Dashcam footage could make family viewing in the name of safety
In-car cameras and black box technology that record young drivers could cut crash rates if the information is shared with parents.
Evidence from America suggests the combined use of dash cams and ‘accelerometers’ – which record the high G-forces created when a car is driven erratically or dangerously – reduces bad driving if young novices know the information will be shared with their mum and dad.
In a report – Keeping Young Drivers Safe During Early Licensure – for the RAC Foundation, Dr Bruce Simons-Morton says that through this technology adults can have a permanent presence in the car, even after novices have passed their tests.
Often its young drivers’ parents who effectively control the keys to the car because they have paid for it and foot the bill for running costs such as insurance.
Dr Simons-Morton says that if new young drivers believe that what they do at the wheel will get back to their parents they are likely to moderate their behaviour for fear of losing their newly found freedom and privileges.
