Keeping Teens Alive on the Road

Motor vehicle crashes claim the lives of seven teens on a daily basis around the United States each year. With the official start of summer around the corner, it’s the perfect time to be reminded the highest death rates for teens due to motor vehicle crashes occurs during the 100-day period that started with Memorial Day Weekend.

hum by Verizon is a product to help teens be safer behind the wheel and give parents some peace of mind.

A connected car product, hum includes a device that plugs into a port beneath a vehicle’s steering wheel (every car has one, but most people have no idea where their OBD port is), a visor clip that enables one-touch road-side assistance and calling, and a smartphone app.

Here some sobering and compelling teen driver stats:

• According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), 2,263 teens ages 13-19 died in car crashes in 2014, an average of more than seven per day: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/teenagers/fatalityfacts/teenagers

• Teen drivers are three times more likely than drivers over age 20 to be involved in a fatal crash.

• While motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death among U.S. teenagers, the impact of teen driving crashes goes well beyond their own safety.

• In fact, 40 percent of those killed in crashes involving teen drivers are people in other vehicles.

An effective, inexpensive solution to ease parents’ stress this summer while their teens are on the road, hum provides teen drivers access to vital safety features that are typically not found in older cars -- the ones teens usually drive!

With recently upgraded features that include real-time monitoring of vehicle location, speed and activity, hum adds a layer of comfort, security and independence for teen drivers and more importantly, their parents and loved ones. The product makes parents feel like they’re in the passenger seat, even if they’re miles away.