Auto accidents are the No. 1 killer of young people. With today’s technology, parents can monitor, in real time, their child’s driving behavior and put a halt to dangerous behavior before something terrible happens.
With car accidents the leading cause of teen deaths in Colorado, tech offers parents peace of mind.
It’s not uncommon for emotions to diverge greatly when a teenager comes of age to drive. The young driver is thrilled to begin the process of earning a driver’s license, while parents are terrified. One reason there is such angst among adults when a child gets behind the wheel of a car is that statistics show just how hazardous driving can be for young motorists. Finding ways to keep teen drivers safe continues to be a challenge, but one thing that is helping is technology: A few swipes on a smartphone can help parents keep a close eye on teen drivers.
Auto accidents are the leading killer of teenagers.
Motor vehicle crashes kill more teenagers annually than any other cause. Those most likely to be killed are between the ages of 16 and 19, and males are twice as likely to be fatally injured in an accident as females.
On an average day, six teenagers are killed in crashes, including many here in Colorado. News reports noted that Colorado teen deaths due to traffic accidents increased 22 percent in 2017 when compared with 2016.
You can preach safety all you want, but behavior among young drivers is what causes these crashes. Teens are more likely to drink and drive, speed, become distracted, and not wear a seat belt.
It used to be that these risky behaviors would be seen only by those in the vehicle, but now with technology, parents or guardians are able to monitor, in real-time, driver behavior that could contribute to an accident. Monitoring is now as easy as pulling out a smartphone and accessing an app. In addition to phone apps, some vehicle manufacturers continue to improve onboard tracking devices that allow parents to set limits on their young drivers, such as limiting the speed the driver can go and activating geofencing, so if the monitored vehicle goes beyond a certain boundary, an alarm will alert the person monitoring the vehicle.
Other manufacturers have built-in ways to enforce seat belt use, by not allowing or muting the radio until a seatbelt is fastened. This technology is available in newer cars, but for those who don’t want to purchase a new car, that doesn’t mean you are out of luck when it comes to monitoring your young driver.
Options for Parents Seeking to Track Young Drivers
Many tech companies are working on products that can help both young drivers and their parents. One such company has researched and listed some products available today that can help monitor teen drivers. The devices highlighted offer parents peace of mind by:
- Providing instant notification when the car is being used
- Tracking the whereabouts of a vehicle in real time
- Providing geofencing notification, in which a message is sent if the vehicle has entered an area that is off-limits
- Saving vehicle movement so all routes taken can be viewed, even at a later time
- Alerting the owner of the tracking device if the car is stolen or tampered
If you have a child who is about to begin learning to drive or recently became a licensed driver, there is no avoiding apprehension or worry. Today, technology makes it possible to monitor your young driver even when you are not in the vehicle. That’s got to bring a little peace of mind to parents of growing children.