Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in America, and teen drivers are three times more likely to crash than their older counterparts, reports the Centers for Disease Control. In light of such staggering statistics, letting a teen driver out onto the road is a nerve wracking experience, to say the least, for most parents.
Now, nearly a quarter of all accidents involve cell phone use, according to data Texting and Driving Safety. The very tool that you give your child so that they can call you when they are lost or stranded can become a dangerous distraction if handled at the wrong time. In spite of the inherent dangers in mixing cell phones and driving, a new wave of apps is helping make the driving experience safer for teens and less worrisome for their parents.
Time to Drive
Backed by researchers from the UNC Highway Safety Research Center, Time to Drive is an iPhone app that helps parents maximize their teen's practice driving hours. Whether your state requires your teen to complete a certain number of supervised driving hours before they can get their license or not, your young driver should spend 6 to 12 months practicing under your supervision.
Time to Drive tracks the number of hours your teen spends practicing as well as the road and weather conditions. By giving your teen the chance to practice driving in rain, darkness or heavy traffic conditions, you give them the edge they need when they start driving on their own. This app also helps you set and meet learning goals — you can even print off proof of your practice for the DMV.
Buying Safety
The car your teen drives has a huge impact on how safe they are on the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's SaferCar mobile app sends you auto recall alerts and is full of information about reviews, customer ratings and safety information. Use this app while researching used cars on Kelley Blue Book or the KBB app. Combining these two apps ensures that you get a safe vehicle for a fair price. Available for Android and iOS, both free apps are essential for parents who want to buy safety for their kids.
Canary
A lifetime subscription for Canary is available for Android and iPhones for just $14.99, but parents can test drive the app for free for seven days. The app allows you to monitor up to 10 people, great for parents with multiple young drivers on the road. It sends you instant notifications when your teens are texting or tweeting while on the road, and it can also be set to let you know if your teens are speeding or driving in areas that you find unsafe.
DriveSafe.ly
Your teen buzzes with curiosity every time her phone buzzes with a text message. DriveSafe.ly lets her satisfy her curiosity without risking her safety. This hands free app can be activated with the single touch of a button just before your teen starts her journey. While she is driving, the app will read her text messages and emails aloud in real time as they arrive. To ensure that her messages aren't still being broadcast when she arrives at her destination, your teen simply has to hit the off button.
Definitely going to use these apps when my kids get older and start driving. I especially like the DriveSafely app!
The Canary app is great and I use it with all of my kids.