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 Teen drivers tend to be
inexperienced and are prone to taking risks. They often pay a heavy price for
this inexperience. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) teen
drivers are 4 times more likely to get into an accident. Teen drivers are expensive
as well, often doubling or tripling your rates.
Modern technology can be
used to help solve these issues by attaching an electric leash to the vehicle your
teen is driving. Monitoring speed, location and even reporting hard turns these
devices let parents keep an eye on their newly minted driver. In some cases
these device can actually lower your insurance premium as well.
Studies
have found that teens drive differently when they are being monitored, in many
cases they drive as if their parent was actually in the car. The most effective
systems sound an alert and if the teen corrected the behavior within a 20
second timeframe the system would not notify their parents. These systems also
sent a bi-weekly email to the parents containing a report on the teens driving
behavior.
Monitoring
Systems
Here
are just a few of the options available to the parents of a teen driver.
GPS Tracking – This is one of the most
common tracking methods. They provide a number of features in addition to
detailed tracking.
SkyLink
Protect – This high end GPS tracker lets parents set up perimeters called
GeoFences and if the car strays out of the fenced area the parents are alerted.
This product is hard wired into the car and lets parents track the vehicle in
real time.
DriverCam
While this system is
quite expensive, it is one of the most effective.
When the system detects
risky driving the video feedback system records a few seconds of what is going
on in the car. This footage is transmitted to DriveCam and is reviewed by one
of their safety professionals. Every week a report is sent to the parents that
include any footage recorded as well as driving advice.
This system allows the
parents and teens to review the data and talk about ways to improve. It is a
great way to bond with your teen driver.
DriverCam costs $500 and
there is a $30 monitoring fee per month.
OBDII Plug-Ins
These devices plug into
the OBDII port in the car and can record or transmit data about sudden stops,
mileage and speed. Insurance companies have embraced these devices. Depending
on your insurer you may be able to get one of these devices for free.
CarChip – This third
party company sells plug-ins for about $120. You can plug it into your computer
to download the data. Parents can set speed reminders and establish parameters
for acceleration and braking. If these parameters are exceeded the device beeps
alerting the teen driver.
Cell phone apps
There are hundreds of
smart phone apps for teen drivers. While they are less robust than the other
devices they are often fairly cheap and can do the job.
Call and Text Disablers – Distracted driving is a huge killer of teen
drivers. These apps disable the calling and text functions of the phone. They
block all incoming calls, emails and texts.
iGuardianTeen – While this app disables texting and calls it performs other
functions as well. A report is sent after every trip that shows excessive
G-Force events and top speeds.
Keeping an eye on your
teen while they are out on the road is a good idea and these devices can help
you make sure your teens are driving safe.
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