J drives a small, inexpensive car with a lot of miles on it. We bought it because the safety features were good and it still has three or four years of useful life left in it. The idea of exterior safety bags on cars - especially the smaller ones is very appealing. Every little bit helps with novice drivers. It would also be great if there was a distraction sensor in the car that would call on them to be attentive.
The idea of cameras watching the driver is certainly intrusive especially with insurance industry trends moving towards collecting driving behavior data directly from the car onboard computer and using it to adjust premiums. Elsewhere in the world, dashcam footage can be publicly shared and used by law enforcement. All of these ideas come from a place of good intention but as adoption grows so does the opportunity for abuse.
The period of time between first teaching J to drive in empty parking lots and the day she got her driving license was difficult for me as it must be for all parents in that situation. On the one hand, it is a huge rite of passage for the kid, a tremendous emotional growth spurt. By longer being reliant on you to drive them around they become masters of their destiny in ways no one is prepared for. Yet, they are out in the world expected to act like responsible adults while they are still not quite there.
So we cobble up some homespun way to cope with the dilemma - a patch-work of daily reminders to be safe, driving with them whenever possible to see if they are becoming too lazy or complacent and considering any and all technology options that propose to improve their safety. There is probably no other time in a parent's life when they need to balance release and control quite as carefully - too much in either direction could ill-serve kids.
The idea of cameras watching the driver is certainly intrusive especially with insurance industry trends moving towards collecting driving behavior data directly from the car onboard computer and using it to adjust premiums. Elsewhere in the world, dashcam footage can be publicly shared and used by law enforcement. All of these ideas come from a place of good intention but as adoption grows so does the opportunity for abuse.
The period of time between first teaching J to drive in empty parking lots and the day she got her driving license was difficult for me as it must be for all parents in that situation. On the one hand, it is a huge rite of passage for the kid, a tremendous emotional growth spurt. By longer being reliant on you to drive them around they become masters of their destiny in ways no one is prepared for. Yet, they are out in the world expected to act like responsible adults while they are still not quite there.
So we cobble up some homespun way to cope with the dilemma - a patch-work of daily reminders to be safe, driving with them whenever possible to see if they are becoming too lazy or complacent and considering any and all technology options that propose to improve their safety. There is probably no other time in a parent's life when they need to balance release and control quite as carefully - too much in either direction could ill-serve kids.
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