3 Apps to Prevent Distracted Teen Driving

Parents can forbid their teenage children from using their phones while driving, but the likelihood of your adolescent locking their phone in the trunk and out of sight is as likely as them rising at dawn every day ready to face the world. So you have to combat the problem at its source – the phone itself. There are several apps that have been developed that help prevent distracted driving (for teens and, let’s face it, adults too).

Canary

Really wish you had a seat on your teen driver’s shoulder? Canary is almost as good as being in the car beside them, providing intelligence to parents about their child’s driving behavior. The app is downloaded on your teen’s phone and allows you to set a maximum speed limit for your teen driver. The phone can’t physically stop your child from stepping on the gas, of course, but you will receive an alert when your young driver goes over the safe limit you have set.

Some parents consider the best part of this application, however, to be the ability to see what your child is doing on their phone in real time, from texting to talking, taking selfies to surfing Facebook. And if it’s happening when they’re supposed to be driving, woe to that teen. What’s to stop your teen from disabling Canary on their phone? Parents receive a notification about that as well. There are no secrets when the Canary is singing.

DriveMode

If you’re interested in eliminating the temptation of using a smartphone while driving, you can install DriveMode on your child’s phone. This app from AT&T automatically launches once the car has reached 15 MPH. If a text or email comes in while your teen is driving, it’s silenced. For AT&T customers, the app responds to text messages letting the sender know that the person they’ve just texted is behind the wheel and will get back to them later.

Most importantly, the app blocks your teen from reading or typing while they’re driving. But, you have to enable the app before turning on the car in order for it to work properly. If you’ve entrusted your teen with doing this on their own and they don’t comply, you can be notified by text if the app is off.

Drivesafe.ly

If you know your teen is more likely to flaunt the rules than go without knowing who’s getting in touch with them while they’re on the road, you can try to cut them off at the pass with the DriveSafe.ly app that reads messages aloud in real time. There’s a customizable auto-responder too, which means no one needs to put their hands on the phone at all while behind the wheels. You can respond by speaking, hands-free, and even pre-set auto responses. The DriveSafe.ly app is compatible with Bluetooth and only requires a one-touch activation – who doesn’t have 10 seconds to spare for that kind of safety?

AAA reports that texting and driving is the most dangerous distraction behind the wheel. But statistics like that don’t mean much to teens. Most young people want to stay connected to their friends and social networks at all times, at whatever cost. And, for some, that cost is their life. The distracted driving epidemic is only getting worse. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that over 3,300 people were killed in car accidents with a distracted driver in 2011. Almost 390,000 were injured, and that can include serious health problems like traumatic brain injuries.

It’s the role of a parent to model good behavior for their child, so consider installing apps like these on your own phone – and use them. Accountability is a personal choice, but if your children see you being careful instead of flaunting your own rules, they may be more likely to comply with the safety parameters you set in place. Set your family rule and keep it: no phones while driving, including texting, selfies, or social media.