Because teen drivers costs insurance companies billions of dollars in property and bodily damage and because thousands of teenagers are hurt and killed in traffic accidents each year, some states are taking steps to lower these alarming figures. One method that some states have tried is called Graduated Driver Licensing.
Graduated Driver Licensing involves slowing down the process for full licensure. There are different requirements depending on the specific state. However, some common components include being at least 15 ½ before a teen is able to receive their permit, having 30 hours of supervised driving and only receiving an intermediate license at 16 years of age. Full licensing is only given after a teenager turns 17 years old. There are restrictions regarding night driving, there are also passenger restrictions. States that enact at least five of these components generally experience at least an 18% drop in fatal crashes. States that adopt 6-7 of these components experience a drop of 21% of fatal crashes involving teenagers.
Some of these feature mixes have better results then others. States that have intermediate licensing in place, night driving restrictions, 30 hours of supervised driving and passenger restrictions, tend to have a 21% drop in serious and fatal car crashes involving teenagers.
As teens get behind the wheel, the likelihood of accidents, fatal and non-fatal significantly increase. Teen drivers are more likely to get into wrecks, which mean greater auto costs for parents. One way that states are trying counteract these figures is by introducing Graduated Driver Licensing. This provides some sort of safeguards and places some restrictions on teens.
While this is a worthwhile effort, there are ways that parents can help their teens drive more safely and decrease their own auto related costs. One way to accomplish this is to purchase a used, reliable and safe car for their teen. Make an agreement with your teen that if they wreck it or don’t wear their seatbelt, they will no longer have access to a car. This will likely provide them with some much needed motivation. Also spend at least 30 hours driving with your teenager, to make sure that they are driving safely.
If there is no Graduated Driver Licensing in your state, come up with your own restrictions and then implement them. For example come up with an acceptable driving schedule for your teen. If you don’t want them driving at night, don’t let them. Also keep at a minimum, the number of passengers that your child can drive around. The more kids in the car, the more distracted an inexperienced driver can get. You also don’t want to have to be responsible for telling someone else’s parents that their child is hurt because of your child. You may also want to enroll your teenager in a driver education course, where they get both classroom and actual driving training.
Making sure that your child is ready to hit the road will likely save you money. More importantly, it will help keep your teen and other drivers safe. Some states have been proactive in saving teens from themselves when it comes to driving. Placing restrictions on the number of passengers a teen can drive around, decreasing the amount of hours that a teen can drive at night and requiring 30 hours of driving education all make a big difference when it comes to teens being safer on the road. If your state doesn’t have such laws in place, it is ok to enact your own. It will save you money and will provide you with greater peace of mind.
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