It didn’t seem so long ago that you were driving them home from the hospital, and now they’re ready to get behind the wheel themselves. And with that comes the inevitable question about getting a car of their own. If that is something that you are thinking about, you may want to take into consideration the type of car he or she will be driving. A newer sports car will be expensive and will raise your overall car insurance premium. If you want to keep your payments low, consider buying your kid something a little less flashy, but safe. Generally speaking, older model cars get better rates and may not require physical damage coverage.
Accident rates among teen drivers are higher than any other age group. That alone will drive up your premiums. To get a better idea as to why this is a factor, teens aged 16 to 19 lead the pack in safety violations. To put it mildly, the statistics are not in your child’s favor. With that said, you can keep your premiums low and still protect your young driver by keeping an eye out for savings. Good student discounts are available in many states. So are discounts for air bags. The car that your teen is driving should have them anyway. Features like these give you piece of mind when your inexperienced driver pulls out of your driveway.
Getting a driver’s license is a big milestone in a teenager’s life. Set some rules before your child starts driving. Express how important it is to buckle-up, how dangerous it is to text while operating a vehicle, and how important it is to keep the radio at a low enough volume that they can hear what’s going on around them.
We all love our kids, and we wish that we could do more to protect them. Because we need to let them grow up and be themselves, teaching your teen driver how to drive safely is something that will protect them even when we’re not around and will help create good driving habits that will stick with them for a lifetime.
