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Christi Diggs
on May 23 2013 - 06:00 AM
A drop of spin, a cup of deception and tsp. politics=Apathy
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I have a few new heroes. And they go to the University of Minnesota.
They’re not solving the world’s economic woes, or coming up with a recipe for peace around the world.
No, they’re just creating a way for me to spy on my two boys when they’re old enough to drive a car. Let me tell you, that goes a long way with me.
They call it the Teen Driver Support System and basically once it’s completed it would allow for a teen’s cell phone to be hooked up to the car’s speedometer and when he or she is speeding, mom and dad get a text message.
Genius, you say. I agree.
Before mom or dad get the text, the teen would get a verbal warning about going too fast. If they don’t heed the warning, well, time for tattling.
I love it, love it, love it. I’m obsessed about my sons driving one day. I mean I’m already lecturing my 12-year-old to the point I think he’s scared to even be a passenger in a car.
But I guess I’ve talked to too many parents who’ve lost children because a teen got carried away driving too fast or wasn’t paying attention, i.e., talking on a cell phone, or with the friend in the passenger seat or actually sending a text message.
So I say, load my kids’ cars up with everything. The video technology where I’ll get an email if they’re being inattentive. The tool that would make them blow into a tube to make sure they haven’t been drinking before the car will start.
Some might say I’m a mom who doesn’t trust her kids. Some think if we teach our kids the right way to drive and behave behind the wheel we should trust them to do what’s right.
Yeah, not happening with me. I need spying equipment. I need proof that my sons are being responsible while maneuvering several hundred pounds of metal.
How about you? Do you think we have to trust our kids to do what’s right or is it OK to load up their cars with the latest technology and tattletale equipment? Going too far?
For the record, though, I’m an equal opportunity non believer when it comes to the car. Ask my husband. I’m the nagging, over-the-top passenger who’s constantly cringing, cursing and slamming my feet on the floorboard in a Fred Flintstone kind of way just to get him to slow down. I can’t count the number of times I’ve screeched “You’re going to kill us” or “You’re driving way too fast for the conditions,” in a voice verging on the tearful.
Heaven help my sons. The oldest has already declared he wants his step-dad and dad to help him with driving and prefers I be nowhere around.
Looks like that won’t be a problem. This technology should be perfected within four years.
So let him drive without me. I’ll just have my cell phone handy and be prepared to shell out a pretty penny for a generous texting plan.
I knew there was something I always liked about Minnesota.
I think it depends on your security level and relationship with your child. When do you believe they will be responsible? I woudl hope before they get a car. My kids have an incentive- no tickets means we pay insurance. First (and last) ticket means they pay. If the car is wrecked for their negligence, then they will pay to repair. Of course, I use GPS in their cells to find out where they are if they don't check in, so I use an alternate big brother watchdog tool. :)In this age of technological "big brother" I don't think our kids should expect to have privacy while they're driving! They can just text their friends while they're driving and tell them how lame their parents are.Ooooh, I LOVE this! Any chance they'll have this completed before October? *cringing, crossing myself...* Heck yes, I'd buy this in a heartbeat!I've always thought this was a swell idea. Peace of mind for us? Or more nerve-wracking? Guess we'll have to wait and see. My big fear is not really speeding but texting while driving.I've always thought this was a swell idea. Peace of mind for us? Or more nerve-wracking? Guess we'll have to wait and see. My big fear is not really speeding but texting while driving.
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