Tag Archives: passenger

The Cost of a Crash for Teen drivers

Posted on by Jayne Ubl

Rings, No Belts and Too Many Buds-A Costly Combo

As your teen prepares to hit the books and head to high school, it might be a good idea to check their accessories. However, we’re not talking about their wardrobe; we’re talking about their driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Center for Statistics and Analysis there are certain fads your TEEN should avoid when driving the car.

 Hand-held cellphone use is highest among 16- to 24-year-olds and the fines for texting or phone use can be costly. So put your phone in the glove box or in the trunk of your car – seriously! Unless you’re waiting for a new kidney, is the call really that important?!?

37% of male drivers ages 15-20 who are involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time. What’s your hurry? The old saying “time is money” could be talking about teens  and speeding tickets because the time a teen saves by speeding can add up to a 15-45%  increase in their insurance premiums.

Statistics show that 16- and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger. Sure it’s fun to drive your buddies and besties around, but it is important, especially in the beginning, that you limit the number of passengers with your teenage drivers.  Parents, start with limiting them to 1 or 2 passengers. Let them get comfortable driving with other people and then adjust the number if you feel they can handle more passengers. This is a good compromise since your teen can still drive with their friends and you can stop worrying about your teenage drivers being distracted by too many passengers.


BUT BE CAUTIONED:

55%, or 2,014, of the 3,678 occupants of passenger vehicles ages 16-20 who are killed in crashes are not buckled up. Belts are IN. Wear them. Also be warned, teen drivers: if  passengers in your car are not belted and they are injured in a crash – insurance companies can blame the DRIVER for the injuries of any unbelted passenger.  If your teen is found to be at fault, the injured parties would have the opportunity to sue your insurance company to recover as much of those costs as possible. In the event that the insurance company doesn’t cover everything, suing you and your family would be the next logical step. If that happens, you could lose your home or possessions, along with a portion of your wages through garnishment.

31% of drivers ages 15-20 who are killed in motor vehicle crashes have been drinking  some amount of alcohol; 25% are alcohol-impaired, meaning they have a blood alcohol content of 0.08 grams per deciliter or higher. In this instance, not only would your premiums increase dramatically, it would be cause for many insurance companies to drop your policy altogether … not to mention potential jail time that would affect your life for years.
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Facts for parents: teen driving hurts.

Posted on by kelly1963

 What You Don’t Know… Can Hurt Your Teen!

Ask any parent about their teen starting to drive and you’ll get some very entertaining reactions: grimaces, cringing and worried sighs. Everyone knows that learning to drive is a huge milestone that should be taken seriously. But a lot of parents don’t know some very important facts about this phase of their family’s life.
1. Motor vehicle crashes are actually the leading cause of death for 15 – 20 year olds in the United States. But being a teenage PASSENGER is almost more deadly, because about two thirds of those killed are riding in a car driven by another teen. Parents should not only be concerned when their own teen is driving. Tell your teens to consider themselves co-pilots instead of passengers, ESPECIALLY when another teen is driving.
2. The phase while a teenager has their learner’s permit is actually a very SAFE time, with a crash rate of only about 1%. That’s much lower than the 8% crash rate of most adults. However, when a teen gets their driver’s license their crash rate skyrockets to about 50% in the first six months. That’s not a typo! About HALF of every new teen drivers will have a collision in their first six months of driving. Parents need to understand that the truly risky time is when their child is driving without any adult supervision. Parents need to give their teens lots of practice time while they have a learner’s permit, so they can develop mature driving skills BEFORE they get their license.
3. Most states now have “graduated licensing laws.” These are rules about cell phone use, curfew times and numbers of passengers in the car for younger drivers. These are guidelines that can cost you! If your teen has a crash while violating those rules, then the law treats them as if they were driving without any insurance, which is a very expensive proposition both short and long-term.
4. Those GDL laws are not “best practice.” The guidelines are meant to increase the safety of younger drivers, but they are not what research shows might be the safest options. Parents have the power to make their own family’s driving rules even more strict. They even have the power to temporarily un-license their own child.
Getting a driver’s license is a rite-of-passage, and part of the transition to adulthood for our children. As a parent, please educate yourself about the ways you can contribute to the process while your teenager learns to drive.
You CAN make a difference for your kids and that’s in the best interests of everyone, since we all share the roads.
   -Kelly Cusick