Posted by admin on December 18th, 2009 in Driving, Texting

In July I wrote about a product that was then in beta release. Zoomsafer has since been introduced to the market and I saw a great article about it in the New York Times recently.  This product is one of the few that completely disables the cellphone.  For parents of teens who are new drivers or for parents who simply are nervous about their teen’s ability to control their texting while driving, this is a great tool for them.  I have NOT used it but I would encourage anyone who is seriously worried about their teenager texting/phone calling while driving to take a look at it.

Going Cold Turkey Is Hard

We all like to be connected and teens even more so.  We have  become so addicted to our gadgets it’s really hard to stop just because we’re in a car.  If you read this blog regularly you’ll know I’m an ambassador for the MomSendsTheMsg program which promotes good role modeling of gadget use while driving.   I also wrote about my experience using the MySync program in a Ford recently.  So, I thought it only fair to give you an update about products that disable cellphones.  The MySync is a handsfree approach – probably great for adults but maybe not for teenagers. 

Other Companies

According to the New York Times article Zoomsafer isn’t the only product solving this need.  They mentioned Aegis Mobility and obdEdge.  They all work on the phone’s GPS signal.  If the car is in motion, any incoming calls are routed to voice mail or a message explaining that the phone’s owner is driving.  You can over-ride the system but an email message is sent to the parent (or whoever is monitoring) alerting them that the cellphone is in use.

Insurance Companies Getting In The Act

It would be great if we could offset the increased insurance cost for covering teen drivers by providing proof of a limiting device like a Zoomsafer.   I might consider purchasing such a device if I could save money on  car insurance.  We have a teenage boy who will be driving in two years and I’m dreading that increase.  What do you think?  If the insurance companies  gave  parents a break on car insurance if we made our teens use these things, would you do it?

Disclaimer:  No product information or products have been exchanged for this write-up.

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