Teaching Your Teen Vehicle Orientation and Maintenance

Before starting to drive perform a quick safety check of the vehicle. Now is a good time to have a brief discussion about vehicle maintenance. Explain basic maintenance items such as when oil changes are due and proper tire inflation. Verify that all lights and turn signals are functioning properly and free of obstruction.

Safety Tip: For emergency purposes, teach your teen to keep at least ¼ tank of gas in the car at all times. You do not want them running out of gas in an unsafe area. Additionally, you will avoid the frustration of having to unexpectedly stop for gas when your teen has been driving your car.

Safety Tip: Hazard lights. Make sure your teen knows how to locate and turn on the hazard lights in each of your cars!

Familiarize your teen with the location and operation of the vehicle controls. It is important that your teen is comfortable in the driver’s seat. Today’s newer cars are capable of adjusting the seat, mirrors, steering wheel, brake pedal and accelerator. Review proper operation of the heater, air conditioning, cruise control and wiper blades. Safety Tip: Hazard lights. Make sure your teen knows how to locate and turn on the hazard lights in each of your cars!

Explain the dashboard gauges and their purpose. Taking the time to explain the gauges will help maintain the vehicle in proper working condition. Furthermore, it may save you a large repair bill. After all, the time for your teen to understand the temperature gauge is not after the car has overheated! A good habit to form is maintaining a mileage log. The log should detail the date, miles on the vehicle, the number of gallons of gas added and the miles per gallon obtained on the prior tank of gas. When the gas mileage decreases it is an early warning signal that the engine needs maintenance.

I strongly recommend that you have your teen change a tire before he/she obtains their license. With the prevalence of cell phones, many parents assume their teen can call them or AAA for assistance. Depending on the location and time of day, it may take 2-3 hours before assistance can arrive.Safety Tip: Tire jacks can KILL! Practice with them the proper use and ‘placement of the jack”. People die from this every year. Don’t forget to show them how to chock the tires.

Safety Tip: It is very dangerous to change a tire on the highway. Call the state police to assure drivers move over and the safety of your teen.

Safety Tip: Maintain an Emergency kit in the trunk complete with: flares, a flashlight and batteries. Practice lighting flares.

Insurance Tip: Roadside Service is part of the Teensurance Program from Safeco. Help will be dispatched to help change tires or even deliver gas!

Hope this helps your family and brings everyone home safely! Please call our office anytime with any questions 256-765-2200

"Trunking" - The Latest Dangers to Teens

As I was doing my research for this month's issue of my Driver’s Seat e-newsletter, I came across an article about the latest killer of teens. We all know that car accidents are the number one killer of teens in the US. Now there is a trend going across the country that is adding to the danger of a teen behind the wheel and it's referred to as "Trunking".

As a teen, I remember hearing about kids in school that would climb into a trunk to sneak into a drive-in movie. Of course, I would never partake in such an act. But today, now that the drive-in movie is obsolete, there's another reason why kids are doing this.

Almost every state in the country now has laws limiting the number of passengers during the first few years of a teen driver's experience. These laws were passed to reduce the distractions in the car that have been proven to cause so many accidents. In order to circumvent these laws, kids are now packing themselves in the trunk of the car to be able to go with their friends. The worst part is that they will stay in the trunk while being driven all over town and even beyond.

The dangers are obvious to us and include suffocation, carbon monoxide poisoning, heat exposure, freezing, being crushed or thrown out of the car as a result of an accident. You can just imagine how dangerous this could be for your child.

So what do you do? First explain the dangers and then define the consequences/punishment of this type of action. If your child is guilty, take away driving privileges and inform all the involved kids' parents of the act. You'll also want to pass this article on to other parents, just to let them know what kids are up to these days, so they can proactively counsel against it.

To sign up for a free subscription to my e-newletter, Driver’s Seat, visit my website at www.TeenDriverInsurance.com/AllAmerican and register for VIP Access. You’ll also be able to learn more about how you can best protect your family.

Ask any parent...

Ask any parent who has just added a kid to the family's insurance policy and they'll tell you how expensive it is to have a teen behind the wheel. But the overall cost of teen driving is as tragic as it is staggering.

According to a recent report from AAA, car accidents involving drivers 15 to 17 cost society more than $34 billion in medical expenses, property damage and related costs in 2006. AAA also reports, in 2006 drivers ages 15 to 17 were involved in approximately 974,000 crashes that injured 406,427 people and killed 2,541. Here are more sobering statistics:

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among U.S. teens, accounting for 36 percent of all deaths in this age group.

The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group, and per-miles-driven teens ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash, says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Risk is highest at age 16, and the crash rate per miles driven is twice as high for 16 year olds as it is for 18 and 19 year olds, according to the IIHS.

IIHS statistics show that 16- and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger.

Parents can reduce the high cost of insuring their teen drivers. There are special discounts that can really make a big difference in how much you will have to pay for your teen to drive. Some of these discounts include:

1. Good Student- If you teen driver has a "B" average or better, you can save up to 10%.
2. Multi-policy- If you insure your home and cars with the same company, you can save up to 15% on both policies
3. GPS Teen Driver Monitoring System- There is one company that offers a 15% discount for installing this unit in the teen driver's car
4. Safe Driver- If your family has a clean driving and claims record, you can save up to 15%
5. Good credit- Some companies reward responsible customers based on their credit. This can be very significant and can save you as much as 35%.

The bottom line is that the most responsible families will pay the lowest premium. Stress to your teen that avoiding tickets and accidents is most critical to not only keeping your insurance rates down, but of course, assure the safety of your teen driver and others. You can learn more about ways to save on your insurance and how you can keep your teen safe by calling Toll-free at 866-765-2200.

Three Keys to Greatness by Jim Rohn

"Jim Rohn is maybe the greatest business philosophers of all time. I get his weekly ezines, receive and read many of his books, and listen to many of his cds and tapes. Below is a simple little plan, if followed that can lead you to anything that you desire in life. Jim has always believed in teaching children at an early age to follow some of these awesome principles... Enjoy and Apply!!!!"

Thanks,

Bill Gough

Three Keys to Greatness by Jim Rohn

Eight years ago I went into the studio and recorded a 56-minute video for teenagers called "Three Keys To Greatness." Although my focus was for teenagers, the principles I shared certainly apply to adults as well.

Here's a list of these three things using one to two sentences for each covered in the DVD. For your benefit here they are:

1) Setting Goals. I call it the view of the future. Most people, including kids, will pay the price if they can see the promise of the future. So we need to help our kids see a well-defined future, so they will be motivated to pay the price today to attain the rewards of tomorrow. Goals help them do this.

2) Personal Development. Simply making consistent investments in our self-education and knowledge banks pays major dividends throughout our lives. I suggest having a minimum amount of time set aside for reading books, listening to audiocassettes, attending seminars, keeping a journal and spending time with other successful people. Charlie "Tremendous’ Jones says you will be in five years the sum total of the books you read and the people you are around.

3) Financial Planning. I call it the 70/30 plan. After receiving your paycheck or paying yourself, simply setting aside 10% for saving, 10% for investing and 10% for giving, and over time this will guarantee financial independence for a teenager.

If a young person, or for that matter an adult, focused on doing these three simple things over a long period of time I believe they will be assured success!

Talking to Other Parents

Talking to other parents of teens lets you discuss what’s worked and what hasn’t. It’s a way of sharing experiences with someone facing the same issue as you. Here are some ideas for discussing teen safe driving with other parents:

• Find out what rules and consequences other parents have established-and share your own. (You’ll be able to see real-life examples as you fill out each section of the Allstate Parent-Teen Driving Contract.) Talk about driving rules with other parents the same way you’d talk about parties, alcohol use or curfews.
• Talk to other parents in your community about setting common driving rules. It’s much easier to be an effective parent when you have the support of other parents in your community.
• Ask other parents how they coach their teens-what do they say to their friends if they think those friends are not driving safely? Or if a friend is drinking and driving?
• Work together to help make sure all teens in your community are safe. Have an agreement with other parents to take away a teen’s car keys, call the parents, call a taxi or allow the teen to sleep over if they shouldn’t be driving. And agree that none of you will let a teen leave your house and get behind the wheel if you suspect they’ve been drinking.
• Get teen driving on the agenda at the next parent-teacher meeting at school.

For more help on teen driving safety, please visit my web site at www.TeenDriverInsurance.com/AllAmerican.

Making Your Teen a "Smart Driver"

Good parents want their children to be able to tackle all of life’s challenges. Learning to drive is among the most important of those challenges. Parents need to play an active role in the process.

Talk to your teen early and often. Discuss the risks and responsibilities of driving when kids are young - and keep talking to them before, during and after the licensing process to ensure they learn successful, safe driving skills. Give these discussions the same priority as you would discussions about smoking, sex or drugs.

Don't rush things. Just because your teen has a permit or license it doesn’t mean they’re ready for every driving condition. Practice with them in empty parking lots or on side streets. Practice at night, in traffic and in adverse weather conditions. Keep in mind that if they do have an accident, it might not be their fault. The fact is, our brains are still developing through the teenage years and don't reach full maturity until our 20s.

Make sure you’re familiar with your state’s laws (they’ve probably changed since you learned to drive). Many states have enacted laws to help new drivers get on-the-road driving experience under lower-risk conditions, protecting them while they are learning. Know what your state’s requirements are and establish your own rules for when, where, how and with whom your teen may drive.

Practice what you preach. If you speed, roll through stop signs, make rude gestures at other drivers or chat on your cell phone behind the wheel, your teen is likely to do the same.

For more help on teen driving safety, please visit my web site at www.TeenDriverInsurance.com/AllAmerican.

Talking About Safe Driving

Start the Conversation - Teaching Your Teen to Drive

When’s the best time to talk about safe driving? Right now. Research shows that too many parents put off the conversation until their teens are “permit age” (generally 15). The other big ‘talks’- as in smoking, drugs, sex - usually take place much earlier. But the consequences of unsafe driving can be deadly, so the earlier you have the conversation, the better. Here are some tips to help the discussion. The conversation shouldn’t end once your teen has their license. How they drive during those first few months sets the pattern for all future driving. This web site is a great resource for you to keep the conversation going. Talk with your teen, not at them. Remember, they’re excited about driving. It’s a fun topic for them. If your teen feels they can share their views, their experiences and their excitement about driving with you, things may go a lot more smoothly. Being a “safe driver” is not something teens dream of becoming. But becoming a “smart driver” does appeal to them. The same goes for becoming a “skilled driver.” So concentrate on them learning to drive well and prepare them well for adverse driving situations such as rain, snow, and glare. Don’t be afraid to be parental. You’re still the authority figure they most admire. Your job is to provide structure for your teens. They won’t ever say so, but it’s what teens want and what they need—a parent, not a friend. Don’t balk at enforcing the guidelines. A consequence is not a consequence unless you enforce it. Taking away your teen’s driving privileges for a week or a month may not be convenient for you, but it might just save their life.