New App Aims to Improve Teen Driver Safety

In hopes of helping teen drivers and their parents, MassDOT’s Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) has released a new mobile app called RoadReady, which is an extension to its Parent’s Supervised Driving Program.

The app, sponsored by Ford Motor Company and Safety Insurance, is available in the Apple App Store and comes at the beginning of National Teen Driver Safety Week. The RMV hopes to have an app for Android users next year.

According to the RMV:

“The app is used by the parent in the passenger seat. It is designed to be a non-distracting element, not to be looked at, referenced, manipulated at any point by the driver, or while driving. Beyond the educational features highlighted throughout RoadReady, such as the ‘Parental Pointers,’ tips and suggestions to assist parents throughout the supervised driving process, the app tracks roadway types and weather conditions to encourage parents and teens to spend more time driving together in a variety of conditions.

“At any time throughout the supervised driving process, parents and teens can also export a printable driving log with a list of all of their supervised driving sessions. Additionally, RoadReady users may opt to share their drives with friends and family on their social networks to spread the word of their safe driving habits.”

“We are proud to be recognizing National Teen Driver Safety Week and to be arming parents and teens with a technologically-advanced, free toolkit to encourage their participation in the teen driver education process,” said MassDOT Secretary and CEO Richard A. Davey. “Not only are we providing parents of permitted teens with a guide to assist them through the state required 40 hours of supervised driving, but this new mobile app RoadReady will help parents to track the actual time they spent behind the wheel with their teen.”

According to the RMV, studies show that parents overestimate the time they spend with their teen driving. 

With the new app, parents and teens can focus on driving skills and roadway conditions, while the app automatically and accurately tracks the driving, according to the RMV.

“As parents and teens work together through the licensing process, we see The Parent’s Supervised Driving Program and its mobile app component as useful tools to ensuring our young drivers are getting the experience that they need to become RoadReady,” said Registrar of Motor Vehicles Rachel Kaprielian.