Should You Give Your Teenager The Keys To The
Car?
(NAPSI)-A sound guaranteed to sink the
hearts of parents with teenagers: "Can I borrow the car, pleeease?"
The sun is out, the sky is blue, and your
precious offspring want to hang out with their friends, in your car.
You're likely to eventually give in, so it's best to prepare yourself,
and them, for the responsibilities of driving.
Insurance is expensive because teenage
drivers have the highest crash risk of any age group. Per mile traveled,
teenagers have the highest involvement rates in all types of crashes,
from those involving property damage to those that are fatal. Crashes
are the leading cause of death among American teens. Quite simply,
insurance is essential, but there are things you can do to reduce the
cost.
Putting the Brakes on Expenses
Everyone would like to save on insurance
costs, and that's not a bad thing, however, you do not want to lower the
liability limit, says Laurie Wallace of Amica Mutual Insurance (
www.amica.com ). "If a teenage driver
causes physical damage or bodily injury," says Wallace, "you need to be
fully covered. You want to be sure to add your teenage driver to your
policy and, if anything, increase the liability limit."
Whether parents are looking to add their
children to a policy or simply renew a policy of their own, the best
insurance companies are financially stable and have good ratings.
Wallace suggests checking with consumer information companies such as
J.D. Power and Associates or seeing who is the highest rated in the best
consumer magazines.
Some insurance companies like Amica will
offer discounts to lower the cost of insurance. Discounts are available
for teenagers who complete approved driver training courses and good
students with a B average report card.
Parents can combine discounts as well.
Janet Bellows of Amica says, in most states, her company offers a
discount for students who are away at school, over 100 miles from home,
who don't have a vehicle with them. "It is an excellent idea to keep the
teenager on the parents' policy in case they drive another vehicle while
they are away at school," she says.
Lead by Example
Bellows also advocates that teenage
drivers be well supervised even after they've received their licenses.
Teenage drivers often won't drive in the same manner with parents in the
car as they do when their friends are there. Friends may goad teens into
driving wildly, or the teens may just want to show off. Parents should
limit the number of passengers allowed in the car because sixteen
year-olds' fatal crashes are more likely to occur when other teenagers
are in the car and the risk increases with every additional passenger.
Curfews are a good idea as well. Parents should limit driving at night
because this is a high-risk activity for beginners.
Per mile driven, the nighttime fatal
crash rate for 16 year-olds is about twice as high as it is during the
day.
Seat Belts Are Mandatory
"You can prepare your teenage driver by
setting a good example yourself, like always wearing a seat belt and
abiding by the law," says Bellows.
"Insist on seat belts all the time as
more than half of all teens who die in crashes are completely
unrestrained." New drivers learn a lot from role models, so practice
safe driving. Teens with crashes and violations often have parents who
have poor driving records themselves. Obviously drinking and driving for
teenagers and parents is completely taboo.
"Driver's education programs offered in
school or in the community are a good way to learn," says Wallace. "At
Amica, we think parents should also put in drive time with the teenager.
Also, it's quite obvious that teens shouldn't be driving sports cars or
performance vehicles."
A License with Strings Attached
It's a critical time for parents when a
teenager can get a license. For a teenager it represents freedom. But
the price of freedom is steep. Parents shouldn't just brush over
important issues such as drinking and driving, seat belts, speeding and
peer pressure by thinking their child would never do such a thing,
because, sadly, the evidence often points to the contrary.
Richard Berman is a writer
specializing in insurance issues. He consulted with Amica Insurance
(1-800-24-Amica) regarding information and content for this column.
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