The subject of teen driving causes great concern among parents, and for good reason: well over 50 percent of new teen drivers in Massachusetts have an accident in the first two years of operating a vehicle.
Aside from the concerns about their child’s safety, parents should address a number of auto insurance questions when their teens begin driving.
1. Preparing for your teen driver. Massachusetts law requires that you add your child to your insurance when they get their license. You should begin the conversation with your insurance agent when your teen brings home their learner’s permit.
2. Cost factors: experience, driving record, residence, type and age of vehicle. Insurance rates depend on different factors, including experience and driving record, type and age of vehicle, and where you live. Generally, it costs a significant amount to add a teen driver to your insurance policy. With accidents extremely common for new drivers, it may be worth paying a higher premium for a lower deductible.
3. Choosing a car for your teen. SUVs have a higher accident rate than 4-door sedans. An SUV’s higher center of gravity makes it more prone to roll-over accidents and its size can give teens a false sense of confidence.
Smaller two-door cars, while better on gas, have a higher rate of serious injuries with accidents. Newer cars with ABS brakes and air bags have fewer serious injury accidents. Most cars built prior to 1994 did not have dual air bags. Most cars built after 2000 have multiple side and front air bags. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has current safety ratings at http://www.iihs.org/ratings/.
4. Know the Massachusetts law. If your child is under 18, they have a junior operator’s license. For the first six months, they cannot drive friends unless they have a licensed driver over the age of 21 in the front seat with them.
Until they are 18, they are not permitted to drive between 12:30 and 5 a.m. unless accompanied by a parent. Penalties for violating these restrictions are a 60-day license suspension and a $100 fine the first time.
You and your teen will want to be familiar with the major penalties in Massachusetts for any kind of moving violation. In addition to the fine for their first speeding violation, your junior operator (1) immediately loses their license for 90 days, (2) must pass both the learner’s permit and road tests again, (3) incurs a $500 license reinstatement fee, (4) is required to take a $75 Driver Attitudinal Retraining Course, and (5) must take a $75 State Courts Against Road Rage course.
Make sure your child understands these serious ramifications of driving too fast just one time. Go to the Massachusetts RMV’s junior operator webpage for more details at http://www.mass.gov/rmv/jol/.
5. Advanced driving courses are recommended. Even after their teen receives their driver’s license, many parents still set limitations or continue riding along until they are confident that their child is ready for the road.
Advanced driving courses are recommended, and some agencies provide discounts on these courses to our clients because it is shown to make a difference in the number of accidents that teens have. Additionally, some insurance carriers offer discounts on auto insurance for young drivers who have completed advanced driver training.
6. Focus on safety at all times. Visit the National Organization for Youth Safety Web site for more information on how to help teens play it safe: http://noys.org/national_youth_traffic_safety_month_toolk
it.aspx.
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