Sometimes I come across gadgets that I think are useless, advantageous, or just plain awesome, and recently I found the Lemur Autovision Safe Driving Monitor/Keychain, which I think is advantageous – especially if you’re the parent of a teen who asks to borrow the family car – but as you’ll see, this little gadget can be used for other types of drivers, as well.

Basically, the Lemur Autovision Safe Driving Monitor/Keychain was made for parents who want to keep an eye on how well their teen is driving when mom (or dad) isn’t sitting in the passenger seat.

Operation is pretty simple; attach the small LCD screen to your keychain, and plug the small sensor into the diagnostic port under your dash.  The monitor records how fast the vehicle was driven, how far, and how many times the driver hit the brakes too hard – which could be a sign of aggressive driving. The LCD screen shows these statistics for each trip your teen driver takes. 

The small sensor plugs into the diagnostic port- the OBD II port – under the dash and then sends information on speed, braking and travel distance to the keychain readout panel (the vehicle must be equipped with an OBD II port to use the device;  vehicles made in 1996 and later have OBD II ports).

When the keys are returned, parents can immediately review how safely their teenage driver was behind the wheel.  The info is all there – in the palm of your hand.

According to Lemur, the gadget is easy to use, reliable and you don’t need even need a computer to use it. 

Bonus: A secret PIN can be used so parents can reset the readings after each journey, and if anyone else attempts to reset the unit, it will show a TAMPER sign on the readout.

So, I got to thinking that while this is a great gadget to have to monitor teenager drivers, what could be advantageous about this product for those of us who don’t have teens in the home? 

A few ideas:

1. Business owners could monitor the driving habits of employees who drive company vehicles, perhaps for both business and insurance purposes. 
2. Daily mileage calculations for route drivers or employees who drive company vehicles.
3. Any individual who request to borrow your personal car may drive more cautiously knowing the device is programmed.

Creative thinkers could probably come up with other ways to use it, as well. 

If there’s a downside, it’s probably the retail price: $99.95.

While it actually can’t make anyone borrowing your car drive safer, if you have a teen at home who tends to drive your car more often than not, it could be a good tool to use when teaching safe driving practices such as speeding, driver distraction and inexperience behind the wheel.  While it doesn’t have to be a “monitoring” device, per se, it could be used as a deterrent to drive recklessly or irresponsibly behind the wheel.

Currently, you can purchase the Lemur Autovision Safe Driving Monitor for $79.99 at Amazon.com.  Click here for more details, pricing and info at Amazon.com.

Tags: Gadgets & Gizmos, General, Teen Drivers // 1 Comment »