he was pulled over and cited for going 62 mph in a 45 mph zone.

Rude encouraged him to fight the ticket after the log he downloaded using software provided by the GPS unit's Colorado-based supplier showed Shaun was going the speed limit within 100 feet of where a Petaluma officer clocked him speeding.

"I'm not trying to get a guilty kid off," Rude said. "I've always had faith in our justice system. I would like to see the truth prevail and I would like Shaun to see that the system works."

Though traffic courts do not routinely accept GPS readouts as evidence of a vehicle's speed -- and many GPS receivers aren't capable of keeping records anyway -- some tech-savvy drivers around the world slowly are starting to use the technology to challenge moving violations, according to anecdotal accounts from defense lawyers and law enforcement officials.

This summer, for instance, an Australian farmer became a hero to speeders everywhere when he got a ticket dismissed after presenting police with data from his tracking device.

That's what former emergency room doctor Jeffrey Runge remembers a father, head in hands, groaning after hearing his teenage son had been critically hurt in a car crash. The boy was driving a small, sporty car he'd asked his parents to buy.

Runge, now head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, urges parents to pay close attention to which vehicles they choose for their teens. He suggests those that perform well on the agency's crash tests and that weigh at least 3,300 pounds — which rules out small cars and many small trucks.

Two years ago, Runge angered some automakers when he declared he wouldn't let the new drivers in his house drive a vehicle that received only a two-star (out of five) rollover rating from NHTSA. Only SUVs and pickups have scored that low.

Most safety experts caution against SUVs for teens. Young drivers tend to overcorrect when steering out of trouble, which makes them more prone to roll their vehicles. The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute has reported that among drivers younger than 25 in single-vehicle crashes, 37% of those in SUVs rolled over, compared with 30% of older drivers in similar circumstances. The higher centers of gravity in SUVs heighten the risk of rollover.

But some car-based "crossover" SUVs, such as the Volvo XC90 and Chrysler Pacifica, earn four-star rollover ratings from NHTSA.