Lets get the painful part of this topic over with first, horrific statistics! Young drivers are three times as likely to die in car accidents as opposed to 25 to 64 year-olds; the younger the driver, the more car accidents. Car crashes continue to be the number one of death for 15 to 20 year-olds. Now that we are done with these bleak statistics, face it, there are many teenage drivers on the road. I began driving as a teenager and learned to be a better and safer drive with time and experience. As bad as the teenage driving statistics might be and hold truth, we all have to start somewhere.

I myself am a parent of a teenager who will turn 15 and a half years-old soon. What I have done to prepare myself and my child is more emotional than educational. For example, as my child encounters obstacles dealing with emotions, we talk it through and use it as a maturing and developmental opportunity. A lot of it revolves around responsibilities and being careful. This is easier said than done because the hormones double, triple, quadruple the emotions! It never gets easier, but I think of it as growing pains, we’ll only come out stronger and better. Thinking back to teenage years, it was rough, full of emotions while our bodies and brains are still under construction.

I think that by the time my child meets the minimum age requirement for driver’s ed and begins the process of getting a drivers license, I would feel somewhat comfortable, relatively speaking, that my child has a good sense of responsibility and safety. As always, hoping that our efforts pay off because driving at first is very scary. How can any parent not be petrified by the teenage driving statistics? I think what it really takes for parents to put their teenage child behind the wheel is a long process of preparation and growing with the child that happens years before the magical (or terrifying) age of 15 and a half years-old.

Yes, here comes the monetary factor, insurance premiums. Yay, hooray…not! It pains me, in a different way, to think of my insurance premium increasing by 50% to 100% just by adding my child. I understand the logic behind higher rates for teenage drivers, but the cost increase is absolutely ridiculous! No doubt, I will have to take advantage of any and every discount I can find for my child and do my homework on insurance agencies.

After searching and reading various sources of information on how to reduce insurance premiums, my conclusion is that I will assign my child to a specific car on my insurance policy. In other words, my child will only be allowed and covered to drive one car and not all the cars on the policy for our family. We will sign up for driver’s ed class as soon as possible, as an introduction to driving and also squeezing in discounts on insurance—a whopping 5%-15% can be dropped from taking this class! Lastly, my child will continue getting good grades to fulfill the good student discount. Fortunately, I have a spare car at home that was built in the early 90s for my child to drive—it’s a sedan which will also help drop the insurance rates. Lastly, I think it is critical to continue with some sort of driver’s ed as teenagers remain on the road to remind them of the mechanics and safety of driving.