Frequently Asked Questions

Download the user guide to learn all about setting up and operating Speedbump.

What is SpeedSmart™ technology?
SpeedSmart™ technology allows families to set and monitor realistic speed guidelines by road type (residential, secondary or highway). This is especially critical on non-highway roads, where most teen driving fatalities occur. Our proprietary SpeedSmart™ technology is designed to encourage a dialogue between parents and teens; the parent and teen agree upon driving rules and speed limits together and program Speedbump accordingly. Speedbump was developed based on well-respected and proven parenting techniques for keeping teens safe - parental involvement, clear-cut rules and well-defined consequences.

What is the difference between road types?
SpeedSmart technology allows you to set your own realistic speed limits for 3 types of roads:

• Limited access and divided highways with highway speed limits
• Secondary highways like state routes with moderate speed limits
• Local or residential roads with low speed limits

SpeedSmart uses the Mapquest Enterprise Edition Road classification database.  For more information on how Speedbump classifies road types see: http://www.mapquesthelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/787/

Does Speedbump have power managment to conserve battery life?

Yes. Speedbump monitors the level of the phone's battery and has been designed to manage power usage while still providing monitoring of speeding events. We recommend that teens using Speedbump keep their phone plugged into a vehicle charger when they are traveling in a vehicle.


When the Speedbump phone is plugged into a vehicle charger or when the battery level is above 50%, Speedbump turns on the phone GPS system once a minute to get speed and location information for processing.

When the Speedbump phone is unplugged and the battery level is below 50%, Speedbump turns on the phone GPS system once every five minutes to get speed and location information for processing.

When the Speedbump phone is unplugged and the battery level is below 20%, Speedbump stops automatic speed and curfew monitoring.

When any Speedbump phone is stationary (on a counter, in a locker), Speedbump does not turn on the GPS system.

Speedbump has two modes of operation, automatic speed sampling and requested speed checking.  Requested speed checking uses the least amount of battery power in the phone, as the GPS is only used when the parent initiates a "Checkspeed" request.

How does Speedbump know the speed limit of the road it's on?

Speedbump does not detect speed limits. Instead, the family sets realistic speed guidelines for local roads, secondary roads and for highways. Our proprietary SpeedSmart™ technology then determines if the vehicle is operating within the defined limits.

How does Speedbump get speed information?
Speedbump uses the phone's GPS to get very accurate speed and location information. This data is sent to the Speedbump servers for processing.  The engineers at Speedbump have many years of experience using GPS, we make sure that the quality of the GPS data is high before we send it. We do not use any GPS data that has a location accuracy of greater than 25 meters.  This means that the location and address of the phone may vary by up to 25 meters when you see it on the map.

Why does Speedbump get the location slightly wrong sometimes?
As noted above, the accuracy of the phone's GPS can vary by as much as 25 meters. Speedbump will always send the best available GPS information that it can get from the phone

Are there times when Speedbump won't send speed information?
The parent signs in to their secure, private account at www.speedbumpGPS.com and sets the driving rules. All settings are then updated over the air to the Speedbump application running on the phone.

How do I change the settings on my Speedbump?
The parent signs in to their secure, private account at www.speedbumpGPS.com and sets the driving rules. All settings are then updated over the air to the Speedbump application running on the phone.

How do I receive messages?
Speedbump will send messages to your email account or by text message to any mobile phone. Clicking on a message displays the date, time, location and speed on a map. You can also login to your private web portal to view the entire message history. Clicking on a message displays the date, time, location and speed on a map.  You can also have Speedbump send messages to your email account or by text message to any mobile phone. Speedbump sends a daily status report to your email account which lists all the messages for the day.   After they configure their account and driving rules, many parents just use the daily status report and the real time alert messages to make sure that their teen is driving safely.

What is the difference between a Speed Alarm and a Warning?
Both Speed Alarms and Warnings are posted in your web portal, but only alarms initiate a message sent to the contacts list. You can use the web portal to configure the "Speed Alarm Filter ".
For example, you can configure the rules to only send Alarms you your phone if the speed is 10% over the speed limits you have set. In other words, if your high speed setting is 60 MPH, speeds  between 60 and 66 MPH will only be posted as a Warning on your web portal. Any violation over 66 MPH will immediately initiate a message sent to your contact list (text and email).

Our SpeedSmart™ technology allows you to customize these settings to reduce the amount of text messages sent to your phone or email account. 

How does the Distracted Driving Monitor work?
When the phone is in motion, Speedbump checks for speed once a minute.  If the speed is over 10 MPH and the texting, email or browser app. is open, Speedbump sents a "Distracted Driving Alarm" to the web portal and contacts list.

Does Speedbump have any personal safety features?
Yes, Speedbump has several features for your teen's personal safety; Help, Check-in, Locate and Emergency Tracking. The Help and Check-in messages are sent to you when your teen clicks the appropriate button on the phone app. The messages contain date, time and location. In addition, when the Help button is clicked, Speedbump starts sending emergency tracking messages to your web portal. You can activate emergency tracking or request a locate message from either your phone or web portal.

How can I add another phone to my account?
Adding a phone is easy. Just click "Sign Me Up/Add a phone!" from the main page. Then enter your new phone #, wireless carrier, existing login information and click "Add a phone to my existing account".

How can I tell if my Speedbump is operating properly?
Speedbump sends a daily status message to your account, which you will see in the message list when you sign in to the web portal.  If the status message from the application on your teen's phone is not received on schedule, a system malfunction message is logged to your account and a message is sent to the contacts list. Speedbump will also send a message whenever the application is stopped or started.

What happens if my car frequently goes in and out of cell phone coverage?
Speedbump can store hundreds of messages and will send them when coverage is restored.

What if my son or daughter is a passenger in someone else's vehicle?
Since Speedbump is an application that resides on your child's phone, it monitors vehicle speeds whether your child is a driver or passenger (as long as he/she has their phone with them).

What if my teen shuts down the Speedbump application?
If the Speedbump application is stopped, an application stop message is sent to your web account.  Whenever the phone is powered on, Speedbump starts automatically and sends an application started message to your web account.

What phones does Speedbump work with?
Speedbump is supported on any Android phone that has version 2.1 or higher of the Android Operating System. Speedbump operates on any cell phone network.

What browsers are supported?
All current browsers are supported.  Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 6.0 and earlier are not supported. 

I got a local speed warning saying my son was going 60mph on a local road that parallels the highway.  He says he was on the highway. Can Speedbump make a mistake like this?
Speedbump uses the phone's GPS to determine location and speed.  The GPS accuracy can be off by as much as 10 meters. Very occasionally, if the GPS location is off by 10 meters, it might place the phone on a side street or cross street that is going underneath the highway.  The best way to determine which road the vehicle was on is to look at the direction on travel and the speed.

How much data does the Speedbump app. use?

Speedbump users generally use less than 1 megabyte of data and 20 text messages per month, so there is limited or no impact to the users bill. Individual usage will vary however so you should check you carrier bill.

Can I use Speedbump without an internet account?
No, you must have access to the internet to see your user account.

Is there an activation fee, minimum length of service agreement or early termination fee?
No, there's just a monthly $9.99 service fee for Speedbump.  You can cancel your service at any time. Just contact us from the website at http://www.speedbumpGPS.com/web/guest/contact_us or call us at 978-227-0014
 
Is my user account secure?
Yes. Speedbump is a secure website that use the industry standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption technology. Notice that when you sign in, the address bar on your browser shows HTTPS://, your information is secure and encrypted. All credit card information is stored with our billing partner, Paysimple.

Is my credit card information secure?
Yes. Your credit card information is stored at www.paysimple.com. Paysimple is an industry leading Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliant processor.  No one at Speedbump or Paysimple can see your credit card information.

How does the Affiliate Program work?
Any organization can create a Speedbump affiliate account, but we are specifically targeting schools, PTO's, booster clubs, MADD, SADD and other organizations that support teens and teen activities. Your organization will receive payments each quarter based on the number of participants in your program.