What kind of example am I setting?

Image via Wikipedia We've all seen those drivers swerving like there were bumper pads along the side of the road. When we finally get the nerve to pass them, one of the most commons sights today is a young driver frantically texting someone on their cell phone.

I'll mutter under my breath (or sometimes quite above my breath), "what in the world are they doing. Do they have a death wish?" Then in happened...

The other day I was headed home from my son's soccer practice. Everyone in the car was sweaty and hungry. As I'm driving my phone buzzes. It's my wife emailing to say we're going out for pizza, meet her at the restaurant. I just click reply and... it hit me.

I was carrying my two sons and another player and I was about to do what I tell parents to discourage their teen drivers from doing - send a text message while driving. This led to this post today.

It is easy to tell your teen driver what to do and what not to do. But am I, as a parent, teaching by example or just being a blow hard. People, and ESPECIALLY teenagers, are very aware when someone is talking one way and behaving another.

If you have a teen driver and want them to be safe, responsible, and considerate then don't tell them - show them. I know I will need to work on that, but its worth it.

Will

It all comes down to experience and attitude

Image via Wikipedia
The safety of your teen driver has many factors - many of which you can't control. Things like other drivers, a mechanical malfunction (although these are often preventable too), animals all can lead to your teen driver having an accident or getting hurt. But almost every piece of research available comes to the same conclusions concerning what teens themselves lack:

1) Experience
2) The right attitude

Did you know it is recommended that a new driver get a minimum of 100 supervised hours of training before driving alone? and about 20% of this should occur at night, where conditions are much more conducive accidents.

It is also a good idea to have your teen driver take a driving attitude assessment. This tool allows you to get a grasp of where your teen might be opening himself up for trouble - are they susceptible to road rage, peer pressure, or just plain nervous?

We have two free tools for you to use in these areas. If you would like a FREE copy of our 16 week home study driver course for teens, just click HERE. We also provide a free GPS system and free installation of the system for our clients with teen drivers. With this system you get an online driver assessment report for your teen.

If you have any questions, my office would love to help. Just give us a call at 849-0390.

Thanks!





Other useful articles I found while doing some research:

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• How to get through to teens dying to drive

So what does this teen driver GPS do anyway? Check it out below:

One of our agency partners just had these installed on his 4 teen driver's cars (Yes that is four teen drivers - now you know why he is so happy with this program). I've posted some screen shots below so you can really see how this could help protect your teen driver.
Click the image for a larger, easier to read image.

Here is what it looks like as you set up your parameters:

And here is a sample of what you will see if you need to locate the vehicle:
If you would like more information about how you can get this system delivered and installed for FREE, just visit my website, www.scteendriverinsurance.com. You can listen to a customers testimonial at the top right corner is this site. I think you will definitely see how this can make your teen a safer, more responsible driver.

Till next time,




Will

Hi,

I just received some exciting news from one of our insurance companies. This company has been on the leading edge of teen driver safety and working to reduce the number of accidents involving teen drivers.

Last summer, they launched a new system called Teensurance to help their customers keep their kids safe. This is a GPS based system that is installed in the teen's car and alerts parents of dangerous behaviors such as speeding, driving beyond an allowed territory and breaking curfew.

Well, they just announced that they are now offering this system to any parent that wants to get this system installed in their kid's vehicle. They will pay for the installation and the unit if the parent agrees to a 2 year contract. Similar systems can cost as much as $800.

Here is the very cool part. You don't even have to purchase your insurance through this company. They are making this offer to any parent of a teen driver.

The monthly monitoring fee is only $14.99 per month which gives the parent website access to create and adjust the parameters for the alerts, view the location of the vehicle and it will even allow you to unlock the car doors in case your teen gets locked out.

Along with the GPS system comes roadside assistance and other teen driver safety tools.
If you would like more information, visit my website www.scteendriverinsurance.com or call my office at 864-849-0390

Will

PS Some of our companies are offering special discounts for parents who have this system installed on their teen's car. And as you know, any discount you can get on a teen driver's insurance premium is a good thing.