Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Educating Young Drivers Saves Lives and Money

There is one day in your children's life that you dread the most and they are most excited about; the day they receive their driver's license. Almost everyone knows some young person who has been involved in a serious auto accident. But, what can a parent do to protect his or her offspring? First, it is important to discuss automobile safety. In addition, parents can enroll their prospective teen driver in a driver's education course. This will result in having a better prepared driver and in turn, this will yield lower car insurance costs too.
Who is most likely to crash?
Statistics show that drivers under the age of 25 are most at risk for an automobile accident. In addition, drivers are more likely to crash shortly after receiving their license than at any other time in their driving career. Gender plays a role too; as male drivers are twice as likely as female drivers to be involved in a car accident.
What conditions lead to accidents?
Many teenagers drive older pre-owned vehicles; unfortunately, these cars are not always equipped with the latest safety equipment. Traveling on Friday or Saturday night with several passengers increases a teenager's chance of being involved in a car crash. Finally, inexperienced drivers may not be adequately prepared for precarious driving conditions like rain, sleet or fog.
Where can you learn accident avoidance techniques?
Although nothing can take the place of experience, many teenagers benefit from taking additional driving lessons. Pass Plus is a new driver education course offered by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA). For unlicensed drivers, a driving experience course is offered by the Driving Academy at Mercedes-Benz World. Another option is offered by the Institute of Advanced Motorist (IAM), who presents driver training courses to develop better driving skills.
Why take driver education courses?
Parents can't stop a child from growing up and obtaining a driver's license is one of the growing milestones. Unfortunately, approximately 300 young drivers and their passengers are killed each year in the UK and many more are seriously injured. However, the good news is that young drivers who take additional driver education courses are less likely to be involved in a serious vehicular incident. There is an additional benefit besides savings lives; participants of these courses also receive reduced insurance rates. So parents, before you push your little birds from the nest, enroll them in a driver education course for your peace of mind and peace of wallet.