Cheap Car Insurance for Teens Rises with New Graduated Licenses
By: Justin Vasquez, Car Insurance Analyst
CheaperCarInsurance.com
New York City has decided to change the way they license young people to drive. From now on, teen drivers in the city will be required to log 50 hours of practice with an adult in the car before they can receive their junior license. The change is part of a move toward the graduated license program that has been proven to drop by 38% the number of deadly crashes involving 16 year olds. This should help increase the availability of cheap car insurance for teens, as well.
17 year old drivers with their junior license will not be allowed to drive with more than one teenage friend in the vehicle. They are also banned from driving between 9 pm and 5 am. Studies have shown that teens with multiple friends in the car tend to become more distracted when driving.
Why Are Teens Crashing?
While the biggest reason that teen drivers are so dangerous on the road is merely lack of experience, it’s just one part of why young drivers crash more. In 2008 in New York, nearly 14,000 accidents involved 16-17year old drivers. That’s a much higher number than adults who had been driving for at least 2-5 years.
Other common reasons for teenage accidents include:
- Texting while driving
- Having several friends in the vehicle
- Drinking and driving, particularly around big events like prom
- Driving at night with poor visibility
- Dares from friends
Car insurance companies rarely offer cheap car insurance for teens because of the higher risks involved with young and beginning drivers.
Will the Graduated License System Work?
The graduated system of licensing has been in use for a while in many states. It can take as long as five years to get an unrestricted license in some places, depending on how many stages the licensing has. While this is bad news for the teens that want to head on the highway immediately, it has been proven to work.
How does the new system function to prevent problems when it comes to teen drivers?
- Having an adult in the car for more hours ensures immediate feedback
- Most accidents occur at night, so no driving then prevents over 50% of accidents
- It eliminates many distractions by forbidding multiple friends in the vehicle
The Controversy
One of the biggest controversies in New York City at the moment is the fact that graduated licensing doesn’t apply to those students who have taken drivers’ education classes. Anyone over 17 who has completed a class will be able to get their complete, unrestricted license immediately.
Some safety experts say that the training isn’t enough to prevent the accidents that are so common among teens. However, the fact is that the studies done have proven this system reduces the number of fatalities caused by inexperienced teen driving, which means it is worth implementing.
The graduated system could also have a positive impact on finances, with cheap car insurance for teens becoming available when the system is proven.
Posted: May 12, 2010
