Being the parent of a teen driver is not a relaxing experience. As you watch your teen bound out the door each day, car keys in hand, a million fears run through your mind. And while you can’t protect your teen from every driving risk they face once they walk out that door, you can take advantage of some phone apps that help enhance teen safety while they drive.
Text Disablers
There are many apps out there that can disable your teen’s ability to read or send texts while they are in a moving vehicle. These include: TextArrest and Key2SafeDriving. Other apps, like Drivesafe.ly Pro, read texts aloud and allow your teen to create an auto response that the phone sends on its own. Think of it as hands free responding.
Phone Inhibitors
Texting isn’t the only dangerous activity that can be done behind the wheel. Sometimes answering a cell phone, calling out on a cell phone, or even just talking on a cell phone can be enough to distract your teen from practicing safe driving methods. The apps Key2SafeDriving and ZoomSafer can lock and restrict your teen’s access to their phone’s call feature.
Learning Road Safety with Apps
Some apps can actually help educate your teen on how to drive safely and react appropriately to other drivers. The Dangers of Distracted Driving app shows teens how easy it is to get into an accident after being distracted for just a short time. The Steer Clear Mobile app gives kids an interactive lesson in safe driving practices that they can apply when they drive.
Ride Shotgun—through an App
You can’t be in the car with your teen driver every time they leave the house—or can you? With the Safe Driver app, you can get a text message when your teen surpasses the speed limit in any given area. While this certainly helps you keep an eye on your teen, it might also be just the push they need to remain vigilant about staying within the speed limit and avoiding accidents when they drive.
The future probably holds many more innovative apps that can help your teen be a safer, more accountable driver. Just be sure that as you choose cell phones and apps that you don’t end up selecting something that actually helps to distract your teen even more than they might normally be. After all, the purpose of the apps should be to serve—and protect.
Let us answer any more questions you may have about safe driving. Contact Us Today!