I would have been in SO much trouble...
From AP, trimmed down:
CHICAGO - When 17-year-old Anna Kinderman takes a turn too fast in her parents' sedan or jams the brakes too hard, she apologizes aloud even when no one else is in the car. "Sorry, Dad," she says, looking up at the camera mounted on the rear-view mirror.
Mom and Dad will see the incident on video soon enough, after all.
Several U.S. auto insurers have begun offering in-car cameras or global positioning equipment to help parents monitor their teenagers' driving behavior, hoping to reduce the alarming number of crashes involving young new motorists.
Under Teen Safe Driver, a camera records audio and video images of both the road and the driver when motion sensors detect swerving, hard braking, sudden acceleration or a collision. The footage goes to an analysis center where it is graded for riskiness and sent on to parents with comments and coaching tips.
Shit! Swerving, hard braking, and sudden acceleration was all I did!
Teen drivers have mixed feelings about the technology; one in 20 even cover the camera after it is first installed, according to program officials.
He he he, can't get around those kids!
"It's great that you can see what you did wrong," said Anna. "But it kind of feels like a parent is in your space, especially when you get yelled at if you do something wrong."
She has been part of a pilot program at her high school for the last year. She usually sits down with her father, a police officer, to review the incidents _ and explain why she was driving with a cell phone to her ear.
Oh great, her dad is a cop. That has to be fun...
Rusty Weiss of DriveCam Inc., the San Diego-based company that developed the technology, said the video captures more inattentive mistakes than aggressive-driving ones; for example, teens talking on their cell phones, listening to iPods or heeding friends' advice to run yellow lights. Private details and conversations are not shared with parents, he said, nor are individual incidents or video clips given to American Family.
Other programs aim to accomplish similar goals using global positioning systems technology.
Guy Thompson of Lake Oswego, Ore., gets an automated text message whenever his 16-year-old daughter Maggie drives her car more than five miles from home or exceeds 55 mph, limits he set to trigger alerts under the Teensurance plan. He also can monitor the location of her car online, or even set the device to notify him if the car arrives at a specified address.
Thompson says the extra information eases his concerns when Maggie is out and has made her more forthcoming about her whereabouts.
I would just ride with my friends who don't have big brother installed.
Maggie said she's become a more conscientious driver because she knows that if she speeds, the device _ and her dad _ will hold her accountable.
"I think it's generally a good thing," she said, "as long as you have a trusting relationship and you're honest. And if you don't, maybe it's a step in the right direction."
I suppose it's a good idea, but I can think of so many ways around this that I could render in ineffective.
Did her father also mention the crotch cam he had installed in her vagina to protect her virginity?
ReplyDeleteIf I were her, I'd get a bike and tell my dad to fuck off.
Kirby: I doubt her father goes to the extent of the crotch-cam, probably just weekly hymen checks in the stirrups.
ReplyDeleteI guess this would not have been a big problem for me in my day, my driving was pretty good. As long as it didn't come on when the car was twirling around when I was "playing in the snow".
ReplyDeleteAnd as long as there were no cameras in the back of the station wagon that flipped on if the car was rocking and shaking (but not with the car running, of course!). That would have been a real bummer, too.
Otherwise, fine. (NOT)
You lied. You said this post was trimmed down from the AP! 5 minutes later here I am posting! ;o)
ReplyDeleteI'll be teaching two kids to drive in the next five years. Pray for me.
ReplyDeleteI guarantee I won't be using my father's method-- alternating between unclear directions and yelling hysterically.
My dad would review my tape and point out times when I could have passed drivers on the right shoulder if they were going too slow.
ReplyDeleteKirby's addressed 1/2 of the problem: without a car to fool around in, where are ya' supposed to go?
ReplyDelete