In-Car Cameras Making Teens Safer?

By Marty Padgett February 28th, 2007

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While Senators Clinton and Sununu are focusing on making rearview cameras standard in all cars, a growing number of parents are putting cameras inside their autos—to keep an unblinking eye on their teens’ driving habits.

The Wall Street Journal reports that American Family Mutual Insurance is helping the movement along. Beginning today, the nation’s tenth-largest auto insurer is embarking on a test program with some of its customers to outfit their vehicles with DriveCam, a system that records driver movements on video and records footage of the road ahead when it senses rapid braking or acceleration.

The company says it aims to better driving skills of teens, who are responsible for large numbers of accidents each year. The Journal adds that the chief cause of death among some teen age groups is in car accidents.

American Family will let customers in Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin request the system. Those accepted to the program will get the hardware free of charge. Parents will get data on how their kids are driving on a regular basis. The system is already in use in commercial applications.

Initial studies suggest the worst drivers monitored by the system experienced a 72-percent drop in safety-related events, the paper notes.

"It's going to make the kids safer drivers," Jack Salzwedel, president of American Family, told the Journal.

Is a Candid Camera The Key to Safer Teenage Drivers?—The Wall Street Journal

Posted in : 2007, Car Publications, Shoppers, Technology |

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3 Responses to “In-Car Cameras Making Teens Safer?”

I have always been a loyal Democrat but between Al Gore and now Hilary I am questioning my sanity!

I am a 16 year old and I’m just now getting my license in about 4 days..I have been so excited since I got my permit. My parents just informed me about this little camera they will be putting in my car, I am all for being safe and trying some new things…but there should be boundaries! In my opinion if parents don’t think their child is responsible enough to handle driving safely maybe they shouldn’t be driving. Plus I also think this is an invasion of PRIVACY!!! We already have a bunch of new laws in the state of Colorado that affect teen age driving why would you think it would be okay to put a CAMERA in the car unless u have no trust what so ever…I believe American family insurance should not make it a requirement to have the camera in the car for lower insurance. I am going to try as hard as I can to switch my insurance to someone else who isn’t going to make me have a camera in my car. I can assure you many teenagers like me WILL feel the same way!

i am 17 years old and have had my license for about a year now, and i think this new in car camera whole ordeal is complete garbage. I have been on the road for a year now and never once have i gotten into a car accident or gotten a speeding ticket. Yet my parents insisted i get this camera installed, but i told them i would NOT drive if it was in my car. Im sorry but it is a complete invasion of your privacy, and should not be even constitutional. It is rediculous that someone has came up with this idea. I would feel worried the entire time driving. It would feel like a cop is sitting behind me accompaning me everywhere i drive. That is NOT right. I refuse to be a part of this program and no one else should even consider this. As a parent, letting you child drive you need to have trust in them to let them have thier license. If you dont trust them driving so much as to put a CAMERA in their car then they should not have their license at all. Id much rather pay the extra 20$ then be monitored by anyone.
American family insurance will lose money if they require teenage drivers to comply with these cameras.

thank you