There is very little doubt that while the smartphone has provided a lot of good, one evil that has been spawned from this device is the practice of distracted driving. Among the most common reason for distracted driving accidents is when a teen or young person is texting their friends or family and taking their eyes off the road. Accidents from distracted driving are increasing all the time and not surprisingly, teens are playing a large role in that steep increase.

A new teen driving safety program is geared toward making sure more and more teens are learning the correct safety rules of the road. This new program is being launched as a test case in three states and is using a technology known as Intelligent Mechatronic Systems (News - Alert) (IMS). The IMS is a connected driving program that has been gaining steam over the last few years as a way to give drivers, young and old real time feedback though a whole host of different devices including their smartphones.


Teen driving picture courtesy of Shutterstock.

The U.S. Young Drivers Intelligence (YDI) program centers on the use of wireless, in-vehicle tech known as the DriveSync device. This particular device collects information about the driving statistics of those using it. Using this particular system, the teen drivers can actually check their driving scores and progress in improving using an online portal. Parents of the teen drivers can also look up these scores and either find out where their children need to improve, or achieve peace of mind if their child is already doing quite well or improving on their own.

The Young Drives Intelligence program is of a kind that has been shown to truly help, with some studies showing that monitored driving of teens improves safety by as much as 20 percent. While the program is currently only available in three states, early success could mean quick roll out to other regions.

“This program launch is the culmination of hard work and collaboration with a top U.S. auto insurance carrier” said Blair Currie, vice president of marketing at IMS. “As important, this program also starts to challenge the market convention that auto insurance is all about lower prices. YDI changes the current ‘race to the bottom’ through a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, which helps improve driving skills through on-going scoring and tips. Ultimately it’s designed to save lives.”

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