Car tips - Here Are Some Things Your Teenager Should Know
As we parents grow older, our concerns also expand. One of the things most of us dread is the time our child (or children!) starts whining for their own car “to go places.” This means a lot of things to us; increase in our car insurance payments, added worry whenever our child takes that car out of the garage; and their late night romps around town with their friends.
To make sure that your teenager is ready for the driving public – and to ensure that the driving public is ready for your child – here are some thing you should discuss with your teenager before you give him or her keys to the car.
1. Driver’s Education is essential. Schools offer this at a cheaper price than outside driving institutions. However, you might be pleasantly surprised that some of the more elite driving course specialists are recognized by the insurance company providing for your vehicles. If this is the case, you might want to enroll your child into one of the more expensive driving crash courses. The savings you get for your teenage driver’s insurance is more than enough to cover about a thousand dollars in lessons. Besides, your child will no doubt learn more driving skills at these schools as the trainers may even be professional race car drivers.
2. Car insurance is higher for teenagers. Remind your child that your family’s car insurance premiums will inevitably rise to great proportions once s/he starts driving. You could introduce the idea of him or her paying for his own insurance but if you think that too harsh, you can just take out a bit off his allowance to add to the payments you make. Additionally, inform your teenager that once he gets tickets or gets involved in an accident, the insurance company will not care whose fault it was, the insurance will skyrocket and you would probably revoke driving privileges for a time.
3. You or some other mature adult will be riding shotgun with your child for a couple of months after getting his license before he can drive alone. Try easy driving first even if he aced his test on Driver’s Ed. Be there as your child takes his car on short trips and observe whether your child is ready for the responsibility that driving entails. If at any point you feel that your child is too immature to handle the pressures and pleasures of driving, feel free to make him give up the car until he matures.
4. Tell your child that there will be no sports cars in his future until he gets his own job and can afford his own auto loan. Sports cars are not only a temptation for your child to over speed; it is also an attention grabber and may put your child in various risky situations. For instance, the car may be an easy target for theft. Besides, insurance coverage for sports cars are definitely more expensive than the alternatives.
See: Gas Credit Card
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