Press release
NEW YORK -- Equipping teenagers' cars with in-vehicle monitoring devices can help teens be safer drivers by alerting them and their parents about risky behaviors, a new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study finds. Yet the devices may turn out to be tough sells not only to the beginning drivers but even to their parents, and over time the teens may become less cautious if they think their parents aren't paying attention. A companion survey indicates that most parents think the technology helps their kids be better drivers.
"Monitoring devices can help reduce teens' risky driving," says Anne McCartt, Institute senior vice president for research, "and perhaps ease some of the worry parents face when their kids start to drive. Our findings also suggest that technology can't substitute for parents getting involved."
Teenage drivers' crash risk is consistently higher than the risk in any other age group. One proven way to reduce this risk is through strong graduated licensing laws. Another potential way is to use technologies to monitor driving and flag risky behavior like speeding, aggressive driving, and nonuse of belts.
Institute researchers monitored the driving of 16 and 17-year-olds in the suburban Washington, DC, area for 24 weeks. Their vehicles were outfitted with a black box with global positioning system capabilities plus a satellite modem to transmit data to a central processing center. The device recorded driving-specific data but no video or sound. It detected when drivers braked sharply or accelerated suddenly, didn't use belts, and exceeded speed limits. Data were posted on a secure website for parents to review.
NEW YORK -- Equipping teenagers' cars with in-vehicle monitoring devices can help teens be safer drivers by alerting them and their parents about risky behaviors, a new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study finds. Yet the devices may turn out to be tough sells not only to the beginning drivers but even to their parents, and over time the teens may become less cautious if they think their parents aren't paying attention. A companion survey indicates that most parents think the technology helps their kids be better drivers.
"Monitoring devices can help reduce teens' risky driving," says Anne McCartt, Institute senior vice president for research, "and perhaps ease some of the worry parents face when their kids start to drive. Our findings also suggest that technology can't substitute for parents getting involved."
Teenage drivers' crash risk is consistently higher than the risk in any other age group. One proven way to reduce this risk is through strong graduated licensing laws. Another potential way is to use technologies to monitor driving and flag risky behavior like speeding, aggressive driving, and nonuse of belts.
Institute researchers monitored the driving of 16 and 17-year-olds in the suburban Washington, DC, area for 24 weeks. Their vehicles were outfitted with a black box with global positioning system capabilities plus a satellite modem to transmit data to a central processing center. The device recorded driving-specific data but no video or sound. It detected when drivers braked sharply or accelerated suddenly, didn't use belts, and exceeded speed limits. Data were posted on a secure website for parents to review.
