Teen Auto Safety: Bumper Sticker Bites Back

You might worry about the dangers of guns and drugs but the Centers for Disease Control say the number one cause of death for teenagers is a motor vehicle crash.

But a new company thinks its bumper sticker could change that.

   The concept is simple:  parents who want to monitor their teenager's driving can do so with "Teen-spy.org".  They get a bumper sticker bearing a toll-free number and slogan "How's My Teen Driving?".   Other drivers note the individual reference number and report it when someone's all over the road or driving with too many passengers .  "Teen-spy" then contacts parents by phone or e-mail.

   Parent Daniel Dayton tells us "Anything to slow the kids down.  Teen driving is a problem.  I have kids.  Sometimes I have to chide them when they take a corner too quick or something."

   We contacted Diane Reichert of "Teen-spy.org".  She says the concept started in her own family.  "We actually have three teenagers ourselves, " she says.  It was her oldest son, the one who gets straight A's and is never a concern, who was the problem, according to her daughters.

"They came home for dinner, " Reichert says, "And said he had been going 90!"

If you're wondering whether Teen-Spy will contact police or your insurance company, they say absolutely not.  The Reicherts want to spark a dialogue on safe driving between parents and teens.   "We don't get a lot of repeat calls, " Reichert says " So what parents are doing, must be working."

   Not surprisingly, some student drivers in Schenectady didn't care for the idea.  17 year old Eddie Pigliavento says "Like, if it's a new student driver, give them a chance.  They just got on the road."

   16 year old Sara Khodabandehloo says the bumper sticker would make her a nervous driver. "Right," she says, "too cautious.  You'd cause another accident being overly cautious."

   Pigliavento's mother concurs.  "No, " she says when asked if she'd like to get the bumper sticker for the family car. "I really trust him.  He's an excellent driver."

And Rick Darling, of Schenectady's "Easy Method Driving School" says "Part of me as a parent likes the idea.  On the other hand, too many people pick up the phone when they should be paying attention to their own driving."

   The cost for Teen-spy.org is 25 dollars for up to two years' service.

State Police Spokesperson Maureen Tuffey tells CBS 6 News that any time you take the police out of the driving equation it's a bad idea.  About other motorists reporting bad teen driving she says "... they need to call the police.  Very often we find out that just prior to a fatal or serious collision, someone witnessed erratic behavior on the motorist's part and it gives us a fighting chance to get there before someone gets hurt or killed..."