4 modern safety features for safer teen driving

According to the CDC, teenagers are three times more likely to experience a fatal crash than any other age group. They are at a significantly higher risk of car accidents during their first month of driving.

If you’re a parent of a new teen driver and are worried about their safety on the road, here are some features and tech tools that you can use to help keep your new driver safer on the road.

Must-have safety tech for teen drivers

#1 family finance and safety app.

#1 family finance and safety app.

Teach your kids and teens to earn, save, and invest with Greenlight.

Use code GLBLOG for one month, on us.*

Try Greenlight today

1. Driving reports

While physical safety features like airbags and reinforced frames provide a "safety net" during an accident, digital driving reports can act as a proactive tool to prevent those accidents from occurring in the first place.

Some vehicles have pre-installed safety driving software to help parents gain insights on how their teens drive.

These driving reports can include data on:

• Speeding

• Phone usage while driving

• Hard braking

• Rapid acceleration

Tools like Greenlight’s all-in-one money and safety app come with a variety of safety features to keep your family safe, including location tracking, driving reports††, SOS alerts and crash detection††, place alerts††, and more.

2. Automatic emergency braking (AEB)

New drivers often struggle to judge distances or react quickly to sudden stops. Automatic emergency braking (AEB) acts as a digital safety net by using cameras and sensors to scan the road ahead. If the car detects an imminent crash and the driver doesn’t react, the system automatically hits the brakes. While it isn’t a substitute for attentive driving, it can prevent rear-end collisions or significantly reduce the impact if a bump does occur.

You can feel safer knowing that accident and injury risks are reduced in case your teenagers react slowly or get distracted behind the wheel. And it gives your inexperienced driver a chance to learn the skills necessary for attentive driving.

3. Lane departure warning and lane-keeping assist

Lane departure warnings provide visual and audio alerts if your car starts to drift outside its lane. Lane-keeping assist takes the feature to the next level by gently adjusting the steering wheel to keep your car in its lane.

The system is typically used when your vehicle is traveling over 30-35 mph by engaging cameras and sensors to detect lanes. When it turns on, you may see a green icon on your dashboard, and then it may switch to yellow or blink to give an active warning. Other alerts may include beeping or vibrations in the steering wheel or driver’s seat.

These tools are especially helpful for new drivers who may still be mastering their "lane centering" or who might momentarily lose focus. It’s a helpful reminder that helps prevent one of the most dangerous types of accidents: drifting off the road or into oncoming traffic.

4. Driver monitoring systems (distraction & drowsiness detection)

Teens are often more susceptible to "phone FOMO" or driving while tired after a long day of school and extracurriculars. To combat this, many new cars use interior cameras and AI to act as an attentive co-pilot. These systems don’t just watch the road—they watch the driver for signs of yawning, frequent blinking, or eyes drifting toward a smartphone.

If the system detects that your teen is losing focus or nodding off, it will trigger an immediate alert—such as a beep, a dashboard warning, or a vibrating seat—to snap their attention back to the road.

Build a safer future for your teen driver

Advanced safety tech—from Automatic Emergency Braking to distraction monitoring—does more than just prevent accidents; it reshapes how your teen views the road. By discouraging risky habits like speeding and phone use while rewarding smooth braking and attentive driving, these tools turn every trip into a learning experience.

For parents, these insights aren’t just about oversight—they’re about opportunity. Instead of guessing how your teen is doing, you can use factual reports to celebrate their wins and have supportive, focused conversations about where they can improve.

Keeping your family safe is a team effort. Greenlight lets you ensure that your new teen drivers are learning responsible driving habits while still enjoying their independence. Get access to GPS location tracking for teens, driving scores, SOS alerts††, and more with Greenlight Infinity and Family Shield.

††Requires mobile data or a WiFi connection, and access to sensory and motion data from a cell phone to utilize safety features, including family location sharing and driving alerts and reports. Messaging and data rates and other terms may apply.