Help Behind The Wheel: Technology Takes Aim At Teen Drivers
National Teen Driver Safety Week is underway, and new technologies aimed at reducing road fatalities are in the spotlight. NBC's Dan Scheneman reports.
(NBC News) — Car accidents remain the leading cause of death among teen drivers, and officials are using this week to highlight basic safety tips to keep young drivers safe.
“Parents are the key to a young driver’s success, although it’s a teen in the driver’s seat. It’s parents who have control,” says Julie Vallese of the National Highway Traffic Safety Association.
Vallese says this week, National Teen Driver Safety Week, is a good time for parents to stress the basics of safe driving.
“Wear your seatbelt, obey the speed limit, don’t drive impaired, don’t drive distracted and when it comes to teens limit the number of passengers that you have in a car,” she says.
Parents of teen drivers may also get some help from technology. The Ford Motor Company offers “My Key.”
“They can have some gentle reminders when you’re not sitting there in the car with them,” explains Desi Ujkashevic, Ford’s Global Director of Automotive Safety.
The technology can be adjusted to individual drivers.
“Some of our children need to be reminded about speeding or excessive speeds,” Ujkashevic notes.
Still, technology is only a tool for parents.
“Good basic habits are so essential to those young drivers that we know don’t have the experience behind the wheel,” Ujkashevic says.
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