At a time when roughly ten children die every day on US Highways in crashes involving teen drivers, don't you think parents would want to do everything possible to keep their own teen drivers safe?
I recently came across this story about nifty black boxes that parents can install in whatever car their teen drivers will be using.
I think this is brilliant.
But get this - Jeffery Runge, the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, can't even convince his own family to use one. "It doesn't inspire trust," says his wife.
Now c'mon folks, if there's anyone on the planet who knows how deadly teen drivers can be, it's Jeffery Runge (and one would presume) his wife as well. I mean heck, my wife knows what goes on at my Article Marketer site and she's busy with her own career. How can Mrs. Runge be so clueless? It raises the question: Are we coddling our children? (ok, that's a whole different rant...)
Trust?
Trust is a wonderful thing. It's great if your teen driver feels trusted but there's nothing like accountability to prove that a parent's trust is well-founded. One of the things that keeps teens "on the straight and narrow" is involved parenting.
Think of your own behavior. Aren't you more careful when you know someone is watching? Why do you think so many people pick their noses at stoplights? That same guy isn't going to pick his nose during a board meeting. Why? Because he's untrustworthy? No, it's because when someone is alone in a car, they forget about social norms.
The good news is that some models of this black box will "growl at the driver" when certain unsafe driving behaviors are noticed (unfortunately, nose-picking is not one of them). Yes, growl at the driver... you know, the same kind of thing you would do if you were sitting beside that teen driver.
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