Disclosure: This IS a sponsored post. All opinions are, as usual, 100% mine.
Recently, Sprint has launched a line of products for insurance companies that you just install right onto the dashboard of your car…hence the OBD or On-board diagnostics. The one I was sent to review is has me thinking it’s a pretty genius device. For real. It’s available to use with iPhone, Android and Blackberry.
What this device does is limit your teen’s (and yours, if you desire) ability to drive and say, Snapchat or text or update their Facebook. Because hey, that’s distracting and has been the cause of way too many car crashes. And let’s be honest, teens are not the only ones guilty of driving while texting or other such cell-phone related distractions.
Enter Sprint and OBD2 devices.
You take that little device and you install it right into your vehicles OBD port which is always around 3 feet away from your ignition. So…under the dashboard generally. I have a Buick and my port is located by the emergency brake.
Then, you stick the device into the port. Yeah, it’s THAT easy.
Next, you download the corresponding app and install it onto your phone. Set up your account…just follow the instructions on the website. You’ll need access to your computer or via your Smartphone.
Once you are on the homepage of the website, click the ACTIVATE button which will lead you through the process. It literally takes about five minutes.
You can set up a list of phone numbers that the driver will have constant access to, 9-11 is always on there, by the way.
The cool thing about OBD2 devices, once they are installed, is that you’ll have access to all sorts of information regarding your teen’s driving. You’ll be able to note their speed and violations along with calls to the numbers that they have access to while the car is moving.
As a parent of 4 teens, 2 of which are driving and one is about to start driver’s training (one isn’t allowed to even take driver’s training until they get their grades up), this device will be installed in all our cars. While I can’t control the environment outside of my children, I can certainly do what I can to insure their safety within the confines of MY environment, including cars. With one device protecting up to 6 cellphones and only costing around $32, it just makes sense to utilize this little tool. And it’s a tiny cost to pay to add one layer of protection around my children.
If you’d like a device like this all you need to do is ask your insurance agent for one.