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Teen Driving

Once they get behind the wheel of a car, or ride along with a friend, it's important that your teen knows the risks as well as the rewards of the open road. Making sure your teen is safe during these times requires understanding, involvement and firmly set limits.

Teens are at a greater risk for accidents and fatalities than any other group of drivers. There are a number of reasons for this sobering statistic but they fall into four factors:

• Inexperience
• Risk-taking behaviors
• Immaturity
• Greater risk exposure

It's always a good idea to make sure you have adequate insurance to cover any exposure, but with a teen driver in
the house, the risk becomes even bigger.

The hard truth is, when you add a teen driver to your auto insurance policy, you are assuming responsibility for their actions. If your child is a minor and gets into a serious accident where property and lives are at stake, the ramifications are not just emotional. An injured party or property owner could go after your assets and the costs are often staggering. That's the last thing any of us wants to happen, but it could.

So parents, before you hand over the keys…

• Contact your Advantage Insurance Agency to discuss auto insurance for your teen driver. Or better yet, have your teen make an appointment with us to discuss insurance coverage.
• Look through our Teen Driving Parent Guide for tips on discussing responsible driving habits with your teen.
• Download the Behind the Wheel worksheet to complete alongside your teen driver.
• Sit down with your teen to talk about and sign the Teen Driving Contract . If the contract we provide doesn't cover all the driving issues important to your family, feel free to use it as a starting point.
• Review 10 ways you can help your teen .
• Download our “Teen Speak” tips sheet that you can give to your teen or use in a discussion.
• If your state has adopted some form of graduated licensing , make sure you and your teenager understand the law.

  To help cushion the impact of adding a teenager to your auto insurance policy, Safeco offers a Good Student Discount, which rewards teenagers who achieve high academic standards, and the Distant Student Discount, which reduces the cost of insurance for a young driver who uses the car only during school vacations.

  Graduated Driver Licensing System

  Graduated licensing is a system for phasing in on-road driving, allowing beginners to get their initial experience under conditions that involve lower risk and introducing them in stages to more complex driving situations.

  As a parent, one of the most important things you can do for the young drivers in your family is to spend as much time as you can in the car with them when they are mastering the skill of driving. It is nearly impossible to overstate the value of adult-supervised driving time, even after your teens get their licenses. In addition, you should convince new drivers to wait until they have had plenty of practice with you before having friends in the car. Discourage unsupervised late-night driving – that's when the majority of accidents involving younger drivers occur. Insist on seat-belt use at all times. Above all, set a good example for your driving-age kids. Safe driving is contagious.

  For more information about graduated licensing and teen driver statistics, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety/Highway Loss Data Institute .

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