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SPY KIDS; How to keep an eye on your teen driver.(Special Report)
Byline: ERIC ADAMS
It's a problem as old as the car itself-as soon as a teenage driver gets behind the wheel, inexperience and immaturity join forces to create a startling potential for havoc. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports the crash rate per mile driven for 16- to 19-year-olds is four times the risk for older drivers. Other findings: More than half of teenage driving deaths occur on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, usually between 3 p.m. and midnight, and most often when other teenagers are in the car.
Fortunately driving deaths are decreasing from year to year-something IIHS attributes mostly to safer cars-and more states are adopting phased license-acquisition programs (Graduated Driver Licensing), in which young drivers are only granted full licenses after getting safely through various provisional periods. IIHS says 16 is the highest-risk age for drivers, and states with such licensing programs are specifically targeting that group first.
But when it's your kid on the road, how can you be sure he or she is driving safely? After all, accident rates, deaths and injuries are merely the tip of the iceberg-close calls, fender benders and run-ins with the law can be troubling indicators of problematic behavior. You can't ride shotgun on every outing of course, but new technologies including GPS, cellular communication and onboard vehicle sensors can make you feel like you are. The devices can monitor your teen's driving and provide reports when you check in or download data, or even give you live updates to your PC or cell phone when your young driver exceeds certain limits.
Though some people might wince at the idea of such close monitoring, arguing it is a violation of privacy, others embrace technology as a way of keeping their kids safe, particularly when lives are at stake and significant amounts of money are invested in family vehicles.
Basic Monitoring
Before you start shelling out cash for high-tech devices, remember how your own parents kept an eye on you-without the benefit of GPS, the internet or cellular phone networks. It's a good bet your dad kept mental notes on odometer readings before he turned over the keys. To see if your own kids are driving more often and farther than you've agreed to, check the odometer before they leave and after they get home.
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