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Ten great car gifts for the drivers on your holiday list

Car-related gifts are a great way to say thank you during the holidays. Click through this list for some great ideas for all ages and budgets.

5. For the new driver: Text-control device

Courtesy of Scosche
The 'cellcontrol' is about 1/3 the size of an iPhone and uses Bluetooth technology to block texting and other phone functions.

  • By Andrew P. Collins Contributor

It’s no new phenomenon that parents of new drivers can have trouble falling asleep when their child is out on the road. What is new to this generation is the pervasiveness of the cellphone. With new drivers already bombarded with distractions, adding texting to the mix can be a dangerous proposition.

To help reduce phone-related accidents and give parents peace of mind, Scosche introduces the “cellcontrol” device. About 1/3 the size of an iPhone, cellcontrol plugs into a car’s diagnostic port to detect when the vehicle is in motion, and uses Bluetooth technology to disable certain functions of phones within its range.

It will allow voice conversations if a hands-free device is also detected, and will report being “unplugged” by sending an alert email to a preprogrammed address.

Such a device might not make a new driver particularly happy, but it certainly will keep him or her safer.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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