Mother trying to talk to moody teenager
By Jana Rhodes / Posted November 1, 2015

Talking With Your Teen about the MOTOsafety Device

If you are considering a MOTOsafety device, you might have one important question lingering and holding you back: How do you discuss this with your teen in a non-threatening way?

First, we do not recommend that you keep the presence of MOTOsafety from your teen. One reason is because this could backfire and create an atmosphere of mistrust. However, the most important reason is that you would miss out on the greatest benefit of having the device, which is the ability to coach your teen. MOTOsafety was not designed as a way to “spy” on teenage drivers; it was designed as a way to help them become better drivers. If the discussion is handled correctly, it can strengthen rather than strain your relationship.

You know your teen best and should approach this conversation with that knowledge and insight. However, the following script can be used as a guide for you to follow as you talk about MOTOsafety. We suggest 3 main talking points:

1. I want to give you freedom to drive on your own.

I am very proud of you for earning your driver’s license. You worked hard to pass your test, and you have improved so much since we first started driving together. But the fact is that you still have a relatively small amount of experience behind the wheel. Did you know that drivers who are 16 to 19 years old are four times more likely to get in an accident than older drivers? The majority of these accidents are not caused by drinking; they are just errors from inexperience. Good teen drivers are still less experienced than older drivers.

This concerns me, because I want to give you the freedom to drive on your own, but the statistics show that when parents continue to coach their teen drivers, the chance of an accident can be cut in half! So I could choose to wait awhile before letting you drive alone – that’s what a lot of parents do – until we have more teaching and coaching time completed. But I found a great way to have it both ways; a way to keep coaching you without having to sit in the car with you all of the time. MOTOsafety keeps track of your driving skills and gives you a letter grade, just like you get on your report card at school. We can review your report card every week to see how you are doing and talk about ways to improve your safety.

2. You’ll have the freedom to go without calling home every time.

This device will let me know when you get to school, work, or other places that you might drive on your own. I’ll show you how it works. We can both relax, because I don’t have to worry if you are safe, and you don’t have to worry about “calling your mom” all the time to check in. Just tuck that phone away and focus on driving. MOTOsafety will text or email me when you get there, and you can just enjoy your time with your friends or make sure you get to class on time.

This will also help me respond quickly if you need help. If you get lost, get a flat tire or run out of gas, you can call me and I can find your exact location. Believe me, you will feel so much better knowing someone can get to you fast in an emergency.

3. It will be easy for me to reward your good driving.

The trouble with being on your own is that I would usually just know if you made a mistake – like getting a speeding ticket or backing into a parked car. That’s really not fair to you, because you probably have a lot of really good days when you drive well. I just don’t get notified, because there are no patrol cars that drive around looking for great teen drivers, calling their parents to praise them. MOTOsafety will do that for you. It will show me when you are driving responsibly, and I will know that you can handle more driving privileges. If you keep your driving grade above a certain level, we can expand your freedom by giving you the car more often or letting you drive farther from home.

Let’s start with a limited area, close to home and school so that you can get comfortable. We will set a “fence” around that area, and as long as you drive safely and don’t venture out of our agreed boundaries, we can keep expanding it.

I’m here to help you, and I know that with MOTOsafety, you can still learn from me without having me hover over your shoulder all of the time. Are you ready to see how it works? Let’s get started.


MOTOsafety by Linxup logo
  • Installs in seconds
  • Rates driver performance
  • Monitors safe driving behaviors
  • Shows location in real time
  • Generates alerts for speeding and more
  • Signals unauthorized usage
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