What’s a sure fire way to get your image conscious teens to slow down behind the wheel? Blast some of your favourite embarrassing tunes, of course.
It’s the idea underpinning Toyota’s latest app by Saatchi & Saatchi London which enables parents to monitor their kids’ driving when they’re on the road.
First, both parents and teens download the Safe and Sound app to their smartphone. Then, when a teen asks to borrow the car, parents can click a button on the app which pulls in Google Maps API to track how fast the driver is going. If it senses that the car is moving faster than 14 km/h (approximately), it automatically flips into ‘do not disturb’ mode that blocks all incoming calls and social media notifications.
The app also plugs into Spotify to link up a parent’s and child’s playlists. If the driver tries to touch the phone or speeds while listening to Spotify, the app begins to play the parent’s playlist which may or may not feature hits from artists such as Milli Vanilli, Rod Stewart, Celine Dion and WHAM!
“There’s nothing teenagers fear more than being seen as uncool,” says Saatchi & Saatchi London, who adds that 74 percent of parents are more concerned about their kids getting into a car accident than drugs or crime.
And as this little spot accompanying the app shows, going over the speed limit does not make you the man.
If you’re looking for more ways to embarrass your next of kin, Buzzfeed has a collection of some first-class examples of parental embarrassment. Extra kudos to the dad who dressed up as Joanne the Scammer.