A couple of weeks ago my father went missing for a day. He is prone to seizures now that he had a small stroke sometime in the not-so distant past. Most of them are Grand Mal sort that put him out of it for a few days, but the last one was evidently a petit mal that just left him dazed and confused enough to drive well, but not know where he was going. He wound up 60 miles from home and the police picked him up after he got lost in a rather convulated development. It was a scary couple of hours as I called every hospital in the area to no avail.
I have seen the type that plug into the OBD port for teen drivers. If I could sneak it into his car, it could save us a lot of grief later if he goes missing again. I am not worried about legalities, we have a good relationship, but I do need the peace of mind of always knowing he is not running amuck somewhere
pheller
UltimaDork
7/12/19 5:01 p.m.
I've seen two different variants that plug into the OBD port - one that records GPS location so you can see where your kid has been, how fast they've been driving etc - and the an OBD plug that uses the power and data recording along with a subscription to send that information to you in real time.
The only way you broadcast that information is via wifi or cellular data, so these cost $XX per month.
https://www.amazon.com/Spy-Tec-Portable-Personal-Vehicle/dp/B00JG8KCLO/?tag=aboutcom02lifewire-20&ascsubtag=4158961%7Cnc2de4e5e3959492987dde03063e81dd122
This is $44+$25 a month for live tracking.
https://www.amazon.com/MOTOsafety-Real-Time-Tracking-Monitoring-MPVAS1/dp/B006TZ8A5W/?tag=aboutcom02lifewire-20
That one is a big cheaper per month, but basically the same idea.
does he carry a cell phone ?
LIFE360 is the app my friend uses to keep track of his teenage kids......
iPhone and Android both have location services. Only helps if he takes the phone though.
californiamilleghia said:
does he carry a cell phone ?
LIFE360 is the app my friend uses to keep track of his teenage kids......
when he went missing.. his phone was in the clothes hamper. He's not in his right mind after a seizure.
What about an Apple watch ?
Would he wear it all the time ?
Problem with all these things is they have to be charged every day or 2.
californiamilleghia said:
What about an Apple watch ?
Would he wear it all the time ?
Problem with all these things is they have to be charged every day or 2.
the problem there, he does not have an iphone and I do not know the last time he wore a watch. At age 70, he does not have too many places he needs to go. The OBD based trackers get their power from the car itself, which is why I wanted to know what people thought of them.
I bought my Chevy van from a heating and airco company that had an OBC2 tracker on all the company trucks and a big screen on the wall to show where they were.
They were happy with it ,
talk to your cell phone company and ask them if they have a a tracker and a low use plan .
Good luck
Stefan
MegaDork
7/13/19 10:57 a.m.
Question from the Devil's Advocate:
Should he still be driving if he is having seizures and getting disoriented? No offense, but someone in that state is a danger to himself and others and I'd hate for your family to have to deal with the aftermath if he seriously injured himself or others. Doctor's have the power to pull licenses, perhaps a serious discussion with his Doctor about how fit he is for driving is in order?
Show him how to use the Uber/Lyft apps or the local cab company/public transit solutions. Getting old stinks and it isn't fair, but at some point the roles between the parent and the child reverses.
If his seizures are under control through medication, etc. and the Doctor has no problem with him driving, then by all means go for it. I just wanted to throw that out there and make sure it was discussed.
Good luck!
I agree that maybe he should not be driving , but he still needs to be tracked if he is getting lost and does not know where he is.....
Good Luck
he's had three seizures in three years. The first two knocked him out completely and left him completely disoriented for a couple of days. We were in no danger of him wandering off. The last one was the one that has me worried. We don't even know if he had a seizure, just that he went off to get donuts and never came back, ending up 60+ miles from home and lost. He does not recollect too much from that day and the only reason the cops picked him up was because he got lost in a development and somebody called in a strange vehicle driving around.
