I bet you all could remember the days leading up to getting your driver’s license. Once that day finally came, it was like receiving a plastic card that read “freedom” on it. You could now drive around for endless hours and get away from reality while listening to music, and driving aimlessly until it was time to come home. Yes, having a curfew was still a thing at the age of 16. Not many new drivers realize that the cause of death for people age 16-19 is caused from incidents caused from driving. Teens are four times more likely to crash their vehicle while talking or texting on the phone. The US Department of Transportation is trying to come up with some ways for teens to be safe while controlling a vehicle.
Just last week, GM announced its first car that can monitor teen drivers and limit things that they are allowed to do in the car. The 2016 Chevy Malibu will have a key feature that will identify that a teen is behind the wheel. The system will mute the radio and make sure that all seat belts are buckled before the car is put into drive. Parents of the drivers will also be able to view how their child is driving by using the new infotainment system. The idea of this will be like a “report card” and discuss the drivers overall performance while operating the vehicle.
AT&T is now offering a DriveMode app works with the new iOS iPhone update. This app will automatically turn on when the moving vehicle is at 15 or 20mph. It will silence your text messages, and send a message to those who are trying to get ahold of you saying that you are too busy driving to respond. Once you turn DriveMode off, all of your texts will be able to view. If you are not an iPhone user, then other apps that are very similar are offered for which ever type of phone service that you use.
Another very similar app this is available for all phones is Canary. This app will inform parents when their child is breaking the rules of the road. It will send an email the moment your teen unlocks their phone while driving, exceeds the speed limit or leaves a designated geographic area. One of the most important things to do is make sure that you are sending your child to a good driving school.
You should never focus on the cost of any of these safety features. A car is an item that can be replaced, but your child is something that cannot.
colleenduffyp7 
I think this blog was a very interesting read. I personally am guilty of having a led foot and often speed when driving places. I think downloading an app or even having a car that would tell me I need to slow down or keep track of how many times I went over the speed limit that I would be more likely to go the speed limit. I think this could definitely prevent accidents on the road when parents are informed of how their teens are driving.
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