Video camera in car for teen drivers is a hit with parents

LONDON - A tiny two-way video camera that is installed in the rear view mirror of a car and records how carefully a teenage driver drives is a hit with parents.

It also records audio and tapes both footage of the driver and his view of the road ahead. In the case of an accident, a footage of the before and after is sent by the insurance company to the teenager and his parents.

The device, manufactured by American Family Insurance along with California-based technology company DriveCam, has been introduced to force teenagers to drive sensibly and therefore prevent deaths on the road caused by careless and inexperienced drivers.

The service is offered at no extra cost, the insurance company said, neither is it designed to settle legal claims made against AFI drivers.

Teenage drivers of course, are not happy in the least, complaining that their parents will be able to see what they get up to at precisely the moment when they have traditionally broken free and hit the open road.

But according to Phil Reed, senior consumer advice editor at U.S. car website Edmunds.com, the DriveCam device is actually less intrusive than some satellite navigation systems.

“There’s that Big Brother sort of stereotype associated with this system. But once teenagers know that the only way their parents are going to see any of the video is when they do something erratic in the car, then they become more open to using this,” the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

“In fact, it could be considered less intrusive than some GPS devices that other insurers are experimenting with for teenage drivers.” (ANI)