Tips for Teenage Drivers

Can you drive safely?

Why is safe driving important?

Here are some real life facts about teenage drivers:

• Teenagers comprised 10 percent of the US population in 1997 and 15 percent of all motor vehicle deaths
• Male drivers 16-19 years old are involved in approximately four times as many nighttime fatal crashes per 100 million miles traveled as drivers 30-54 years old.
• More than half (53 percent) of all teenage motor vehicle deaths occur on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Forty-one percent of teenage motor vehicle deaths in 1997 occurred between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
• Thirty-six percent of all deaths among 16-19 year olds result from motor vehicle accidents.
• Twenty-six percent of fatally injured drivers in 1997 had blood alcohol concentrations at or above .10%.

STOP: Please read these statistics again!

These statistics speak for themselves.
They illustrate how extremely important it is to take driving an auto seriously.

What’s the bottom line?

To avoid becoming a statistic, please read, think about, and use the following safety guidelines. By following these tips, you can directly affect your future auto insurance premiums and eligibility with a preferred or standard insurer.

1) Use your common sense for safe driving.

Your friends won’t have to pay the expensive ticket, the additional insurance costs or face the courts for criminal charges related to reckless driving. Don’t give in to “peer pressure!”

Take care of your auto!

• Check your: Tires, Oil Level, State Inspection – if applicable

Always be courteous!

• Don’t blind other drivers with your auto’s high beams
• Be patient and considerate to others.
• Look before backing out of a parking space or entering traffic.

Don’t lend your auto!

• Always have permission to use an auto
• Always have permission to lend an auto. Your insurance usually follows the auto, not the driver. If a friend wrecks your auto, your insurance pays for the damage.

2) Wear your seat belt!

Wearing your seat belt is the law in most states, but that’s not the only reason you should wear it. It will dramatically reduce your chances of receiving a head injury or being thrown from you vehicle in you are involved in an accident. Make sure your passengers buckle up, too!

Your safety is important to your family. If you won’t wear a seat belt for yourself, do it for the people who love and care about you!

3) Don’t drink and/or take drugs and drive!

The fact is, when you drink, even a small amount of alcohol can affect you. For example, one 12 ounce serving of beer containing 5 percent alcohol, typically results in a Blood Alcohol content (BAC) of .02.

If your BAC is:
.01-.02: Your judgment is affected.
.03-.05: Your reaction time is slowed.
.06-.10: Your judgment is seriously affected. Emotions and behavior become exaggerated.

When you drink and drive, you endanger yourself and others. This danger also exists when you take drugs and drive.

4) Know the rules of the road!

• Know your traffic signals
• Not obeying the rules of the road can result in traffic violations. Serious offenses include:
• Speeding
• Reckless/improper driving
• Improper passing
• Hit-and-run or leaving the scene of an accident
• Drag racing on a public highway
• Driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs

Drivers who incur traffic violations are more likely to be involved in accidents. Traffic violations usually mean traffic tickets, and you even can be jailed for the more serious offenses. And, they will increase your insurance costs.

5) A friendly warning about performance cars!

Performance cars are autos that have a powerful engine and a comparatively lightweight body. Claims experience shows that these cars are involved in more accidents than autos with engines having less horsepower.

Accidents with these cars often involve driving at excessive speeds. Therefore, we strongly urge you, or anyone driving a performance car, to drive with extreme care. Use common sense and drive within the speed limit!

6) Your personal driving habits directly affect your automobile insurance premium.

For example, if you drive a non-performance type auto and have an accident/violation-free driving record, you will have a lower insurance premium. However, if you drive a non-performance type auto but have a driving record which includes accidents and/or violations, then your insurance premium will be higher by an average of 18 percent. If you drive a performance car with clean driving record, your premium will be higher by an average of 17 percent. And if you drive a performance car with a driving record which includes accidents and/or violations, your insurance premium will be higher by an average of 38 percent.

If you drive a performance car and/or have a poor driving record, many insurers won’t insure you or will insure you at a much higher premium.

Now you know why safe driving is so important! Please, for yourself and those who love you, accept the responsibility that driving an auto requires. Plan to drive safely.