Many of the largest insurance companies who insure teen drivers, and some technology companies as well, now have “apps” that parents may use to monitor their teen drivers. Some of the insurers offer discounted premiums for families who install their app. In general, these apps monitor and transmit to parents data on the teen driver’s vehicle such as speed, time of day that the car was driven, hard-braking events, and vehicle location (also known as “geo-fencing”).
In general, I am a fan of these apps. For as long as I have been publishing this blog, I have advocated that parents who can afford it buy and install technology that monitors their teen’s driving behavior. We might call this “surveillance,” even if that term does have the negative connotation of snooping or failing to trust a teen, but my view is that anything that induces teens to follow teen driving laws and their agreements with their parents about driving behavior, and monitors driving habits, is a good thing.
Consumer Reports has published articles comparing the features, reliability, and cost of these apps, so if you are thinking of buying one, I would recommend consulting CR’s archives.
However, I want to draw an important distinction among the apps out there for teen drivers. I am NOT a fan of apps that “disable texting.” There are varying models, but most involve either intercepting incoming text messages with an automatic reply saying “____ will call you later, he is driving right now,” or else they prevent the teen driver from sending any texts while driving. I have several concerns about this type of app. First, some of these systems can be overridden. If parents have imposed this type of app on the teen and teen is an objector, the teen will find a way around it. Second, if the cellphone is sitting in the cradle next to the driver, at least part of the distraction is still there. Third, is it really effective to deploy one piece of technology to defuse another? Why not just put the technology that is causing the problem in a place where it won’t be a problem? This is why I advocate for new drivers that the cell phone goes in the glove box before the ignition is turned on, and it stays there until the ignition is turned off. Harsh and hard to enforce? Yes. More effectively than an app that purports to disable a texting function? I think so.
