Chevy Puts Safety First with Teen Driver Technology

When I first read about Chevy’s new Teen Driver Technology while researching Chevy Dealers in Ohio, I have to admit I was somewhat appalled. Isn’t getting your license and being able to drive on your own – to be trusted enough to have that independence – a true milestone in most people’s lives? In this age of constant communication, video surveillance and tiger-mom parenting, can’t we just let kids be kids?

Well, no. Or at least, we shouldn’t. And here’s why: According to the CDC, Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, and Chevy has decided to do something about it.

Technology’s a Killer: Distracted Driving to Blame

Teens today deal with more driving distractions than ever before – namely because of cellphones. And yes, you may think that your teen is smart enough to wait until they are out of the car to send that flower-crown selfie Snapchat, but according to statistics, they probably aren’t. According to a study completed by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, “distraction was a factor in nearly 6 out of 10 moderate-to-severe teen crashes, which is four times as many as official estimates based on police reports… The results showed that distraction was a factor in 58 percent of all crashes studied, including 89 percent of road-departure crashes and 76 percent of rear-end crashes.” Research has also found that it’s not just technology causing teen accidents – in many cases, it’s other teens. In fact, 15% of teen crashes attributed to distraction was due to the driver interacting with other passengers, according to the same AAA findings.

Teen Driver Technology: Guiding Your Kid to Smarter Choices

With that knowledge, I’m more open to exploring Chevy’s Teen Driver Technology. Not because I don’t trust my children to make the right decisions, but because as an adult I still struggle with distracted driving – we are all guilty of sneaking a quick look at our cell phone or having our minds wander to somewhere far beyond the open road. Having a reminder to stay focused – like with Chevy’s speed limit alert, which sends an audio and visual alert when your teen goes over the preset maximum speed limit, would be beneficial for all drivers – not just teens!

Another stellar feature of the Teen Driver Technology is the audio limit. Not only can you preset the stereo to a maximum volume; the truly ingenious thing here is that the music will stay muted until the front seat passengers have buckled their seatbelts. As, according to the CDC, only 61% of high school students reported they always wear seat belts when riding with someone else and 93% of teens admit to playing loud music while driving, this feature alone makes the Teen Driver Technology a remarkable safety innovation.

Chevy also wants parents to be able to get out ahead of bad driving practices before they become ingrained habits, which is why they have created the in-vehicle report card. The report card shows the maximum speed the car has been driven, along with stability control events, antilock brake events and the distance the car has traveled. This last piece of information is particularly useful as a teaching tool, as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that “per mile driven, the fatal crash rate for drivers ages 16 to 19 is nearly three times the rate for drivers age 20 and older.” Armed with the report card, parents can offer more effective reminders to their teen drivers regarding following too closely behind other cars, staying attentive and not driving aimlessly.

You may be thinking that this is all well and good, but what happens when I want to drive the car? Will I be governed by the same restraints? Will my driving skew the report card data? Chevy has cleverly thought this out, and the answer is no. The Teen Driver Technology is activated and linked to your teen through their car key, which is programmed through the settings menu in the infotainment system. The Teen Driver Technology is only activated when that particular key is in the ignition – thus, the report card only reflects information gathered while that registered key is in use.

No Limits: Safety Across a Variety of Makes and Models

So this all sounds pretty good, right? I figured this technology would be limited to one or two select Chevy models – like the Chevy Malibu, which has a 5 star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and is a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. But in a move that proves their commitment to keeping teen drivers safe, Chevy has installed the Teen Driver Technology in the majority of its models. Teen Driver Technology can be found in the Cruze, Malibu, Volt, Bolt EV, Equinox, Traverse, Suburban, Tahoe, Colorado, Silverado 1500 and Silverado HD. So whether your teen charges up in the Bolt EV or hits the back roads in the Silverado, you can rest assured there’s a Chevy with Teen Driver Technology perfectly suited to their needs.

Location, Location, Location: Where to Find a Chevy with Teen Driver Technology

By now, I’ve reconsidered my stance on Chevy’s Teen Driver Technology. Rather than finding it restricting and unnecessary, I think it’s a critical tool in the parenting arsenal. What better way to say “I trust you, but I’ll still help teach you along the way” than to give your child the keys to roam with helpful safety reminders?

If your new driver is anxious to get behind the wheel, take them down to McCluskey Chevy and let one of the knowledgeable team members walk you and your teen through all the features of Teen Driver Technology. Let your teen test drive the Chevy that best suits their personality and show them that driving can be fun while being safe at the same time. And when the time comes to let your teen drive that Chevy on their own, you’ll feel good knowing your child is practicing safe driving, and your teen will feel good knowing they’ve gained their independence, but still have their parents looking out for them.

2021 Update:

For 2021, Teen Driver Continues to Impress

It’s been available for several years now, and the Teen Driver system from Chevy continues to be one of the most impressive features we’ve seen. We find it strange that it remains fairly unique as many other manufacturers don’t have similar systems just yet, making Chevrolet one of the best options out there for a teen driver. And since this has been available for some time now, you can already find some used models available with this technology – especially since, as we pointed out before, so many different models have it.

We forgot to mention a couple of our favorite aspects of the Teen Driver system, including the seat belt audio mute, which automatically mutes audio until the driver and front passenger have their seat belts on. Even better, if your teen driver tries to shift out of park without their seatbelt buckled, it won’t allow them to shift for 20 seconds, and there’s both an audible and visual alert triggered. Since many tragedies on the road can be prevented by drivers and passengers wearing their seatbelts, this kind of reminder and safety system can truly save lives.

Other Impressive Safety Technology

We’ve talked about the Teen Driver system, but there is a whole host of amazing safety features and systems available from Chevy. Long gone are the days when seatbelts were the only things that really protected you; now, a wide array of standard and available features can keep you and your loved ones safe. Of course, not all of these are going to be found on every model and trim level, so keep that in mind when you’re shopping.

• Some of our favorite pieces of safety technology from Chevy include:
• Forward Collision Alert – This safety system can detect a potential front-end collision and warn you so that you can take immediate action.
• Automatic Emergency Braking – Paired with the forward collision alert, this technology will assist you by applying the brakes for you automatically or enhance your braking.
• Front Pedestrian Braking – This system works much like the forward collision alert but warns you about a possible collision with a pedestrian; it can provide automatic emergency braking or enhance your braking.
• Lane Keep Assist – When this system is activated, it will use brief and gentle steering wheel movements to alert you when you seem to be unintentionally drifting from your lane. It won’t activate if you’re using your turn signal.
• Lane Departure Warning – This is an auditory warning that’s paired with the lane keep assist system to warn you as you start to drift.
• Following Distance Indicator – Safe driving requires leaving adequate space between your vehicle and the one in front of you. This system provides information about the gap between you and a vehicle that you’re following and it can issue a tailgating alert.
• Adaptive Cruise Control – Although not automated driving – you still have to steer – this system will maintain not only your speed but also a safe gap-time with the vehicle in front of you, adjusting your speed as necessary.
• Rear Vision Camera – Standard on all Chevy models these days, the rear vision camera provides you with excellent visibility behind your vehicle when you’re reversing at low speeds.
• HD Surround Vision – This system uses multiple cameras to create a digital overhead image of the area around your vehicle. It provides you with an excellent sense of objects around you so you can avoid them safely.
• Rear Camera Mirror – Rather than simply giving you a rear view with a standard mirror, a rear-camera mirror provides you with a wide and unobstructed view behind your vehicle thanks to a camera on your car’s rear end.
• Lane Change Alert – This uses a side-mirror visual alert to warn you when a vehicle is quickly approaching from behind so you know not to change lanes.
• Side Blind Zone Alert – Typically paired with the lane change alert, this system will warn you whenever a vehicle is in your blind spot.
• Rear Cross Traffic Alert – When you’re in reverse, this system will notify you of a vehicle that is crossing or about to cross behind you from either the left or the right, so you don’t back into them.
• Rear Park Assist – This system provides you with distance alerts for nearby objects as you’re backing up, so you don’t collide with a vehicle, tree, or another obstacle.
• Auto High-Beam Assist – When activated, this system will automatically turn on your vehicle’s high beams in poor lighting; it also detects oncoming traffic and turns your high beams off to avoid blinding/distracting other drivers.
• Safety Alert Seat – Rather than simply relying on auditory alerts and warnings, models with a safety alert seat use vibration pulses in the seat to warn you about potential collisions or other alerts.

A lot of these features typically come bundled together, like side blind zone alert with rear cross traffic alert or lane keep assist with lane departure warning. Better still, you’ll typically find a number of these features all together as part of a single package, so you choose one available option and get numerous systems. The Chevy Safety Assist bundle, for example, can include six of these impressive features and systems together for you to enjoy.

Improved Towing Tech and Safety

Not all of the impressive technology that you’ll find at your favorite Chevy dealer in Ohio is purely to help keep you safe. Since Chevy makes some of the best trucks on the road, it should come as no surprise that they also deliver some of the best towing technology with their vehicles. Systems like trailer sway control, hill start assist, and auto grade braking are designed to help you stay in control of both your truck and your trailer when towing.

The Advanced Trailering System that’s available is also one of the most impressive options on the road for towing, which offers you customized trailer profiles that you can set up for your trailer. This includes a pre-departure checklist, trailer lighting diagnostic, and more to let you tow with confidence. One of our favorite features is the available 15-camera visibility system that gives you unprecedented views of your vehicle, your surroundings, and the trailer you’re towing. Such an incredible level of visibility makes it easy for you to always have a good sense of what’s going on around you while towing.

The myChevrolet Mobile App

One of our favorite pieces of technology these days isn’t something directly in your vehicle but instead is found in your phone: the myChevrolet Mobile app. This app gives you access to a wide range of controls over your vehicle, even when you’re nowhere near it, so you can always stay connected to your Chevy. For example, you can use the app to have remote access and lock or unlock your vehicle’s doors, turn the engine on or off, activate or stop the horn and lights, and much more.

You can use the app to locate your vehicle on a map, check your fuel level and tire pressure, and even use voice commands to access remote controls. For towing, the app lets you test your trailer lights to make sure they’re working and includes a trailer load calculator to ensure you’re not going over your truck’s weight limits. And with EV models, you can use the app to check your vehicle’s charge and range, adjust your navigation route to meet your range limit, and locate charging stations near you.