Are teens becoming better drivers?

Teen drivers have always been saddled with a bad reputation when it comes to driving. But could this be changing? A recent US study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) hints that it may be, which is good news for teens and parents alike.

According to the study, in 2005, 3,889 teens aged 16-19 were killed on US roads and an estimated 1.9 million were involved in police-reported crashes. So where's the good news you ask? Fair enough, however these numbers show there were 8 per cent fewer deaths and 20 per cent fewer police-reported crashes than occurred 10 years earlier in 1996. Most of the progress was noted, according to the report, in states where graduated licensing was a reality.

What's graduated licensing have to do with it? Well, according to one of the study's authors, they "didn't set out to evaluate the effectiveness of graduated licensing laws, but found the findings were consistent with the increased presence of such laws". You can speculate that graduated licensing allows beginners to learn skills and practice under lower risk conditions.

All provinces in Canada have some form of graduated licensing, although each province's rules, restrictions and stages will vary. Typically, novice drivers are limited to when, where and with whom they can drive. However, as you move through each stage, you are subject to fewer restrictions.

So has it worked in Canada as well as it has in the US? Here's what Kanetix found:

According to Transport Canada's 2005 Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics brochure--

• The under-20 age bracket represents 4.9% of all licensed drivers
• Of the drivers killed in 2005, this group accounted for 9.1% of the fatalities
• Of the drivers seriously injured, this group represented 11.4% of the total

Of course, finding the same information for the year 1993 (the year before any graduated licensing was implemented) for an apples-to-apples comparison was tough. However, we found another Transport Canada report (the 2005 Annual Report on Road Safety Vision 2010) which suggests that as of 2004, "Both traffic-related deaths (down by 13.6%) and serious injuries (down by 11.9%) among this age group of drivers have decreased substantially over comparable 1996-2001 figures."

While fewer teen driver deaths and injuries is great news, the fact is the under-20 group is still over represented in collisions where there is a fatality or serious injury. After all, this group only represents 4.9 per cent of all Canadian drivers, yet according to Transport Canada's report, this group is seven times more likely to be killed in a crash than the general driving population.

This is part of the reason why, when a teen gets their licence for the first time and is looking for auto insurance coverage, they (or their parents) are often taken aback. After all, insurance is meant to cover the worst case scenario, which when there is a teen involved, unfortunately, is more likely to happen. As a result, insurance companies will generally charge more when there is a teen driver on a policy.

There are ways to save money

As a teen driver, or parent of a teenage driver, there are ways to ensure you are getting the best teen car insurance rate.

Complete an approved driver-training course
New drivers can receive significant discounts off their insurance for the first 3 years they are licensed if they have driver training. It's a good thing to consider, since your insurance savings are usually greater than the cost of the course.

Start off as an occasional driver
Typically, teens start off by being listed as an occasional driver on their parent's vehicle to get those ever-valuable years of experience. As you get a few years under your belt, the cost of your insurance coverage decreases if your driving record is accident and ticket-free.

Drive carefully
Obvious, but true (and worth repeating.) Your driving record is based on the number of years you've been licensed to drive and your number of convictions or at-fault accidents. If you keep your driving record blemish-free, your premium will be lower than if you've had a conviction or accident. In a nutshell, the better your driving record, the lower your insurance rates.

Shop around for your coverage
Too many people pay too much for their auto insurance coverage for one simple reason; they do not shop around. Sure, you should get a quote from the insurer your family currently deals with, but don't stop there because there may be other insurance companies that are "teen-friendly" and will offer you a better rate.

Don't pay more than you have to-shop around for a car insurance policy that affordably offers coverage to teen drivers.

Looking for more interesting information about drivers in Canada?

• Read: A "crash" course for drivers in Canada
• Read: So you think you can drive?
• Read: Women are better drivers