Teenagers are unfortunately the face of several statistics in the car insurance industry. The leading killer of young adults ages 15 to 20 is car crashes. Compared to adults ages 25 to 64, these young adult drivers are three times as likely to become involved in a fatal car accident. Also, the younger the driver, the more accidents are caused. Statistically, 16-year-olds have a crash rate three times as high as 19-year-olds and six times as high as drivers in their early 20s. Adding a teenage driver to your car insurance plan can more than double the cost of what you pay for your car insurance. However, there are ways that you and your teenager can lower the cost of your teenage driver’s insurance.
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1. Receiving Good Grades
Your teenager receiving a B or better grade point average can result in a discount on your auto insurance ranging from 5 percent up to as much as 25 percent. This discount stems from the studies which correlate good students with being responsible drivers. By performing well in school, your teenager is showing to your insurance company that they take responsibility seriously and will not be large risks on the road.
2. Taking Driver’s Education Courses
If your child takes a driver’s education course in high school or through a company, this can also decrease car insurance for teenagers. Although insurance companies vary on the discount amount and the course approval, the discounts can range up to 15 percent. These courses can show your teenage driver the ethics of driving and the rules of driving on the roads. The cost of car insurance for young drivers can be decreased and they will become safer drives with the help of these courses.
3. Buying a Safe Car
There are many types of cars on the market today, including small cars, trucks, sport cars, and SUVs. All of those cars are unreliable or dangerous for your teenager to drive. Small cars do not have good protection in an accident, trucks and SUVs are prone to rollovers, and sport cars can discourage safety.
To help lower your insurance rate, consider purchasing a safer car for your teenager to drive. To find a safe car to lower car insurance for teens, look for a car equipped with airbags. Airbags will help save the life of your teenager in the event of an accident, and may qualify for a premium discount on your insurance. If your car also comes with a safety alarm, this can also be eligible for a percentage off on your insurance.
4. Enlisting in Safe Driver Programs
Enlisting in a safe driver program offered by your insurer will kill two birds with one stone. The completed program will offer a discount of up to 5 percent on the insurance, as well as instructing teenagers on the perils of drinking and driving. They will learn the consequences of running red lights or stop signs as well as speeding. Even if your insurance company does not provide a decrease in your automobile insurance for teens, this will help in the future when your driver is on the road. A few speeding tickets or minor accident caused by a teenage driver can send your auto insurance through the roof. By taking this preemptive measure, you can stop the risk of that happening.
5. Driving an Older Car
Insurance companies tend to give lower rates for teenagers driving old and heavy cars. Records show that older cars are less prone to accidents and harder to drive recklessly than newer models, which can encourage customers to remove collision coverage from their insurance policies. With a safer old car and the extra fee removed, this can decrease the cost of the insurance. In addition, some companies tend to assign the most expensive insured driver—your teenage child—to the most expensive insured car. To counteract this and save money, consider buying an older car for your teenager. Even if it is not used most of the time, it will still be let you end up with lower car insurance payments.
Always compare rates between insurance companies when adding a new teenage driver to your car insurance. If another company is offering a better deal than your current insurer, it may be in your best interest to go with the new insurers. Be sure to teach your teenage driver responsibility on the road through safety courses, and your car-insurance-paying wallet will be sure to thank you.
Showing posts with label teendrivers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teendrivers. Show all posts
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Driving and using the cell phone irrestible? New technology could take away temptation!
SEATTLE -- Asked if the statewide texting-while-driving ban is really working, drivers out there compare it to speeding -- yes, they know what the law says, but many are just finding ways to conceal their activity around police.
"I see the law working a little bit, but there's still a lot of people texting and talking," said driver Martin Cooper.
"You can look both sides of you, you're guaranteed to see people on the phone," said truck driver Whitney Howatt.
"You'll get the people who'll palm their phone," said driver Michael Lombardy.
Now, one local inventor wants lawmakers to require phones in view of the driver to automatically disable when the car is running.
"They were talking a lot about 'Let's just pass laws so the police will look in drivers' windows to see what they're doing with their hands and eyes,'" said Jeff Haley, who is also a patent attorney. "And I thought, there ought to be a technical solution."
Haley said the technology he's touting already exists in one form or another. In February, he and colleague Mike Robinson formed the Seattle-based Distracted Driving Foundation (www.ddfn.org).
"We believe that government, through state or federal legislation, should require phone companies to use available and new technology to restrict the functions of handheld electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle for any use other than important voice calls, without limiting use by passengers," the foundation's website states.
Haley said for many, the urge to read a text message or e-mail is irresistible. He believes restrictions embedded in the phones would take the human element out of the equation. He compared it to railroad crossings, put in place to restrict drivers for their own safety.
The foundation has contacted several companies that already make software to put phones in "driving mode" when they sense they're moving more than 15 miles per hour.
Callers are greeted with an automatic voice message: "The person you have called is driving and cannot take your call."
The key is to make the technology recognize when people are in the passenger seat or some form of public transportation, as well as when the driver is using their Bluetooth hands-free device.
Haley said they have a handful of Washington state lawmakers who have signed on to help get wireless carriers on board, and get a bill before the legislature in the next session. For now, they're looking to require phone restrictions on teen drivers, with an eventual goal of all drivers in the United States, and beyond. They're also seeking funding for the non-profit foundation.
John Walls, vice president of public affairs for the CTIA, a group that represents the wireless industry, did list two concerns. He said any such technology cannot be interference-based, since federal law prohibits any blocking of cell phone signal transmissions.
"But if it's embedded in the handset or the network... The overall concept we are completely behind," he said.
Walls' other concern was that any law favoring one technology over another would "start boxing yourself into the corner, because you may squelch [the best technology's] development through that law," he said.
"We would probably have some discussion and take a long look at that," he added.
A 2009 study by Virginia Tech researchers videotaping millions of hours of eye movements of drivers found that texting while driving made the risk of a crash or near-crash more than 23 times more likely than non-distracted driving.
While drivers agree distracted driving is dangerous, they have mixed feelings about this "technical solution."
"That would probably actually be the point where people won't be on their phone, because they won't be able to," Howatt said.
"I don't know about that one, the phone calls still need to come through," said Lombardy. "It's up to the individual person to make the choice."
Distracted Driving Foundation: http://ddfn.org
"I see the law working a little bit, but there's still a lot of people texting and talking," said driver Martin Cooper.
"You can look both sides of you, you're guaranteed to see people on the phone," said truck driver Whitney Howatt.
"You'll get the people who'll palm their phone," said driver Michael Lombardy.
Now, one local inventor wants lawmakers to require phones in view of the driver to automatically disable when the car is running.
"They were talking a lot about 'Let's just pass laws so the police will look in drivers' windows to see what they're doing with their hands and eyes,'" said Jeff Haley, who is also a patent attorney. "And I thought, there ought to be a technical solution."
Haley said the technology he's touting already exists in one form or another. In February, he and colleague Mike Robinson formed the Seattle-based Distracted Driving Foundation (www.ddfn.org).
"We believe that government, through state or federal legislation, should require phone companies to use available and new technology to restrict the functions of handheld electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle for any use other than important voice calls, without limiting use by passengers," the foundation's website states.
Haley said for many, the urge to read a text message or e-mail is irresistible. He believes restrictions embedded in the phones would take the human element out of the equation. He compared it to railroad crossings, put in place to restrict drivers for their own safety.
The foundation has contacted several companies that already make software to put phones in "driving mode" when they sense they're moving more than 15 miles per hour.
Callers are greeted with an automatic voice message: "The person you have called is driving and cannot take your call."
The key is to make the technology recognize when people are in the passenger seat or some form of public transportation, as well as when the driver is using their Bluetooth hands-free device.
Haley said they have a handful of Washington state lawmakers who have signed on to help get wireless carriers on board, and get a bill before the legislature in the next session. For now, they're looking to require phone restrictions on teen drivers, with an eventual goal of all drivers in the United States, and beyond. They're also seeking funding for the non-profit foundation.
John Walls, vice president of public affairs for the CTIA, a group that represents the wireless industry, did list two concerns. He said any such technology cannot be interference-based, since federal law prohibits any blocking of cell phone signal transmissions.
"But if it's embedded in the handset or the network... The overall concept we are completely behind," he said.
Walls' other concern was that any law favoring one technology over another would "start boxing yourself into the corner, because you may squelch [the best technology's] development through that law," he said.
"We would probably have some discussion and take a long look at that," he added.
A 2009 study by Virginia Tech researchers videotaping millions of hours of eye movements of drivers found that texting while driving made the risk of a crash or near-crash more than 23 times more likely than non-distracted driving.
While drivers agree distracted driving is dangerous, they have mixed feelings about this "technical solution."
"That would probably actually be the point where people won't be on their phone, because they won't be able to," Howatt said.
"I don't know about that one, the phone calls still need to come through," said Lombardy. "It's up to the individual person to make the choice."
Distracted Driving Foundation: http://ddfn.org
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