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(855) 953-0884Compare QuotesThese days, you don’t have to take your teen’s word for it that they were totally following the speed limits, adhering to their curfew, and driving to and from school only. Instead, you can use technology, built into your car and smartphone, to make sure your teen is truly a safe driver. Safe driving tech can help less experienced drivers avoid distracted driving and crashes.
Aside from driver monitoring, modern cars come equipped with many safety features that the cars of yesteryear lacked, from stability control to backup cameras. Here’s how you can leverage technology to make your teen a safer driver.
Editor’s note (last updated July 14, 2024): We updated this page to reflect the latest innovations in driving technology and safe driving recommendations for teens, including new recommendations for apps to monitor teen drivers.
Teens are one of the costliest age groups to insure because their lack of driving experience results in higher risk of accidents and other traffic violations. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that teen drivers are three times more likely to be involved in a deadly crash than drivers aged 20 or older1. Our 2024 teen driver car crash statistics report reveals the importance of driver safety features for teen drivers. If you’re looking for a car for your teen driver, make sure you assess the availability of the following safety features:
Distracted driving is one of the scariest hypotheticals for parents and guardians when preparing a teen to drive. Inexperienced drivers, mounting distractions, and irresponsible choices can change the trajectory of any driver’s life—not to mention the scary statistic that 45 percent of teen drivers text behind the wheel each week. As such, it’s worth investing in a vehicle with driver monitoring if you want to keep an eye on your teen’s driving habits. Below are some of the most popular auto manufacturer’s driver monitoring offerings:
Volkswagen Safe & Secure
Term length (in years) | Price per year | Total price | Savings from 1-year plan |
---|---|---|---|
1 | $159 | $159 | N/A |
2 | $115 | $229 | $89 |
3 | $90 | $269 | $208 |
4 | $75 | $299 | $337 |
5 | $78 | $389 | $406 |
You can get a teen driver discount if you use the Hyundai Driver Score with insurance providers MetLife and Bristol West.
Many companies offer mobile applications designed to promote safe driving. We analyzed offerings from non-auto manufacturers and have recommendations below. The type of technology reduces distracted driving and teen speeding by tracking and alerting users to potentially dangerous driving habits before they have time to become a permanent practice.
Life360 is an iOS/Android app that has a number of driving safety features along with digital safety features. The driving-centric features include the below.
See Life360’s plans below.
Feature | Free plan | Gold plan | Platinum plan |
---|---|---|---|
Data breach alerts | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Identity theft protection | No | Yes | Yes |
Stolen funds reimbursement | N/A | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
Credit score monitoring | No | No | Yes |
Crash detection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Family driving summary | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Individual driver reports | No | Yes | Yes |
Roadside assistance | No | Yes | Yes |
Free towing (in miles) | N/A | 5 | 50 |
Emergency dispatch | No | Yes | Yes |
Stolen phone protection | N/A | $250 | $500 |
Disaster response | No | No | Yes |
Medical assistance | No | No | Yes |
Travel support | No | No | Yes |
Location history (in days) | 2 | 30 | 30 |
Place alerts number | 2 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Crime reports | No | Yes | Yes |
SOS help alert | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Free trial (in days) | N/A | 7 | 7 |
Yearly cost | N/A | $99.99 | $199.99 |
Monthly cost | N/A | $9.99 | $19.99 |
Annual savings | N/A | $19.89 | $39.89 |
Bouncie is designed to help parents monitor their teenage drivers, providing real-time insights into driving behavior and vehicle status. It connects to a device that plugs into the vehicle, offering a range of features that promote safe driving habits.
Category | Bouncie pricing |
---|---|
Bouncie Device | $89.99 one-time |
1-2 devices | $9 each monthly |
3 or more devices | $7.70 each monthly |
As we mentioned earlier, texting and driving is a pervasive issue among all drivers, but for teen drivers, it’s especially dangerous. If you have AT&T as your wireless provider, you can have your teen use the DriveMode app, which can do the following:
More than half of the U.S. bans the use of handheld electronic devices while driving, even if it’s only one tap. Check the fines for cell phone use by state before you use any app while driving.
TrueMotion will provide scores for the following:
The app is available for free on both iOS and Android devices.
For Verizon users, the Hum app lets you see where cars are, request roadside assistance, schedule service, and review safety scores based on the following factors:
You’ll be able to see a location history of exactly where your teen drove and how safe they were driving overall.
Parent-teen driver contracts are a free, low-tech way to open lines of communication with teen drivers and establish expectations around safe driving.
For more teen driving safety tips, keep reading our frequently asked questions below. Make sure your child knows your state’s teen driving laws before trying out the latest driving technology—learning the rules of the road is essential to become a safe driver. We’ve also reviewed the best auto insurance for teen drivers.
The safest car for a new teen driver is a Honda Civic, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Consumer Reports. It has good crash test ratings, standard lane-departure warning, lane-departure prevention, and daytime running lights.
Some top tips to help your teen be a better driver include agreeing to a parent-teen driver contract with restrictions on speed, hours driving, and passengers, turning on do not disturb on their phones while driving, and requiring them to take a defensive driving or driver training course.
At minimum, your teen should have a cell phone charger, cell phone mount, insurance information, and their license and registration in their vehicle at all times.
In case of an emergency situation, every vehicle should be equipped with a blanket, energy bars, first aid kit, flashlight, flat shoes, gloves, hand sanitizer, hat, ice scraper, jumper cables, wet wipes, a portable car battery charger, a tire repair kit, an umbrella, and bottled water.
Yes, the Range Rover Sport has teen driver technology. This includes a Smartphone Pack (Android Auto and Apple CarPlay), voice recognition, GPS navigation, driver monitoring app, automatic emergency brakes, front and rear parking aids, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, speed limiter, and other driver assistance tools.
What is the Guest Driver Monitor in the Toyota Remote Connect app? Toyota.
http://toyota.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10222/~/what-is-the-guest-driver-monitor-in-the-toyota-remote-connect-app%3F
MyKey®. Ford.
https://www.ford.com/support/how-tos/keys-and-locks/mykey/mykey/
Best Cars for Teens: The List Every Parent Needs. Kelley Blue Book. (2021, Mar 26).
https://www.kbb.com/best-cars/teens/
VW Car-Net® Plans and Pricing. Volkswagen.
https://carnet.vw.com/#/plan-pricing
Get the AT&T DriveMode app. AT&T. (2021, July 2).
https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1000730/