There is a reason teens have higher insurance premiums than other adults, they are inexperienced drivers. Inexperience often leads to more accidents. The number one killer of teens is motor vehicle accidents. Only with experience is a driver more educated on how a car handles, what to do in an emergency and how to drive in many different weather conditions.

For parents of new drivers there are things you can do to make the learning experience safer:

• Be a good example. Your children watch you. If you text and drive they will think it is safe to do so.
• Let them know it is against the law to text and drive. Do not ever do it. And do not get into a car with a driver that does.
• Set up an agreement about safety in the car. This website has a great program: Countdown2Drive
• Make sure they use their seatbelts at all times! Twenty-five percent of teens do not use a seatbelt every time they get in a car.
• Even though talking on the phone is legal while driving, make sure all calls are made when the vehicle is stopped. A study found that it is 8x more likely for a teen to get into an accident or near accident if they are trying to dial a phone.
• In addition to Drivers Education, a skid school is a great place to learn. In Control is a local crash prevention school.  Insurance discounts are given with some carriers.

Learning to drive is a joint effort with parents and their teens, make it a safe experience. If teens know that their safe driving will result in lower insurance premiums it will motivate them to keep these guidelines in mind. Call us with any questions on your teen’s insurance.

* Statistics are from Safe Kids Worldwide (image at right)