Hey. I made the big time, if you call paragraph 13 the big time.
Dale
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/business/22MIDS.html
New York Times
June 22, 2003
New Driver, New Car: An Expensive Mix
By JAMES SCHEMBARI
In the movie "Hot Chick," the young female star drives around in a yellow New Beetle, its top down, looking supercool and very cute in an even cuter car. My 16-year-old daughter, Marian, wants that look and that car, and I have not discouraged her. Get a summer job, save some money and we'll talk about it, I said.
I must be nuts.
Marian is just months shy of getting her driver's license, a moment I have been dreading since I first held her in my arms in the delivery room. Driving is dangerous, incredibly so for teenagers, and to think that the girl I protected with child protection locks under the kitchen sink, and later with bicycle helmets, is about to share the road with all the crazy drivers out there is frightening. Then there is the insurance.
The Federal Highway Administration said that about 1.4 million 16-year-olds had their licenses in 2001, the latest year for which data is available. That is less than 1 percent of all licensed drivers. But according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 16-year-olds were involved in 2.6 percent of all accidents. The institute also found that drivers aged 16 to 19 had more accidents per 1,000 licensed drivers than any other age group and that 16-year olds had the most. Teenagers were also No. 1 in fatal accidents, and 16-year-olds topped that list as well.
Insurance rates reflect this. My insurer, Geico, says my rates will rise by $1,500 a year when Marian gets her license in the fall. Thank goodness for girls, because the increase would have been $2,400 had she been a boy. With three sons coming up behind her, car insurance is about to become a major line item.
A dad whose son goes to school with Marian told me that the family's car insurance had been about $1,500 seven years ago, when just he and his wife were driving. Now, three sons and a handful of accidents later, they're paying an astonishing $14,000 a year. Elizabeth Towne, another friend, said her insurance rose about $1,000 when her daughter got her license, but then shot up to $2,200 after the girl got her own car.
"I talked to my insurance agent at length about shopping around and found that there was no point," Ms. Towne said. "She gave me some quotes and they were all the same. Nobody gives you a bargain on a new teenage driver."
Bargains, no, but insurance companies do offer discounts for some teenagers, and there are also other ways for parents to reduce the bill. Ana Compain-Romero, a spokeswoman for State Farm, says students who do well in school tend to have fewer accidents and driving violations, so the company offers students with at least a B average a discount of 10 to 25 percent, depending on factors like the state of residence, the type of car and the miles driven.
THERE is also a discount of up to 10 percent in some states for students who take driver education courses, she said, and an additional 15 percent if the teenager participates in the company's Steer Clear safety program. Over all, she said, new drivers can cut their insurance costs by almost half.
All of those are nice, and other insurance companies offer discounts, too, but the most important consideration seems to be what kind of car a teenager drives and how much she drives. Ms. Compain-Romero says it is best to list a teenager as an occasional, not the primary, driver of one of the family's cars. That will keep rates down.
Robert M. Miller, a senior vice president at Geico, didn't help my daughter's case for getting that Beetle when he said that new drivers in new cars could become expensive.
"Do not as a parent go out and buy them a car for their exclusive use," he said. "Then they will be assigned a principal operator rate, and that will cost a fortune. They should be borrowing the car from their parents. That gives the parent more control, and it's less expensive."
Control is a huge issue. I was told not to let a young teenager drive at night or with a bunch of other young people in the car. Dale Wisely, a clinical psychologist at Child and Adolescent Associates in Birmingham, Ala., said parents could take some control by making teenagers sign a contract stating what their parents expect, like safe speeds and no drinking. A sample contract is at his Web site, www.parentingteendrivers.com. Putting expectations in writing, he said, "conveys how deadly serious this is."
If a teenager finally does get her own car, Mr. Miller recommended one that is conservative and safe, like a Ford Taurus, Honda, Saab or Volvo.
"Shop the cars, he said. "If you find a car that you like, call your insurance company and get a rate quote."
Good idea. So I called Geico. My daughter in a New Beetle would cost $3,200 a year, $2,000 if she were an occasional driver. "It would be even higher if she were a boy," the agent told me.
Maybe not for much longer. Mr. Miller told me that over the last five years, girls have been catching up to boys, as measured by the number and severity of accidents.
"They're driving more, lending their cars to their boyfriends, and they're getting as aggressive as males, in terms of speed and risk taking," he said. "The differential is getting very close. That's not good news for you."
Actually, I don't think any of this is good news for me.
Undisputed King of Parenting Teen Drivers
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Dale
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Undisputed King of Parenting Teen Drivers
Last edited by Dale on Sun Jun 22, 2003 2:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Nanohedron
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Oh, yeah: also a mod here, not a spammer. A matter of opinion, perhaps. - Location: Lefse country
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Nanohedron
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RoyalGoldReps
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Thanks for reposting that Dale.
Know how I keet MY insurance costs down while my SONS were in the home and driving?
THEY paid their insurance and THEY got their own policies. They actually were able to get better rates for themselves then hooking onto my policy.
I also think they were more careful drivers too. They did have the odd incident, but not like I had been hearing from other kids and parents.
They bought their own cars too.
Steven *the mean ol' man*
Know how I keet MY insurance costs down while my SONS were in the home and driving?
THEY paid their insurance and THEY got their own policies. They actually were able to get better rates for themselves then hooking onto my policy.
I also think they were more careful drivers too. They did have the odd incident, but not like I had been hearing from other kids and parents.
They bought their own cars too.
Steven *the mean ol' man*
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lollycross
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I agree with the last post.....my son and daughter paid their own insurance
and bought their own cars too.
Stop spoiling the kid and make her get a job and pay for her own stuff!
You are the pyschiatrist, don't let a 16-yr-old kid get the better of you!
The next thing is you'll be saying she expects you to pay for a fancy
college education too, ha ha
Lolly
and bought their own cars too.
Stop spoiling the kid and make her get a job and pay for her own stuff!
You are the pyschiatrist, don't let a 16-yr-old kid get the better of you!
The next thing is you'll be saying she expects you to pay for a fancy
college education too, ha ha
Lolly
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Mack.Hoover
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You can survive this.
I lived through some frightening teen age driving scenarios: my own, my fiance's, my two daughters' and my son's. And I was with my sixty-some sister for her first driving test. I can name the make and model of car for each!
Insurrance costs went from zero to untenable in so few years!
Where's fair?
Once an apology was good enough.
Now they'll sue you for more'n you're worth.
Once we thought we had it rough,
Now you're in debt till death from birth.
I lived through some frightening teen age driving scenarios: my own, my fiance's, my two daughters' and my son's. And I was with my sixty-some sister for her first driving test. I can name the make and model of car for each!
Insurrance costs went from zero to untenable in so few years!
Where's fair?
Once an apology was good enough.
Now they'll sue you for more'n you're worth.
Once we thought we had it rough,
Now you're in debt till death from birth.
Dale - I checked out your (teen driving) website, it's great! I'm currently teaching my daughter to drive - your sample contract looks like a good springboard for discussion.
Oh, and since the article was in the New York Times, you're lucky they didn't identify you as Hale Woosley of Birmingham, England.
Oh, and since the article was in the New York Times, you're lucky they didn't identify you as Hale Woosley of Birmingham, England.
DON'T MAKE ME COME BACK THERE!!DaleWisely wrote:Nanohedron wrote:
Why do I feel like I'm driving with the two of you in the back seat, making faces and poking each other? Both of you! Sit by your own windows and don't make a move, or I'm stopping this car right now.
I mean it.
CRANBERRY STARTED IT!!
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which is least known--Montaigne
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light
--Plato
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light
--Plato
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jim_mc
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