Tag Archive: Teen drivers
Car Cameras Record Teen Driving Behavior – Yeah or Nay?
October 20, 2007
There are dozens of different statistics about teen driving and they all mesh together with one commonality – traffic crashes are the leading cause of death in teens. Many different entities have created various programs to combat this deadly teenage trend with education programs and reporting systems. However, some insurance companies are taking things a step further – car cameras and GPS equipment to monitor teen driving behavior.
While there has been no official feedback from the teen faction, you can bet there will be some fallout about privacy issues and entitlement. Teens will likely plead to parents that it is not fair and that they have a right to privacy. While the privacy thing is certainly true, what teens should realize is that driving is a privilege and it is every parent’s right to monitor their kids for their own safety if they feel the teens are not ready to handle it on their own.
These cameras will record both video and audio of teen driving habits. Luckily, thus far, the majority of problems have been with inattentiveness rather than aggressive or purposely reckless driving. American Family Insurance is one of the companies that are participating in this program. The footage of the driving behavior is sent to a special media center for analysis where it is evaluated and a “game plan” created to correct the behaviors which is then sent to the parents.
Teens can breathe a sigh of relief that personal conversations and private moments are not relayed to the parents, only information directly related to driving. The camera kicks on via a motion sensor which captures swerving, hard or sudden braking, collision and even hasty acceleration. It is not on the entire time that the teenager is driving.
Another company has introduced the Teensurance program which allows parents to track their teen’s driving behaviors via an onboard GPS system. Parents can set up parameters based on speed, curfew and even distance. In other words, parents are almost behind the scenes remote controllers with their teens at the wheel.
Teenagers are likely not too enthused about this program either as it seems as if their “freedom” is being usurped. So where do we draw the line as parents when it comes to monitoring and protecting our teenage drivers? Do we blindly hand over the keys and cross our fingers? That answer should be a definite no. Instead, these programs like the camera and GPS system are just additional protective tools that are available to the parents for additional peace of mind.
So teens listen up – just go with the flow on these different monitoring devices and learn from them. Within another year or two, those things will be gone and guess what? You will likely not drive any differently because safe driving, thanks to the monitoring, has become an ingrained habit. That is actually a great legacy from your parents but will likely not be appreciated until you mature some more.
The Driver Education Handbook for Parents provides a practical, step-by-step approach to instructing your teen how to become a Safe Driver through behavior, attitude, skills, and experience.
Preventing Teen Vehicular Crashes
October 10, 2007
Geico, the automobile insurance giant, is not just known for their cute gecko or grunting cavemen commercial shtick. They also produce some great informational tools about your insurance and safe driving tips. There is an informational sheet Geico produced about the Top Ten Tips for preventing teenage crashes.
Really, the information is nothing new to anyone but it pays to be repetitive right? Teens probably only really absorb a quarter of what they hear and read when it is not a subject matter they really want to hear about like cleaning their room or *gasp* how to drive responsibly. Perhaps some parents should use the tip handout and tell their teens there will be a pop quiz on it later! Maybe then they will actually read it.
Anyway… there are some tips on there that are not really emphasized on other responsible teen driving diatribes. For instance, one of the tips is keeping it slow and steady and gradually build up to speedier driving venues. What this means is do not start driving lessons with your teen on the major highways that mimic the infamous Autobahn. Instead ease their way into those roads by practicing on driving within small towns or country roads. Practicing those speedy highways during down times is also beneficial. As the teen (and you as the parent) feel more confident about venturing on the highways in the height of craziness, then you can do so.
Another tip that doesn’t get as much play in the teen driving world is training to drive in poor conditions. Many parents are more apt to keep their teens from driving in the rain, snow or other weather conditions. This means, of course, that your teen will have no experience whatsoever in them. The best thing you can do (even though you won’t want to) is to take them out driving, at least in low populated or slow areas, during these conditions. If anything, drive around in the inclement weather in large parking lots, practicing turns and such for the experience. There are less things to hit in an empty parking lot!
Driving a safe vehicle is another safe teen driving tip and one that many people take for granted. Usually, the teen car is either the family car or a hand-me-down. On occasion, a new car or a used model may be purchased. Whatever you choose for your teen to tool around in, you must be sure that it is safe to drive. In this safe teen driving tip, you are the one that holds the ultimate power.
California Jumps on the No Cell Phone for Teen Drivers Bandwagon
September 28, 2007
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger terminated teen drivers’ rights to talk on the cell phone and drive at the same time through the signing of a bill that will go into effect in July 2008. This bill involves teen drivers under the age of 18 and states that no cell phone use is allowed period while behind the wheel of the car.
There is another bill that is also going into affect at the same time that involves another cell phone and driving situation. In this instance, drivers age 18 and up can use a cell phone but only if it is a hands-free device. No texting and no hand held phones are allowed. The bill restricting the total use of cell phones for teens is in response to collected data that shows inattention of teens are the primary cause of accidents.
While the two bills are nice in theory, there are a few problems with them as well. First of all, how are these going to be enforced effectively? A cop could see a driver going down the road with a cell phone to their ear talking and flash his lights to alert the driver to pull over. Any smart driver would ditch the evidence quickly out of sight to make it a he said/she said scenario. How exactly can the cop prove that the cell phone was in use at the time?
Another thing, the fines for someone getting caught breaking these new upcoming laws are laughable. How exactly are $20 and $50 fines going to be much of an incentive for teens as well as older adults affected? Unless they are habitual offenders and have the worst luck at being caught, these fines are nothing more than a shoulder shrugging, “oh well.”
These laws about cell phone use and driving should be viewed as a first step of many to curb teen accidents and fatalities on the road. While the laws may have trouble being enforced, the essence of them is important. Now the teens know that there are consequences and could have the possibility of having their driving privileges and cell phone taken away from them by the parents. That is what teens are truly afraid of, not being ticketed for it, because some kids have that money as pocket change and can pay the fine without a parent even knowing about it.
The bottom line is that these laws will make the teen pause while driving and decide whether that phone call or text message is truly important. Making teens stopping to think about the consequences of their driving behavior is usually half the battle. The other half is actually the law and parents enforcing the consequences of teen driving behavior.
Waking Teens to the Positives of Driving Safe
August 27, 2007
The state of Georgia is taking a novel approach to promoting teen driving safety. At their Georgia National Fair, a special contest is taking place to challenge teens on the ins and outs of driving safety. There is a written test about drunk driving as well as a series of simulated driving tests. The ultimate winner will drive home in a new VW bug.
The Houston Country District Attorney’s office in Georgia has had booths about safe teen driving set up in the past with informative literature that was passed out to teen drivers. However, many people were quite sure that those teens never really read the information. With a collaboration of several entities including insurance giant GEICO, the contest concept to promote teen safety was born.
Some might say that the grand prize of a car is a kind of bribe and that once the contest is over, teens will just forget what they have learned in the contest. However, others feel that because teens live in the moment, they don’t really look ahead to what “might” be. They are not going to think about driving safety and how it can impact their future. However, by participating in the contest and going through various levels of simulated driving tests, it could be quite an eye opener for many self-absorbed teens.
It is often said that talking with teens you can expect 10% of the message to be retained. However, the hands-on approach is a lot more effective and the retention rate of the message could be as high as 90% or more. Granted, the whole driving age teen population of Georgia won’t participate in the contest, however, even the mention of the contest and what it is about may at the very least make teens more cognizant of their surrounding when behind the wheel.
Teens aged 15 to 18 with a learner’s permit or a driver’s license can participate in the contest hosted at the Georgia National Fair. The whole contest takes several days and each day teens are eliminated or passed on through depending on their performances on the simulated driving tests. If anything, the attention is likely to grow with each day of the fair and the hope is that more and more teens will visit the safe driving booth, even if they are not participating.
Again, some people feel that the prize of a car is a bribe for teens. However, when it comes to preserving teen lives on the road, any type of incentive within reason should be used. So if a car will lower teen driving fatalities, who is to say that it is wrong?
Lowest Price Traffic School offers online traffic school for tickets and driver education courses required to obtain a Florida learner’s permit. DMV approved and lowest price guarantee.
Parent-Teen Involvement Essential to the Drive Rite Keys to Smart Driving Program
August 23, 2007
There is a program in the Indianapolis area called the Drive Rite Keys to Smart Driving and it is being offered through the county sheriff’s office. This program is unique as it is a requirement for parents to monitor this course with their teenagers. What a novel idea – having parents take charge of their children’s driving! Instead of hoping that your teenager has gotten enough information through required driver’s education courses, this course is more comprehensive and takes six months to complete.
During the six-month course, teens learn responsible driving behavior, traffic safety, how to drive defensively, and how to handle an accident. Both parents and teens have to attend together and are taken through real world experiences as well as interactive lessons. Many parents feel that the course greatly enhances the regular curriculum they have studied through driver’s education.
The Drive Rite course also makes teenagers responsible for on-line assignments as well a driver’s logbook to write down all of their experiences while on the road. In addition, parents are required to monitor additional training outside the classroom behind the wheel of a car. With both parent and teen participation in this course, there should be no gray areas of understanding what a responsible driver really means. In fact, parents may get a few eye-openers as well. It never hurts to remind seasoned drivers of some of the safety rules because we all know that we can also be rather lax in driving habits!
The driving course is coordinated through Purdue University and while intense, only meets once a month for the six months. While the purpose of this class is to educate, it also does so much more. It gets both the parents and the teens talking to each other and relating how the other feels about driving, road responsibility and more. Even if either party doesn’t learn anything else, the Drive Rite class gets the parents and teens communicating which is sometimes half the battle.
The goal of the course is to help prevent teen deaths due to car accidents. Will this program work? Chances are that it will… at least for a while. With teens, those good habits have to be instilled early in order for them to stick whether they have others to distract them or not. Hopefully, with both the parents and the teens working together, the commitment to drive safely will stick far beyond the classroom walls.
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