Technology Tools & Trust

A Doctor’s View
On October 27, 2005, the Dr. Phil nationally-syndicated TV show aired a segment, "Driven By Fear," that featured a father who installed a CarChip in his son’s car. The data showed the son had driven at speeds of up to 100 mph. Dr. Phil’s advice to the parent about installing the devise was as follows.

“Trust is earned. Your job is to protect him and to do what you have to do to protect him. I agree with you 100%, without qualification, that you did the right thing.”

A Parent’s View
Following the death of her son’s high school friend, Susan Schauer, of Easton, Maryland, purchased a CarChip to monitor the driving habits of her 16-year-old son, Ben. CarChip helped Susan and her husband monitor whether Ben was maintaining the speed limit and to declare consequences if he didn’t.

She comments, “This is a tool for parents willing to parent. If Ben doesn’t follow our rules, he will lose the keys to the car. Since I am rarely in the car with him, the only way for me to monitor his driving was to buy this device.”