Driving Safety and Teen Car Insurance: Advice from a Pinellas Park Area Kia Dealer

May 19, 2013

The majority of US teenagers cannot wait until they are old enough to get behind the steering wheel. They see driving as their ticket to freedom. The parents of teenagers, on the other hand, often dread the day when their baby is old enough to drive around town on their own and are concerned for their safety. Parents are also torn over whether or not their teenager should pay for their own car and insurance, or if they should pay for it for them. Your Pinellas Park area Kia dealership offers the following advice for keeping teenagers safe on the roads and what to do about cars and insurance:

Safety Starts With Good Examples

If you want your teenagers to make good decisions when it is their turn to drive, you need to make safe driving decisions when they’re in the car with you. They are watching and learning driving habits long before they’re old enough to drive themselves, even if you think they aren’t paying attention. Don’t use your cell phone while driving, don’t experience road rage, and obey speed limits and driving laws if you hope your teenagers will do the same.

Driving Practice

Don’t send your teenagers out on the road without adequate driving practice. It is only by experiencing different driving situations that they learn what to do in those situations. Have your teenager drive with you in the car as often as you can before they get their license or have permission to drive alone, so you can point out what they’re doing correctly and what they need to improve. Try to give your teenager experience driving on country roads, in the city, on the highway, and have them practice parking, three-point turns, and backing up.

If your schedule doesn’t allow for a lot of time driving with your teenager, enroll them in a driving course so they get to drive with an experienced driver.

Cars and Car Insurance for Teenagers

Some parents want their teenagers to learn financial responsibility and feel the car and car insurance is a good place to start. Others feel they will have their entire adult lives to worry about finances and that they should provide the car and insurance for the teenager. Regardless of the decision you make, keep in mind that many car insurance companies will provide discounts to students who demonstrate good grades. While having your teen pay for his or her own insurance and/or car can be a good life-lesson, the disadvantage is it will require your teenager to work and the part time job around school hours may interfere with their ability to participate in sports or extracurriculars often necessary for college admissions.