Teen Vehicle Monitoring Device | ABC30 Fresno

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By ABC30

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Fresno, CA When mom and dad can't be in the car, this little box is supposed to act as their eyes and ears. It's one of a number of devices available commercially that can keep a watch on your child.

Anne McCartt with Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said, "We found teens took risky maneuvers less when they knew their parents were watching."

Anne McCartt researched the technology for a new report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. She says teens have the highest crash rate of any age group.

They have a tendency to overestimate how skilled a driver they are and they underestimate their risk.

Typically, it works like this: The driver hears a loud beep when speeding, braking or accelerating suddenly, and when the seat belt is unfastened. The system emails a report card of sorts to the driver's parents.

We found the way the device worked best was when the teen heard the alert in the vehicle and had a chance to correct the behavior before the parent was notified.

McCartt said another important finding point to parental involvement.

So what we found was that if teens over time felt their parents weren't paying attention, they became less cautious. The study by The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also found that teens drove better when their car was equipped with a monitoring device.