By now, you’ve probably heard about connected cars and autonomous vehicles. But have you heard about using technology to create a teen-safe car? That’s what some U.S. auto makers are trying to do. For example, General Motors is now offering Teen Driver Technology on 10 of its 2017 Chevrolet cars, trucks and SUVs.
Chevrolet’s Teen Driver package includes a variety of technologies designed to promote safer driving among young drivers and to help their parents monitor how they’re doing. This type of technology could prove very popular with worried parents.
Teen Driving: What’s the risk?
According to a Harris Poll survey commissioned by Chevrolet, parents with teens worry more about their child driving (55 percent) than any other area of parental stress, including drugs and alcohol (52 percent) and academic performance (53 percent).1
And parents have good reason to be concerned. Car accidents are the leading cause of death for the nation’s teens, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Teenage drivers are three times more likely to be in a fatal accident than drivers who are at least age 20 or older.2
Among teen drivers, those at especially high risk for motor vehicle crashes are males ages 16 to 19, teens driving with passengers in the vehicle, and newly licensed teens. Crash risk is particularly high during the first few months of licensure.3
How can technology help to keep teens safe?
Teen Driver technology supports certain safe driving practices by muting the radio or the audio of any paired device when front seat occupants aren’t wearing their seat belts. It also gives audible and visual warnings when the vehicle is traveling faster than preset speeds, and allows parents to limit the maximum volume of the radio.
The Teen Driver mode also turns on standard safety features like the lane departure warning, which will warn and then automatically steer the car back into the lane if it starts to drift over the line, and it prevents the teen drivers from turning off such features. Parents can run an in-vehicle “report card” to track items like maximum speed and dangerous incidents, providing an objective way for them to discuss safe driving practices with their teen.
While this technology is extremely beneficial if you’re purchasing a new car, many teens are driving used vehicles because they are much more affordable. Luckily, there are aftermarket solutions that can be added to almost any vehicle.
What products are available that can be added to my teen’s vehicle?
There are many products on the market that offer a combination of early warning and crash prevention technologies. One example is the ADAS-1000 by Brandmotion. This all-in-one system includes forward collision warning and lane departure warning, enabled via a camera mounted in the front of the vehicle. It also includes video and event recording, even when you are away from your vehicle. And it offers a lock function that will prevent your teen driver from disabling any of the safety features.
Another option is to get a tracking system. One such system is the Voxx Car Connection 2.0, which plugs into your vehicle’s onboard diagnostics port and links with your smartphone via Bluetooth. It is compatible with all vehicles built since 1996. This system allows you to monitor the location of your vehicle and can even send you an alert if the vehicle travels outside of your designated “safe” zones. It can also provide reports of driving habits, such as speeding and excessive braking.
Keep your teen safe and put your mind at ease by adding some of the latest autonomous driving technologies to your teen’s vehicle.
Your local Auto One store can help you find the products that will work best for you and your teen driver. Call us today, or visit a location near you.
Source:
1http://insideevs.com/teen-driver-technology-coming-for-chevrolet-bolt-volt/
2,3 http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teen_drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/street-smarts/new-technology-teen-driver-safe-article-1.2725257
