Study Explains the Staggering Cost of Insuring Teen Drivers

Ask any parent who has just added a kid to the family's insurance policy and they'll tell you how expensive it is to have a teen behind the wheel. But the overall cost of teen driving is as tragic as it is staggering.

According to a recent report from AAA, car accidents involving drivers 15 to 17 cost society more than $34 billion in medical expenses, property damage and related costs in 2006. AAA also reports, in 2006 drivers ages 15 to 17 were involved in approximately 974,000 crashes that injured 406,427 people and killed 2,541. Here are more sobering statistics:

• According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among U.S. teens, accounting for 36 percent of all deaths in this age group.
  
• The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group, and per-miles-driven teens ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash, says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
  
• Risk is highest at age 16, and the crash rate per miles driven is twice as high for 16 year olds as it is for 18 and 19 year olds, according to the IIHS.
  
• IIHS statistics show that 16- and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger.
  

Parents can reduce the high cost of insuring their teen drivers. There are special discounts that can really make a big difference in how much you will have to pay for your teen to drive. Some of these discounts include:

• Good Student- If you teen driver has a "B" average or better, you can save up to 10%.
  
• Multi-policy- If you insure your home and cars with the same company, you can save up to 15% on both policies
  
• GPS Teen Driver Monitoring System- There is one company that offers a 15% discount for installing this unit in the teen driver's car
  
• Safe Driver- If your family has a clean driving and claims record, you can save up to 15%
  
• Good credit- Some companies reward responsible customers based on their credit. This can be very significant and can save you as much as 35%.
  

The bottom line is that the most responsible families will pay the lowest premium. Stress to your teen that avoiding tickets and accidents is most critical to not only keeping your insurance rates down, but of course, assure the safety of your teen driver and others.

You can learn more about ways to save on your insurance and how you can keep your teen safe by visiting my website at www.teendriverinsurance.com/metro.

Wishing you and your family the best in health, happiness and prosperity.

Derek

News Alert! Free Installation of GPS Teen Driver Monitoring System

Hi,

I just received some exciting news from one of our insurance companies, Safeco. This company has been on the leading edge of teen driver safety and working to reduce the number of accidents involving teen drivers.

Last summer, they launched a new system called Teensurance to help their customers keep their kids safe. This is a GPS based system that is installed in the teen's car and alerts parents of dangerous behaviors such as speeding, driving beyond an allowed territory and breaking curfew.

Well, Safeco just announced that they are now offering this system to any parent that wants to get this system installed in their kid's vehicle. They will pay for the installation and the unit if the parent agrees to a 2 year contract. Similar systems can cost as much as $800.

There is a $14.99 per month monitoring fee which gives the parent website access to create and adjust the parameters for the alerts, view the location of the vehicle and it will even allow you to un-lock the car doors in case your teen gets locked out.

Along with the GPS system comes roadside assistance and other teen driver safety tools. If you would like more information, visit my website www.teendriverinsurance.com/metro or call my office at 479-751-5555.

Derek

PS Safeco is offering a 15% discount for anyone that is a Safeco customer or that becomes a customer. This 15% discount, in most cases, will pay for the monitoring fee just from the savings on their insurance. Call my office to become a Safeco customer and take advantage of this big discount. Considering the high rates for teen drivers, this could really be significant.

After School Hours Are Dangerous For Teen Drivers

Most parents only really get concerned about their teen driver children when they head out on the road at night. And rightfully so. That is a very dangerous time. But a recent study shows that the time right after school is also are very high risk time for teen drivers.

This study by AAA indicates that weekday afternoon driving time is just as dangerous for teens as night driving. The researchers studied the number of fatal crashes involving teens between 2002 and 2005. They found that 16 and 17 years olds were involved in almost as many fatal crashes between 3 and 5 pm on weekdays as they were on Friday and Saturday nights between 9 pm and 2 am. There were 1100 weekday fatal accidents and 1237 weekend evening fatal accidents.So what can you as a parent do about this?

Well, here are several suggestions:

1. Establish some specific driving rules with your teen. Be consistent in enforcing both the rules and the consequences when the rules are broken.

2. Impose an absolute ban on cell phone use while your teen is driving. Don’t call them yourself when you know that they are driving.

3. Require that your teen use a seatbelt any and every time they are traveling in any vehicle whether as a driver or a passenger. You must do the same to reinforce the importance of this.

4. Don’t allow your teen driver to carry passengers during the first 3 months or more of driving. Let them get used to being out there on their own before they add the distractions of passengers.

5. Don’t permit your teen to ride with other teen drivers. I know this will be a hard sell in these times of high gas prices but until you know just how safe the other teen driver is, you really should not permit your child to ride with him or her.

6. Make your rules known to other adults in your teen’s life. This can help provide an extra set of eyes when you are not around.

7. Install a GPS monitoring system in your child’s car. When they know that you are watching all of the time, their driving habits will be safer.

To get more safety tips and to find out how you can get a GPS tracking system installed in your child’s car for free, visit my web site at www.TeenDriverInsurance.com/metro or call my office at 479-751-5555

Set a Good Example!

When most teenagers reach about 14 years of age, they begin to think about driving. Obviously some children dream about this more than others but what is important to you as a parent, is how they might imagine themselves as a driver.

Where do they get their persona as a driver? Where do they learn habits?

The answer is, they learn a lot from watching you drive. They will pick up your good and your bad habits and that is why as a parent, you must really monitor your own driving while your young teens are in the car. You should begin to model good driving behavior and even talk about that behavior with your children.

Here is a short list of the Don’ts:

While your young teens are in the car, don’t:
· Eat and drive. Make sure that they see you giving your full attention to your driving.

· Talk on your phone while driving. I know this one is hard to break but when your child tries this while driving it is the equivalent of having them drink a few stiff ones and then try driving. It is also illegal in NC for a teen driver to use the phone while driving.
· Run the yellow light. Teach your teens not to gamble with yellow lights. Their judgment is not as well developed as yours and this behavior can end in tragedy.
· Follow too closely. This is something you shouldn’t do at any time but when your child is in the car they will get a sense for what is the correct following distance. Show them by leaving enough space between you and the car in front of you.
· Drive aggressively. Again, they will model what you do. Teach them to be a courteous and respectful driver. It might make you late a few times but what is that to saving their life.
· Speed. Your children should respect the speed limit. This will save them money in tickets and attorney’s fees, but it will probably also save their life. 33% of teen driver fatalities are due to excessive speed.

Ok, enough with the negatives. Here are a few things you should do when your teens ride with you:
· Always use your seatbelt. And always insist that all passengers wear theirs as well.
· Use turn signals and practice “accurate” driving. Talk to your teens about this.
· Keep your car maintained and the windshield clean. Also check for tire wear and tire pressure as well.
· Come to a complete stop at all stop signs
· Slow down in bad weather. Tell your teens that you are driving a bit slower and leaving more distance from the car in front today because the bad weather makes the driving that much more dangerous.

These are just a few tips that you can use. I’m sure you can think of even more to help your child become a safer driver so that you can get through this time in your life without a tragedy.

For more help on teen driving safety, please visit my web site at www.TeenDriverInsurance.com/metro.