This Grandma had a used car for the second daughter. However, newer safety features were not in the car, so it was traded up for a car with the newest safety features that really make a difference, considering how many teenagers are involved in car accidents. Safety is a primary concern for new drivers in the family. Unfortunately, our family personally experienced a death of a close teenage friend of one of our children. We had a contract we used with our teenage children that I found in a Dear Abbey column. It provided, among other things, that our child had to offer to sit in the back, not in the passenger seat if there were more than three in the car. This Grandma easily found a version on line but the version found did not include this last sentence. This Grandma would add it.
The contract can be varied to be a passenger contract for a child when the child might be a passenger in a car driven another teenager.
“DRIVING CONTRACT”
“I ( ), on this day, do agree to the stipulations stated below rendering me the privilege of driving my parents’ cars. If, at any time, I violate the said agreement, the driving privileges will be forfeited to the extent and degree of violation.
1. Should I get a traffic violation ticket, I agree to pay for the ticket as well as the difference in the insurance premium for as long as the premium is in effect.
2. I agree to pay for damages that I incur not covered by insurance.
3. At no time will I ever drink alcoholic beverages and drive at the same time, nor will there be any liquor or beer in the car at any time.
4. I will never transport more passengers than there are seat belts, and will not drive the car until all passengers have buckled up.
5. I will keep the car that I drive clean, inside and out, and be aware of its needs for gas, oil, etc., plus wax the car once a month.
I have read the above agreement and do sign this in accordance with the rules.
Signed,
( ) Child ( ) Parent ( ) Parent Date: ( )”
Grandpa was a lucky grandchild. His Grandparents left money specifically for him to buy his first car. If grandparents are so inclined, the grandchild will fondly remember forever that the grandparent provided this luxury for a grandchild. On December 19, 2015, the New York Times had an article that “[m]odern safety features in cars can help drivers avoid accidents, but parents don’t have to buy a new car to get those systems. Many used cars have them,” at this site.
In “How Much Car Do You Buy to Keep Your Teenager Safe?,” the author, Ron Lieber, gives the statistics on why to be concerned about safety features. Mr. Lieber gives enough information in the article to scare anyone who has a new teenage driver, so read the entire article if you are interested or need to convince the other grandparent or the parents of the grandchildren about why the newest safety features should figure into a car purchase for a teenager. He gives specific makes and models of used cars and also tips for buying a car for a teenager, saying a new car is not a necessity. Here are some of his best tips:
GET A CAR WITH FORWARD COLLISION AND LANE DEPARTURE WARNINGS and AUTOMATIC APPLICATION OF BRAKES
He wrote, “[f]rom 2013 to 2014, in certain Honda Crosstours and Accords that have forward collision and lane departure warnings, there was a 12 percent reduction in the frequency of claims for property damage liability, a 27 percent reduction in bodily injury liability, and a 22 percent reduction in medical payments compared with cars that lacked the equipment but were otherwise the same.”
“When the Subaru Forester, Legacy and Outback had the safety equipment, plus a few extra features, the property damage liability claim frequency was 15 percent lower and bodily injury liability frequency 35 percent lower than the same vehicles that lacked the gear.”
See under the first Insurance Institute heading below about the automatic application of brakes.
LIST OF CHOICES PROVIDED
Mr. Lieber said, that at his request, “Edmunds.com made a spreadsheet of all the possibilities from the 2012-14 model years. There are several dozen. Start there and scan the list for companies with a good history of reliability and brand names that meet your own family’s definition of modesty or don’t set off the overindulgence meter.”
Find the list here:
GO TO INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY’S WEBSITE
According to Mr. Lieber, “[t]he next stop in the search should be the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s website, which has more detailed information on crash avoidance systems for every make and model. The site explains that the 2013 Legacy doesn’t just have a forward collision warning system but it also will automatically apply the brakes if the driver does not.” Find the website here.
GO TO INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY RATINGS FOR FRONT CRASH AVOIDANCE SYSTEMS
According to Mr. Lieber, “[t]he final stop in the hunt is the insurance group’s safety ratings for each vehicle’s front crash avoidance systems. Click on the new version of the vehicle you’re looking for and use the drop-down menus on the top right of the next page to find the model year. The 2013 Subaru rates ”superior,” the highest ranking, for its system.”
Find this at this link.
When a teenager wants a car, he or she is going on styling and color. We can work backwards and review all of the above to see if the desired used car is the best for safety limit the choices to the ones that are best for safety. Go to:
INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY’S SAFE AND AFFORDABLE UPDATED USED CAR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEENAGERS
This was published October 2015 at this site.
Okay, this Grandma did not want to scare anyone unnecessarily but Mr. Lieber said “[m]ale drivers ages 15 to 20 are involved in more than two times the number of fatal crashes as female drivers the same age.” That does not mean our granddaughters are safe as many will be driving with teenage boys. It does mean checking out the car the teenage boys have too!
Our son-in-law was given a used Volvo when he began to drive. Guess what is number one on the list of safe used cars! Volvo! It is listed under “large” cars. It may not be sleek, sexy, or attractive to teens, but this Grandma thinks that she will look more kindly on any teenage boy trying to date our granddaughter whose parents are smart enough to have the teenage boy drive a used Volvo. It may be that this Grandma has to convince the parents of the grandchildren to buy one for themselves for the grandchildren to learn on, get used to, and maybe hand down to the grandchild.
In the meantime, this Grandma will share this article with the parents of our school aged grandchildren. If this Grandma, after reading Mr. Lieber’s article and looking at the recommended websites, could have her wish, all the parents would NOW be driving our grandchildren in Volvos.
Joy,
Mema
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