By Teresa Meek

Jeff Branson, the police chief of Mattoon, Ill., has been tracking a lead-footed driver for nearly two years.

A couple of times, he’s caught the guy doing 70 in a 55. He’s confiscated the vehicle twice but never issued a ticket.

The speed demon just happens to be his 18-year-old son Chase. Branson monitors his son’s driving habits with a device provided by auto insurance provider State Farm that plugs into the car’s data port and collects information on mileage, braking, turns, acceleration, and what time of day Chase is driving. The device uploads the data to the company, which uses it to rate drivers and offer them a possible discount under the company’s “Drive Safe & Save” program. Information about Chase’s specific location and speed is sent to Branson through an optional monitoring program associated with the device but is not sent to the insurance company.

In-car sensors, or telematics, have become business as usual for major auto insurance carriers like State Farm, Progressive PGR +0.00% and Allstate ALL +0.00%, which say customers appreciate the opportunity to review their performance online and receive discounts on their insurance. The palm-sized devices plug into a car’s data port, the same spot mechanics use for vehicle diagnostics. (All cars made since 1996 have the ports.) The devices record information about mileage and speed, which is then used to calculate data about acceleration and braking trends. Some systems also have GPS capability that is relayed to insurance companies for research purposes — or to owners like Branson who opt for driver monitoring.

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