OAI: Auto Insurance Survey Shows Need for Parents to Set Better Example Behind the Wheel

    RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA, October 21, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- A new State Farm survey showing that a high percentage of parents use cellphones in the car--even when behind the wheel or while giving their teenage children driving lessons--demonstrates just how easy it can be to let safe driving habits slip, according to Online Auto Insurance (OAI).

Teenage motorists are already considered high risks, which is evidenced by the difficulty families have trying to find affordable car insurance for 16 year old drivers. And parents' inadvertently sending the message that distracted driving is OK could hurt young motorists' ideas of safe driving practices and make them even greater risks on the road.

Driver distractions--including talking or texting on a cellphone, chatting with passengers and applying makeup--play a role in more than 1.5 million vehicle crashes a year, according to federal safety officials. And experts say that teenagers' mix of inexperience and immaturity makes them more susceptible than most to distraction.

One in three teen deaths is the result of a vehicle crash, making accidents the leading cause of death for that age group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5941.pdf

Parents who use their phones in the car are setting a very bad example for their offspring.

But according to the survey from State Farm, more than 60 percent of teens say their folks have used a cellphone on at least one occasion while giving them driving lessons. And more than half the young people surveyed said their parents talk on the phone while in the driver's seat, as well.

Not all the statistics are gloomy, however.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs--which put teens through a longer and more challenging process in order to earn driving privileges--have had a marked effect on decreasing deaths and injuries.

The CDC reports that the number of 16- and 17-year-old motorists involved in fatal crashes fell by 36 percent between 2004 and 2008. The federal agency attributes much of that change to state GDL programs, which limit driving at night and place restrictions on passengers, among other requirements.

An Allstate Insurance survey released last month found that about 80 percent of parents support GDL laws and 81 percent said those state laws made it easier for them to enforce driving rules with their children.

To learn more about this and other coverage and car insurance issues, go to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/learn/how-much-is-car-insurance-16-year-old.htm where you will find informative resource pages and a rate-comparison generator that can quickly evaluate a range of coverage options.

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