Teen Will Drive Soon

Teen Drivers and Their Safety

It seems like a “right of passage” from childhood into becoming an adult. Your little boy or girl turns 17 and MUST have a car because everyone in school has one. Teens crave the freedom away from Mom and Dad, acceptance by their peers and the ability to show off (with the right vehicle of course!).

Teen Driving Statistics

Road crashes involving young people have long been recognized as a major health and safety problem in Canada and around the world.  The over-representation of youth in serious collisions has led to numerous initiatives aimed at reducing their deaths and injuries on the highways.

This report examines the current magnitude and characteristics of the problem in Canada and trends in it over the past several decades.  For example, consider these facts:

• Young people have the highest death and injury rates (number of  deaths/injuries per 100,000 population) of any age group.
• One-third of the deaths as well as 1/3 of the injuries that occur to young people each year is the result of road crashes.
• Over 700 young people (15 / 24) are killed each year in road crashes in Canada and a further 50,000 are injured, many seriously. These totals include some 350 teens (aged 15 -19) killed and 24,000 injured, as well as 350  (20 / 24) year olds killed and 26,000 injured.

These numbers make road crashes the leading cause of death among young people, outstripping suicide and other accidents.  Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of hospital admissions among youth and the second leading cause of emergency room visits.

Not surprisingly, young people contribute substantially to the total number of deaths and injuries on the roads each year in Canada; they account for 1/4 of all the deaths and injuries.  That’s why it is so important for teens to educate themselves and to drive safely.

Driver Education

Learners are required to have a Learner’s license for at least one year and to be at least 16 years of age before they can take a road test. A Class 5 Graduated Driver’s License will be issued once a learner has completed a Basic Road Test. An advanced road test can be taken once a person has 2 years of driving experience and the driver has been suspension free for 12 consecutive months.

Canadian Fraud Laws and car insurance

Insurance statistics show that since the youthful driver is 2.5 times more likely to have an accident than a typical adult driver, there will be a higher premium charged when the youthful driver is added to the parents policy.

There is a temptation then to “forget” to add the new driver to the auto policy or not list the new driver on your renewal questionnaire in order to save money even though the child is driving Mom or Dad’s car. We caution you against this practice.

Insurance-Friendly Cars For Teens

The decision is made. You want to buy your son or daughter their first car. It will be in your name and properly added to your policy. But what to buy? You know it’s not only the car model you have to consider. You also have to think about the impact the car will have on your car insurance.

Insurance companies surcharge youthful operators in three areas:

• Liability
• Comprehensive (theft)
• Collision (damage caused to the vehicle in an accident)

If you choose a vehicle that may be older, and does not require comprehensive or collision (a lower value vehicle) the premium will be considerably less than a newer one which will require full coverage.

Because we represent many different companies, your Alpine Insurance broker can help you make the right decision when buying that first car for your teenager.