When buying a new vehicle, those with families often have to consider that their kids may soon be behind the wheel of the family’s latest ride. Whether a teen is driving alone or just using the vehicle for practice, you want to remember a vehicle’s safety and navigation features if you expect a young driver will be behind the wheel at some point.
The good news is that some manufacturers are also thinking about those novice drivers, aiming to make their vehicles family-friendly. SUVs like the 2023 Chevy Equinox LS come with technology geared towards helping parents better understand how their teenagers are driving so that loved ones stay safe. The Equinox LS that comes with this tech makes sense since it is a family vehicle, to begin with. Crossovers that can handle a solid amount of cargo, 63.9 cubic feet in this case, are attractive options to families as they have to handle a lot daily, ranging from athletic gear for softball games to suitcases for summer vacation.
Being able to handle this much luggage while retaining a sense of nimbleness on the road, the Equinox LS offers the best of both worlds between a sedan and a large SUV. You can carry what you need without worrying about being unable to fit into a parking space at school. Since families will likely be drawn to the Equinox LS, Chevy has considered how they can help parents with children nearing driving age.
Teen Drivers: The Concerns
Raising a family is an enormous privilege filled with exciting moments you will never forget. It is also filled with plenty of stressful moments, and one of the more stressful aspects of parenthood is letting your kid take the wheel of a car. Generally speaking, teenagers have a larger-than-life view of themselves and are less likely to take the necessary precautions on the road. From speeding to not using a seatbelt, teenagers often make bad driving decisions. Plus, even the most well-intentioned new driver will make some errors as what is instinctual to you will still be new to them. Unfortunately, this translates to younger drivers being the ones who are more likely to get into an accident.
A Crossover for Teens
In addition to the cargo room and seating, a crossover can be great as it provides a solid volume for a new driver should an accident happen. With a smaller automobile, an injury is more likely. On the flip side, too large a vehicle can pose a problem. It can be challenging to navigate if a teen is behind the wheel of a car with much mass.
Hence why a crossover like the Equinox LS comes in handy. For a new driver, a crossover is one of the best vehicles to use as it is an unintimidating ride and will prepare them for multiple types of cars in the future, ranging from a sedan to bigger SUVs.
Chevy’s Teen Driver Technology
Teen Driver Technology is available for parents to use in some Chevy automobiles. However, it comes standard in the Equinox LS, which is why it can define itself as a family ride.
Chevy’s Teen Driver Technology is helpful because it is incredibly insightful and informative without becoming overbearing or distracting. The built-in system records the driver’s actions while on the road and issues some warnings and alerts if it senses a problem. This all comes in addition to Chevy’s already vast Chevy Safety Assist suite, which has been consistently acclaimed since it debuted.
Chevy refers to its Teen Driver program as a “report card” for the driver, but this somewhat undersells its capabilities. It almost acts as a hall monitor, watching what is happening while whispering helpful directions.
Helpful Warnings
The Teen Driver tech will not let a driver back up if their seatbelt remains unfastened. Instead, repeated reminders will pop up, telling the driver to buckle up. This is not because teenagers are all reckless by no means. However, a new driver may be distracted by making sure the rearview mirror and side view mirrors are where they want them to be, and they might also be a little stressed about the ride ahead, mentally mapping out their trip. It is easy at that point to forget to put on a seatbelt. Luckily, the Equinox LS will be there to give a polite reminder.
You can also set the Equinox LS to lower music volume when it enters reverse automatically. Young drivers tend to play music too loud, meaning they may not hear sirens or horns, you can have the Equinox LS step in to keep the tunes quieter and your driver more aware.
Connecting to the Chevy Safety Assist
The aforementioned Chevy Safety Assist suite can work in tandem with the Teen Driver system. Take the Forward Collision Alert with Automatic Emergency Braking as an example. The Forward Collision Alert is a standard part of the Equinox LS safety system; it warns the driver when an incoming collision seems likely, letting the driver know to brake. If the driver allows the program to, it can go even further by beginning the braking process automatically, meaning that the second or two it takes the driver to react won’t matter as much since the Equinox LS will already be taking action.
This safety feature alone can let parents breathe a sigh of relief, but here is the better part: the Teen Driver tech will record if this feature has to kick in during a drive and will keep that saved so that after the trip, you can check to see how your young driver did.
The Teen Driver program can also be pre-programmed so that you, as a parent, can ensure certain safety features, such as the automatic braking part of Forward Collision Alert, are activated when your child is driving. You will not have to worry about whether your novice driver forgot to activate them on their own.
Keeping an Eye on Speed and Distance
Speeding ranks as one of the top concerns parents have about their kids’ driving. Again, this is not always because the new driver is irresponsible. When someone is still becoming accustomed to how it feels to be behind the wheel, it can be easy to miscalculate speed, assuming they are not going as fast as they are.
Thanks to your Equinox LS, there will not be as much of a need to worry. Once more, the Teen Driver tech comes into play. Its report card function will serve you well as it can detail the max speed reached during a drive. What’s more, you can program it to warn the driver not to go over a certain speed when driving; the system will then provide your young driver with a warning when the limit you set is hit. Even better? You will also get a record of how many times that warning was activated during a drive.
You’ll Feel Like You Rode With Them
You cannot go along on every ride your teen driver takes, but with this technology, you will feel like you are right there with them. Sure, your child might complain a little about this tech, claiming it is an overreaction, but since the tech is not overbearing, it is a great middle ground, letting your child gain independence while still allowing you to see how they are doing on the road. Then, if there is an issue (say, the overspeed warning activated a few times), you can address it so the next trip is as safe as possible.
