


Busybody parents can now go far beyond just planting a GPS device in their teenagers' cars; now they can mount a security camera on a car's windshield just behind the rearview mirror, watching their kids' every move. It's part of the Teen Safe Driver program from American Family Insurance, who claim this video surveillance equipment has cut down on driving fatalities among their teenage customers.
The camera, pointing one lens inside the car and another out the windshield, records audio and video, and also has an embedded motion sensor that can detect rambunctious driving. All that gathered data is sent to a special analysis center, and if those Big Brother snoops think anything looks too risky or fishy, they'll tattle to the parents.
As a parent of a teenage daughter, I can tell you right now: Mere talk of installing such a device would be met with righteous indignation and an accompanying extreme emotional outburst. This setup is just too similar to the Big Brother technology mentioned in George Orwell's classic sci-fi novel 1984. But what if it saves lives? Some may argue it's worth it, and hey, it should help lower that teen pregnancy statistic, too.
Yahoo, via The UberReview