Tips to Help Reduce Distracted Teen Driving

 

Here are Tips to Help Reduce Distracted Teen Driving. If you have a teen driver, we have an exciting opportunity and tips for you that will help keep your kids safe when they are behind the wheel. Straight Talk offers the Safe Driver Car Connection^TM, an easy-to-use device that that plugs into your car’s computer system (OBD-II port) to help monitor, manage and maintain your family’s vehicles and your teen’s safety.

National Teen Driver Safety Week is in October and is a great time to talk to your teen about the importance of safe driving.

Tips to Help Reduce Distracted Teen Driving:

Fact: If you’re texting and driving, your eyes are off the road an average of five seconds for every text you send. At 60 mph, your vehicle will have traveled nearly a football field and a half during that time.

Tip: It can wait. In the blink of an eye, anything can happen. As a driver you need to remain focused on the road and aware of the constantly changing driving conditions.

Fact: Most drivers rate themselves above average when it comes to their driving skills.

Tip: It doesn’t matter at all how good of a driver you think are. All that matters is how bad of a driver you know everyone else is. That’s why you always need to be aware and expect the unexpected at all times.

Fact: Car crashes are the leading cause of death for young people aged 15-20. An average of ten young people is killed, and more than 800 young people are injured every day in car crashes.

Tip: Buckle up and eliminate distractions. Teens have the lowest seat belt usage out of any age group.  Seat belts save lives. Period. Also eliminate distractions such as cell phones and other teens in the vehicle. The risk of a fatal collision dramatically increases when teen drivers have other teens in the vehicle. Studies show that the chance of a fatal collision doubles with two passengers in the vehicle and actually quadruples when there’s three or more passengers in the vehicle.

We had the opportunity to test drive the Safe Driver Car Connection device and it works really well.  In fact, I can honestly say that if I had a teen driver, I would not allow my teen to drive without one.  This device is providing peace of mind for parents of teen drivers. The Safe Driver Car Connection communicates with the Car Connection smartphone app, available for iPhone and Android devices, to restrict texting and phone usage while driving, monitor and track driving behaviors, report on vehicle health, and provide the location of the vehicle.

There are some amazing features to this app.  One of my favorite features is cell phone restriction.  It works via the free ZoomSafer application for Android, iPhone, and Blackberry devices.  When it is installed, the ZoomSafter will send a signal to the Safe Driver Car Connection device to disable all text functionality, app usage and inbound/outbound calling for the driver while the car is in motion.  When a call or text is received, the sender is automatically notified that the driver will call them back.  This is perfect for when Mom or Dad texts and the teen may feel obligated to text back immediately.

Another feature that I personally like is vehicle location.  It makes it simple to keep up with your teen and the family car, since vehicle location tracks the vehicle every 5 minutes.  It also creates a path as the vehicle drives which can be reviewed on the Car Connection app or the desktop user portal at a later date. When the vehicle is not running, Car Connection will monitor the location of the vehicle every hour.

My husband really likes the Fuel Economy feature.  Safe Driver Car Connection can improve your fuel consumption by providing information like average idle time, optimal fuel efficiency speed, and the carbon footprint left by the vehicle. It also monitors daily driving habits to generate a fuel consumption report that includes “actual” MPG (Miles Per Gallon). Unfortunately, when it was hot outside, I was wasting gas in the pick-up line at school and my husband “caught me”.  I am thankful for cold weather now!

The Safe Driver Car Connection is available at Walmart and online at Walmart.com and StraightTalk.com, and retails for $139.99 (MSRP). There are two service plans available: $10/30 days and $100/1 year. These plans will be unique for this device and cannot be used with any other device.  Starting October 27, the Alcatel OneTouch Pop Icon will be available for only $149 at your local Walmart.

In addition to the latest phones, Straight Talk offers a new program called Bring Your Own Tablet (BYOT), where you literally bring your current AT&T or T-Mobile compatible tablet and choose a Straight Talk data plan that works for you – all without a contract.  This is another great way to save!

Disclosure:  This is a sponsored post on behalf of Straight Talk Wireless.  We are Straight Talk Testers however all opinions are 100% our own.  We are working with this brand because we feel strongly about it.