Site News -
6/4: Advertising Position/Commission Available |
5/10: Members: Log In to See Fewer Ads!
[General |
Members |
C900 |
9000 |
NG900 & OG93 |
93 |
95 |
NG95 |
99 |
Sonett |
Vintage Models |
Clubs |
Other Cars |
FAQs |
Gifts |
Member Photo Galleries |
Member Directory |
Classifieds |
Manuals |
*Buddy Registry |
*Mileage Registry |
Polls |
What's New |
Raffle |
Photo of the Month |
Sponsors]
Near the bottom of the article mentions getting your kid a safe car. ... Taurus, Volvo, Saab...
New Driver, New Car: An Expensive Mix
By JAMES SCHEMBARI
N 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, http://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.
posted by 24.27.36...
_______________________________________
1996 900 Turbo Convertible- Sold
1986 9000- Sold
1995 9000 Aero- Current
Posts in this Thread:
- NY times articl, mike TX
, Mon, 23 Jun 2003 14:05:34 <-- Viewing This Message
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
Post a Followup
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
StateOfNine.com
 |
SaabClub.com
 |
Jak Stoll Performance
 |
M Car Covers
 |
Ad Available
 |
Random Saabnet.com Member Gallery Photos (Click Image)
This is a moderated bulletin board - Posting is a privilege, not a right.
Unsolicited commercial postings are not allowed (no spam). Please, no For Sale or Wanted postings, SERIOUSLY.
Classifieds are to be listed in The Saab Network Classifieds pages.
This is a problem solving forum for over 250,000 Saab owners, so expect to see
problems discussed here even though our cars are generally very reliable. This is not an anything goes
type of forum. Saabnet.com has been a moderated forum since 1988. For usage guidelines, see the
Saabnet.com Mission and Purpose Page. Please remember that you are
not anonymous. Site Contact | Site Donations | Other Sites by SP -
Poverty2Prosperity.org | Run Club Menlo Park | ScreenBot
Site Members do not see red text instructions, bottom of the page anchor ads, or box ads.
Click here to see all
the Site Membership Benefits!
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup