Worry-free teen driving but a dream

There probably is not a responsible parent alive who doesn’t fret each time the newly licensed teen-ager in the family hops into the car and pulls out of the driveway alone.

With all the perils that await these most-inexperienced drivers on the road, out of sight for a parent never means out of mind. But what if there was a relatively inexpensive device that could be installed in the family car to monitor a teen’s driving habits when there was no parent in the passenger seat? A device that would issue an irritating growl until the young driver buckled up, and whenever he drove faster than the preset limits for highway speeds or made turns dangerously fast? A device that not only would nag electronically as the infractions occurred, but record each violation on a tiny flash memory card that parents could then read on their home computer screen?

According to a recent story in USA Today, there is such a device, and it will be marketed nationwide by November. Called SafeForce, which is being tested by selected families in Southern California, the $280 black box has been providing parents with startling revelations about their youngsters’ driving habits. Some parents, who had trusted that their teens were driving safely, were shocked to learn their kids often drove 80 mph or more, sometimes without even realizing how fast they were going.

“This is something every car should have,” said one of the parents after testing the black-box “baby sitter” on her 17-year-old son.

“I hate my life!” was the response from a teen-age girl when the device revealed her lead-footed ways.

Having a couple of young drivers of my own, and mindful that cars are the leading cause of death among teens, I wouldn’t be surprised if the black boxes become big sellers with parents. But to be truly effective, the device needs a few modifications that would allow it to measure more than just how fast our children are driving, and whether they’re taking corners on two wheels. Speed kills, to be sure, but inexperienced drivers endanger themselves in many other ways, too.

The ideal black box would detect even the faintest odor of alcohol or marijuana the moment a teen gets behind the wheel and then lock up the ignition.

It would set off an alarm when a new driver attempts to pick up a couple of friends before the three-month probation on carrying passengers has passed.

It would emit an ear-splitting shriek every time a new licensee makes a turn without using a directional signal and beep loudly when he zips recklessly from one lane to another or passes on the right.

It would growl when an impatient young driver insists on riding the bumper of the car in front of him, especially when the car in front is driven by an elderly person who is nervous enough already.

It would sound an alert when the road is covered with a coating of treacherous, invisible black ice that many young drivers don’t think about until they need to stop at a light.

It would automatically turn down the volume on the radio once it reaches a level that deludes a teen into thinking the car is a party on wheels, and would render the cell phone inoperable from the moment the car is put in gear.

Until they make a device with those safety features, we parents will just have to stick with the old-fashioned method of nagging our kids in person about the dangers on the road – as our parents nagged us – and trust that the message finally computes.