The car that will give parents ‘report cards’ on their teen drivers
When General Motors rolls out its new Chevrolet Malibu later this year, it will come with an added bonus for parents of teen drivers: An extra set of eyes for when their young drivers take the wheel.
The 2016 Malibu will feature GM’s “Teen Driver’’ system, a built-in technology feature that is meant to keep teen drivers focused on the road. The system also generates a report card for parents to help them monitor their teen’s driving habits.
According to health and safety agencies, parents have good reason to be concerned for their teen drivers’ safety. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports the fatal crash rate per mile driven for 16- to 19-year-olds is three times higher than the rate for drivers age 20 and older. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of deaths for American teenagers.
The concept
Teen Driver works by muting the car’s radio or another paired device (such as a smartphone or other handheld device) if any of the car’s occupants aren’t wearing seat belts. It also keeps track if any of the car’s safety systems have been activated and can alert the driver if the car exceeds a predetermined speed between 40 and 75 miles per hour. GM’s designers hope removing the car’s biggest audio distractoin will help teen drivers stay alert.
Story continues after gallery
GM demonstrates its new Teen Driver technology in Boston
[bdc-gallery id=”1429854″]
Parents need to create a PIN in the car’s settings to register the teen’s key fob. Once activated, the system automatically turns on the car’s safety features and prevents the operator from switching them off manually. These features (if equipped) include front and rear park assist, stability control, forward collision alert and braking, traction control, and more.
The system also generates a report on how the teen handled the vehicle when they were driving without adult supervision. It can track the distance the car traveled, the maximum speed, record over-speed alerts, and track when anti-lock brakes and stability control features were engaged.
In a phone interview with Boston.com, MaryAnn Beebe, lead designer and engineer of the Teen Driver system, called the report card feature an “industry first.’’
“[Parents] can sit down with their teen and look at the areas where teen is doing well and look at other areas where they can improve,’’ Beebe said.
For example, a report card that has a high number of collision warnings, automatic or hard-braking alerts can indicate the teen might not be completely focused on the road.
“Those are tell-tales that the teen wasn’t paying enough attention,’’ said Beebe.
Testing it out
Before it hits the showrooms later this year, General Motors communications manager Joe LaMuraglia brought a prototype of the Chevy Malibu equipped with Teen Safety to Boston.com headquarters for a brief test drive.
Def Leopard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me’’ was coming through the speakers when we started the test drive. The Malibu’s sensors could tell there were three occupants in the car and that not everyone had their seat belts on, so Def Leopard’s jam went quiet until all three of us were buckled up.
Unfortunately, the prototype was not street legal so testing Teen Driver’s ability to shut the radio off at speeds of 40 mph and greater was not possible in our parking lot.
LaMuraglia said the Malibu is an ideal car to debut GM’s new safety feature.
“The Malibu is a family car and is often a first learning to drive car for teens,’’ said LaMuraglia. The base price of the Malibu will start around $21,000. Built-in 4G LTE Wi-Fi technology is available that can accomodate w up to seven devices to be connected.
Teen Driver does not prevent teens from texting behind the wheel. However, LaMuraglia pointed out the Chevy Malibu offers several voice-technology features, including the ability to send an automatic response to incoming texts while the driver is busy. Other hands-free features include voice dictation to compose texts.
“We try to make it easy [for teens] to keep their eyes on the road,’’ said LaMuraglia.
Getting teens on board
While some teens might grumble about the new technology compromising their privacy, Beebe insists Teen Driver benefits both parents and teen drivers.
“We all remember what a big deal it was to get a license…It’s this important step as you become more independent,’’ said Beebe. “We understand that and we intend this feature to be something that – in addition to being a teaching tool for parents – it’s a tool for teens to gain trust with parents and show they are responsible drivers.’’
LaMuraglia said Teen Driver is no substitute for a parent talking with their teen about how to be a better driver.
“It’s not overwhelming, but it’s a useful tool when having a conversation with a teen driver,’’ he said. “Data [provided by Teen Driver] allows that conversation to happen, like a child bringing home a report card.’’
LaMuraglia said it’s up to parents to create a PIN that teens can’t easily crack so they can disable the feature. But even if a teen manages to access the Teen Driver settings to erase a report card that could get them in trouble, parents will see the record was removed, which can raise more questions for the teen.
“If the report has all zeros, it’s a good indicator someone has erased the record,’’ said LaMuraglia. “Parents will know something is up.’’
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com