Newfoundland firm launches device to monitor teen drivers

Lemur Vehicle Monitors, a Newfoundland-based engineering firm, has launched a tool that helps parents to monitor erratic and dangerous driving by their teens. Lemur Vehicle Monitors launched ‘SafeDriver,’ a device that records the top speed, distance travelled and the number of hard brakes per trip. A recent Aviva Canada study found that new/young drivers have a 41% higher claims frequency than experienced drivers, and a 44% higher claim severity than experienced drivers. The device comes in two pieces, a sensor and a key fob. The sensor, essentially a little black box, plugs into a vehicle’s diagnostic port – this is usually found underneath the steering wheel and is the same port a mechanic uses to read a ‘check engine light.'”So the sensor talks to the vehicle’s computer to get the information it needs and wirelessly transmits the data to the key fob,” said Greg Browne, a product development engineer at Lemur Vehicle Monitors.The fob is PIN-protected to discourage tampering. Should the young driver try to unsuccessfully crack the PIN, remove the battery or unplug the sensor, the fob display will read ‘Tamper,’ Browne explains.The device costs $69.95 and can be purchased from www.lemurmonitors.com.