One of the most frequent concerns we hear is people's fear that if they install a Tattle-Tail on their kid's car, their telephone will start ringing with crank callers or young guys looking for dates with their "beautiful young daughter".
Let us address these issues and various "protective" measures you can employ.
......By the way- you can re-assure your new driver that if they are "normal", you will get a few phone calls regarding their driving after installation of a "Tattle-Tail", but they will generally be "good" calls.
Basic "Protective" Measures-
*1. Utilize Caller ID
*2. Use "Distinctive Ringing"
*3. Route your calls to your Business Phone
*4. Route your calls to your Pager
1. Caller ID is now available in most areas as a means of identifying the name and telephone number of the incoming caller, eliminating their anonymity. Should nuisance callers persist, there are many legal channels available to curtail their actions and many of the Caller ID display units have the means to block specific callers.
2. Here in metropolitan Minnesota, we are served by U.S. West Communications for our telephone service. U.S. West (and most other telephone service providers) offer something called "distinctive ringing" that gives you an alternate telephone number that rings a different pattern on your regular telephone line. (The original idea for "distinctive ringing" was for people that wanted a "kiddie" line or to identify a business call ringing into their home line.) (-and, you'll know to answer: "Mom (or Dad) speaking..." when you answer the telephone!) This number isn't normally listed or otherwise published, so it cannot be cross-referenced to your home address or name. U.S. West offers this service at a cost of $4.95/month (or less) with a $5.00 installation cost (as of July, 1996). If a problem should persist with any type of crank caller, your Tattle-Tail number can be easily changed with no change, interruption or reduction in security to your regular residential telephone service. (TenTech will even supply you with replacement stick-on numbers at no charge if needed.)
3. If you happen to have a private telephone number at your workplace (and your employer doesn't mind getting an infrequent "parental" call), you can use that telephone number on your child's Tattle-Tail bumper sticker. As the proprietor of a home-based business, this is the method we have used on our kid's cars.
4. If you happen to use a digital pager that (preferably) has a voice message preceding the prompting for the call-back number, you can easily use it to "screen" your calls ( ...or answer them as Mom or Dad).
We have seen "registration service" bumper stickers offered that allow an "800" number to be called for feedback (indirectly) on a driver's performance. This type of service is great for commercial vehicles, but can be costly (generally requiring a continuing monthly or annual fee) and does not offer the direct line of communication that our Tattle-Tail gives between the fellow parent observing your child's driving behavior and you.
We feel the potential slight risk to our privacy is worth trading for the peace of mind gained by knowing that our son or daughter will be driving responsibly during their "learning" years.
Thank you for being a fellow concerned parent.
