LOS ANGELES, Nov. 7, 2014– Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States. In fact, based on miles driven, teen drivers are three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash. Now, Hyundai is helping our customers reverse that trend.
The Hyundai Blue Link Vehicle Safeguards Alerts In-Vehicle App is now available for download into the multimedia systems of the 2015 Azera and will be coming soon on Genesis and Sonata models with navigation. The Vehicle Safeguards Alerts App allows parents to monitor and set limits on their Hyundai’s speed, hours of operation and movements via text message, e-mail or both. This enhanced app helps parents reinforce safe driving habits for their children. Teens in vehicles with monitoring devices took fewer risks while driving than unsupervised teens, according to a 2009 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study of 16- and 17-year-old drivers.
The brilliance of the in-vehicle app is that now these alerts also can be seen from inside the vehicle providing parents with more peace of mind when their teen is behind the wheel. For example, a teenage driver will see a notification on the vehicle’s multimedia screen while the parent will get a text message alerting them of the violation. The alerts can then be used by parents to coach and remind teenage drivers that their driving habits are being monitored. The in-vehicle alerts are designed to get the attention of the teen driver and refocus them on driving safely.
Speed Alert on the multimedia screen of a 2015 Azera
In the past, the in-vehicle alerts were not available and subscribers could only set up and change alerts from myhyundai.com. Soon, the settings can be configured on the Blue Link mobile app. A Personal Identification Number (PIN) is required to set up or modify alerts. The Blue Link system and Blue Link mobile app now allows parents and teens to have unique PINs with different authorization levels, putting the parent in control to secure the alert settings.
Coaching teens to avoid speeding using Blue Link Safeguard Alerts is appealing to parents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), teens are more likely to take risks such as speeding – a contributing factor in 30 percent of all fatal crashes.
“We’ve listened to our Blue Link subscribers and given them exactly what they want,” said Michael Deitz, senior group manager of Connected Care, Hyundai Motor America. “If being able to set these alerts on multiple devices makes parents lives easier, then we furthered our goal of making the ownership experience as easy as possible.”