According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, vehicle accidents are the leading killer of young adults ages 15 to 20.  In 2003, the death toll was 3,657.

One Possible Solution

Imagine if you could know exactly how fast your teenage driver operated the family SUV last night on his double date. Would you like to know if your teenage daughter used her seatbelt on the way to the market to pick up some milk like she promised you she would?

Would you like to see for yourself if your teenage driver drifts from lane to lane, runs a stop sign, or tailgates?

According to a recent article in U.S. News Magazine, you can do all this, and more, with relatively inexpensive modern technology. I’m talking about a computerized “black box” or “monitor” which is available right now which can easily be connected to the computer in most cars built after 1990.

These devices watch, record, and report speed, braking, and rate of acceleration. You can manually download this information onto your home computer or, view the information in real time over the internet. Several of these devices can tell you whether a seat belt is buckled and the exact location of your vehicle, at any time, using global GPS technology.

The above statistics clearly indicate that it is important we do EVERYTHING we can to help our teenage children get past their late teenage years as safely as possible. And the following tools and information will help you do just that.

Teenage children need to be told that DRIVING IS A PRIVILEGE, not a right. They need to be told that they can drive the family car if they pass all their driver education courses, keep their grades up and promise to follow the rules of the road and your home. If they do, then they’ll have nothing to worry about. If they don’t, then their driving privilege will be taken away for a pre-determined amount of time. Whether or not they are allowed to drive is completely in their hands. The “black box” will keep score.

You can count on the fact that teenage drivers will break the rules. They will speed or tell you they are going to the library when they are really off to the mall to meet friends. The first time you learn via your independent source, the “black box”, that your teenage driver has not kept his or her promise, you need to immediately impose the pre-set penalty (1-2 weeks of no driving). No discussions and no exceptions. Send the message that if they follow the pre-discussed and agreed to rules, all is well. Break the rules and THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES.

I truly believe this simply approach will save hundreds, if not thousands of lives over the next couple of years. My wife and I plan on using this approach when our children become teenage drivers.

Now here’s more about the companies and their products. Please keep in mind that this article was written in March of 2005. As such, you should independently confirm all of the following information and prices online at the links provided.

The Tools

CarChip is available for about $140 (www.carchip.com) and it gathers 75 hours of data, which parents can download. The $200 CarChip accumulates 300 hours of data and warns drivers with a tone if the driver exceeds preset limits for speed.

The RS-1000 ($280 at www.roadsafety.com ) sounds a warning tone for offenses (like speeding) and ups the volume, if need be, so a loud radio can't drown it out. The SmartDriver ($500 at www.smart-driver.com ) turns on a red light in its in-car box for a violation; it stays red until parents download the data.

Instant Information and Live Reports- For a monthly fee of $15 to $20, some services will provide you with real time reports. The Real-Time GPS ($390 from www.alltrackusa.com) sends data including speed and location, to a password protected website and can notify parents by phone or E-mail when a teen exceeds a predefined speed limit or drives outside a defined area. If professionally installed, it can enable a parent to honk the car's horn or disable the engine after it's turned off.

 

Other services like ULocate (www.locate.com) and Teen Arrive Alive (www.teenarrivealive.com) communicate with GPS-enabled Nextel cell phones.
Another alternative is the installation of small video cameras in the front area of the car facing the road directly ahead. The DriveCam featured on World News Tonight with Peter Jennings (www.drivecam.com) runs about $1,400 but it will allow you to see for yourself whether or not your teenage driver drifts from lane to lane, runs a stop sign, or tailgates.

If you teenage driver follows the rules, you may want to reward him or her by loosening up curfews and other limits. If not, smart parents will invoke the pre-discussed penalty. After one or two probations, the light should click on for most teenage drivers and for their remaining teenage driving years, they will follow your rules and, the rules of the road, in order to keep the privilege of driving.

Accountability

Another important side benefit of everyone knowing the “black box” is in the car is that it gives your teenage daughter or son a valid reason or excuse not to drive in an unsafe fashion. The next time one of their friends tells them to step on it to race the car next to them at a red light or, to go to the mall instead of school, you son or daughter will be able to say, “sounds good but the box is on. The last thing we want to do is loose our ride.” A nice deterrent that will probably save lives in the long run.

Conclusion

If you have one or more teenage drivers in your family, please research these devices and install the system that makes the most sense to you. Be smart and do everything you can to avoid having your son or daughter become an unnecessary statistic.

If you or a family member have experienced a catastrophic injury or wrongful death because of the wrongful conduct of another person or company, you may be entitled to compensation. Please contact us to get your questions answered today!