Hi-Tech Keychain Monitors Teen Driving Habits

SPRING LAKE, Michigan, August 19, 2008 – A high tech company has developed a new innovative electronic key chain LCD device that enables parents to monitor how their teens or family car is being driven. RookieDriver.Net, a leading online provider of teen driver safety products, markets the Lemur Autovision created by Root Four Imagination.
 
Speed, inexperience and distraction are key risk factors in most teen accidents. From the moment a teen backs out of the driveway, the Lemur Autovision electronic keychain is capturing driving data.  

 

The on-board sensor records maximum speed, total distance, and any excessive braking. The keychain LCD displays this data in an easy-to-read format.

When a teen returns the keys, parents can immediately review how safely their son or daughter is driving.  No need to download data to a personal computer. It’s all there, in the palm of their hand. 

Corinne Fortenbacher, the president of Rookie Driver.Net, has just begun marketing the Lemur Autovision on their website and sees the product as a great new tool to help parents improve safety for their teen drivers. 

“A quick review of the data collected by the keychain with their teen driver provides parents an opportunity to positively reinforce good driving habits, or take appropriate action to modify poorer ones,” Fortenbacher said.  “And, it gives teens an opportunity to show they are responsible drivers.”

“The main focus is that the teenager is aware – that their parents will be aware; therefore they won’t drive recklessly in the first place, because they want the car next weekend,” said Maurice Tuff, the president of Root Four Imagination.  “It is a preventative device, not a catch-you, tattle-tale device.”

“In terms of trust, yeah, we’ve been asked that question a lot,” Tuff added.  “We’ve got to go beyond trust.  We’ve got to go to safety; we have to save our children.  Parents don’t consider reviewing a teen’s school report card as spying, or a breach of the parent teen trust relationship, so why worry about a device that reports on their driving performance?   The consequences of poor driving habits can be fatal by comparison.”

Tuff noted that there are similar products on the market that are much more invasive.  “It’s not a GPS,” he said.  “It just gives a few pieces of vital information to parents.”

 

The Lemur Autovision is simple to install and offers parents the advantage of “real-time” information on their teen’s driving habits.  It is also tamper proof and PIN protected.  It’s affordable, at under $100, and there are no monthly fees, as with most GPS products on the market.   For more information, go to www.RookieDriver.Net.

Contacts:
Corinne Fortenbacher, President
RookieDriver.Net
888-285-7875
Email: Corinne@RookieDriver.Net
Web: www.RookieDriver.Net

 

Maurice Tuff, President

Root Four Imagination Inc.

709-747-7593

mtuff@rootfour.com

 

Or, visit RookieDriver.Net’s Media Room at:
http://www.rookiedriverintraining.com/rookiedriver-news.html

 

Visit their teen driving safety blog at:  https://rookiedriver.wordpress.com/

About Rookie Driver.Net

RookieDriver.Net develops and markets a line of car magnets to alert experienced drivers that there is a novice driver behind the wheel.  Rookie Driver® is the only symbol awarded a registered trademark by the US Patent and Trademark Office to nationally recognize new teen drivers.  The firm has grown from a single product, launched in 2006, to a leading online provider of new driver safety aids.  RookieDriver.Net’s products are designed by teens and can be found at http://www.RookieDriver.Net.

 

 

 

 

 

Special Report: The Dangers of Teen Driving

Car crashes are the No. 1 killer of teens. It’s time to take action. Readers Digest has a comprehensive article regarding teen driving in this months issue.

Follow this link to the complete story Click Here

Source: Readers Digest By Joseph K. Vetter with Fran Lostys

UA Teen Study Wants to Put the Brakes on Risky Driving

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — University of Alabama researcher Dr. Nancy Rhodes has been studying the lives of teenage drivers for almost five years — she has listened to their stories about road trips, joy rides and tragic accidents.

Rhodes, a research social scientist at the UA Institute for Social Science Research, is conducting a study about newly licensed teen drivers, their parents and what causes risky behavior behind the wheel.

With car fatalities the number one killer of teens in Alabama, Rhodes wants to put the brakes on the dangerous reality facing young motorists.

Are You Worried Now That Your Teen Is Driving? “When it comes to ‘New-Driver’ and ‘Student Driver’ car magnets, Rookie Driver products are the Preferred Choice of New Teen Drivers”

CLICK HERE to see.

“Parents sometimes feel that they’re only needed for the initial learning experience of driving,” Rhodes said. “Once teens get their license, they tend to think their job is over, but parents still have an important role to play in keeping teens safe.”

Many teens experiment with different types of risky behavior, but risk-taking is especially dangerous behind the wheel of a car, and is prominent with high-school age young adults, Rhodes’ studies have shown. Risky behaviors can include taking a curve too fast, being distracted by passengers or talking on a cell phone – behaviors that teens often don’t define as risky, according to Rhodes’ studies.

“Teens can look around them and see everyone else, including their parents, doing things they shouldn’t while driving, such as using a cell phone, speeding or playing with the radio,” said Nita Hestevold, research associate at ISSR, who is also working on the driving research. “They don’t understand that, while this behavior is unsafe for all drivers, younger drivers are less experienced and have not yet automated their driving skills, so the same behaviors put teen drivers at higher risk of crashing.”

In fact, the first six months of a licensed driver is the most dangerous driving period, according to Rhodes. Teens too often associate positive emotion such as the joy of independence with risky behavior like speeding, which makes them more likely to engage in risky acts.

“We’re not trying to take the fun out of growing up and getting a license,” said Rhodes. “We just want to educate the public about the importance of balancing the joy of teen driving with responsibility and safety.”

Rhodes received a five-year, $750,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control for her research that began as a study of drinking and driving. After looking at crash statistics in Alabama through the UA CARE Center, Rhodes noticed similarities in youth accidents.

They discovered that teenage drinking and driving only accounts for 10 percent of teens’ crashes, a finding that made them look more deeply at other risk factors for teens.

“For teens, bad choices are more likely to be made because of teens’ inexperience and social pressures,” Hestevold added.

Surveys, focus groups, interviews and questionnaires from two Tuscaloosa high schools have allowed Rhodes to enter the minds of teens. After talking to numerous individuals about driving, she realized that one possible area for improvement was parent-teen communication.

“In our fifth year, we are trying to use what we have learned to inform state legislators, law enforcement officers, teachers and researchers,” Rhodes said. “But a very promising part of preventing teen crashes is informing parents and the teens themselves about the truth behind why crashes happen.”