Teenagers Solve Distracted Driver Epidemic

Six teenagers from New Hampshire called the Invetioneers have invented an effective and clever way to end distracted driving.  Their invention is called the SMARTwheel™, a driving device that monitors hand positions to detect unsafe driving.  I recently learned about this product when these younger inventors presented on ABC’s Shark Tank.

The Smart Wheel detects unsafe hand positions after a period of time.  The website explains that unsafe hand position can occur in three forms: “no hands on the wheel, which is obviously unsafe; one hand off the wheel for too long; or two hands next to each other, which is a common texting position.”  As you may recall from Driver’s Ed, safe driving requires two hands on the wheel in the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock positions.

The Smart Wheel provides instant feedback to drivers through audio and visual alerts.  It also logs unsafe driving occurrences and provides the option of sending data to parents and employers as an added incentive to drive safely.

Smart Wheel was tested at MIT’s driving simulator and 70% percent of the participants said that they would use it if it was tied to an insurance discount, and 90% said it would be effective at changing drivers’ texting behavior.

What do you think?  Would you use one?  Would you get one for your child?