Posted by: Adam McCann

Getting a driver’s license is considered a rite of passage in American culture. But this exciting coming-of-age has instead become a death sentence for thousands of teens each year. Motor-vehicle accidents continue to be the leading cause of death among the population aged 16 to 19, which also happens to be the age group with the highest risk of crashes.

And the financial implications are staggering. Although 15- to 19-year-olds made up only 7 percent of the population in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they racked up 11 percent of all costs resulting from motor-vehicle injuries. That’s not counting the costs of auto maintenance, insurance premiums, possible traffic citations and other vehicular incidents — expenses that can pile up over time.

To help parents ensure their teens’ safety while also safeguarding their finances, WalletHub analyzed the teen-driving environment in each of the 50 states using a collection of 21 key metrics. Our data set ranges from number of teen driver fatalities to average cost of car repairs to presence of impaired-driving laws. Read on for our findings, expert commentary and a full description of our methodology.

1. Main Findings
2. Ask the Experts
3. Methodology

Main Findings Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/4598/geochart-teendrivers.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="https://ift.tt/2y4pZAE>

 

Best States for Teen Drivers

Overall Rank (1 = Best)	State	Total Score	‘Safety’ Rank	‘Economic Environment’ Rank	‘Driving Laws’ Rank
1	New York	77.32	1	4	4
2	Oregon	68.57	8	25	2
3	Illinois	66.69	6	17	6
4	Maryland	66.63	2	11	15
5	Washington	64.42	12	46	1
6	Louisiana	62.55	33	5	3
7	California	62.52	5	39	16
8	Delaware	61.31	22	31	5
9	New Jersey	60.53	7	22	22
10	Georgia	60.32	16	21	11
11	Alaska	59.93	14	40	12
12	Rhode Island	59.91	15	47	7
13	Massachusetts	59.24	4	23	36
14	North Carolina	59.14	28	2	16
15	Connecticut	58.76	10	29	23
16	Michigan	57.03	18	1	34
17	Tennessee	56.94	25	37	8
18	Hawaii	56.88	31	7	18
19	Utah	56.11	26	44	9
20	Virginia	56.05	9	35	31
21	Minnesota	55.89	17	8	27
22	West Virginia	55.76	35	15	10
23	New Hampshire	55.15	11	48	25
24	Texas	54.54	29	9	24
25	Kentucky	54.45	21	12	29
26	Maine	53.53	30	36	21
27	South Carolina	53.34	24	27	25
28	Indiana	52.63	23	18	32
29	Kansas	52.25	36	19	19
30	Nevada	52.11	20	26	35
31	New Mexico	51.96	37	34	13
32	Colorado	50.88	41	38	14
33	Florida	50.82	13	24	43
34	Pennsylvania	50.65	19	30	40
35	Ohio	49.14	3	33	49
36	Arkansas	48.56	40	6	30
37	Wisconsin	47.98	38	13	32
38	Alabama	47.75	42	32	20
39	Vermont	47.12	27	43	39
40	Arizona	46.48	32	41	37
41	Oklahoma	44.59	45	3	27
42	Iowa	41.87	34	20	46
43	Idaho	39.98	39	49	41
44	Mississippi	38.14	47	10	38
45	Missouri	36.55	43	14	47
46	Nebraska	35.49	46	28	44
47	South Dakota	29.85	44	16	50
48	North Dakota	26.11	49	45	42
49	Wyoming	23.53	50	50	45
50	Montana	22.12	48	42	48

Ask the Experts

Although teens are responsible for their own actions, parents shoulder much of the emotional and financial consequences when things go south. And in areas where teen deaths resulting from car crashes are most prevalent, it’s up to lawmakers to implement programs and policies that are aimed at reducing those numbers. For additional insight and advice, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. What tips do you have for parents of teen drivers?
2. What is the biggest risk that teen drivers face?
3. What tips do you have for minimizing the costs (insurance, etc.) associated with having a teen driver in the household?
4. Should we increase the age at which an individual is eligible for a license to 18?
5. What should policymakers do to increase the safety of teen drivers?

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• Zach Finn Clinical Professor, Risk Management & Insurance, Butler University
• Tony Drake CFP, CEO & Founder of Drake & Associates
• Dan Beeson Professor, Automotive Technology, Bellingham Technical College
• Tom Humphreys Director, Risk Management and Insurance Center, Assistant Professor of Insurance, Risk Management and Financial Planning, Olivet College
• Cindy Baroway RMI Lecturer, University of Colorado Denver, Risk Management and Insurance Program, School of Business
• Robert W. Klein Associate Professor of Risk Management and Insurance, Director of the Center for Risk Management and Insurance Research, Department of Risk Management and Insurance, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University
• Mei Chen Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Kentucky

Zach Finn Clinical Professor, Risk Management & Insurance, Butler University

What tips do you have for parents of teen drivers?

For my kids, I will put an atlas in their car and take the SIM card out of their smart phone and stick it in an old school flip phone or one of those Jitterbug’s you see advertised for seniors.

I am dead serious too, distracted driving is a major issue and I believe there are a host of broader risks associated with giving a developing mind unfettered access to a device with a compendium of all the world’s knowledge, a personal broadcast station, ecosystem for 24/7 bullying, etc. My kids will not be allowed to purchase their own smart phone until they are 16, having been previously made to get a job at 15.

What is the biggest risk that teen drivers face?

Top 3 in order of (my) concern: Distracted driving; impaired driving via alcohol, drugs or lack of judgement; other driver’s distracted or impaired driving.

What tips do you have for minimizing the costs (insurance, etc.) associated with having a teen driver in the household?

In my day, a 3.0 GPA scored you a good-student discount on auto insurance. There are several insurers that still offer those. Other than that, have them get a job and pay for their own damn insurance.

The only way my kids will have a car or a smart phone, as per your first question, is if they pay for it themselves. There may be some (limited) parental subsidies involved but they will respect these things more and have less time to abuse them if they have some skin in the game. Plus, everyone should know what it means to show up on time for a job and do honest labor for honest pay.

Should we increase the age at which an individual is eligible for a license to 18?

Ideally, no. That would be a further step in the infantilization of today’s young adults and lead to further restrictions on the freedom to enjoy and explore this life. Every incoming college student I meet at Butler comes to new student registration with their loving parents. Twenty-two years ago my friends and I left our loving parents at home and all drove ourselves to these types of events. We were free to begin the job of figuring out how to be self-sufficient much earlier, and we are/were better for it.

Risk Management should not be confused with Risk Avoidance. Unless an activity is beyond the pale risky, risk avoidance is what you do if, and only if, you are unwilling or unable to find a way to manage the risk. We should be training our kids to take on more risk, not avoid it.

What should policymakers do to increase the safety of teen drivers?

Anecdotally, is seems that every third person I see on the road is glancing down at a smart phone these days. Replace every one of those phones with a beer and the cops would be having a field day. Driving while texting should be as severe as a DWI.

Distracted drivers multiplied by the explosion in the number of rear end cameras and sensors in cars equals terrible auto industry claims experience. This is killing the auto insurance market and leading to much higher rates for consumers.

In fact, whether you like, want or believe in self-driving cars, we are all texting ourselves in that direction every day. Put the phone down!

Tony Drake CFP, CEO & Founder of Drake & Associates

What tips do you have for parents of teen drivers?

Adding a teen driver to your insurance is a major expense for families. Your insurance bill could more than double! Factor this in when doing your budgeting and have a plan for how you will pay for it. What you don’t want to do is put your insurance bill on your credit card without being able to pay it off.

This is a great opportunity to teach your teen about finance. If your teen has a job, you can have them pay for some of the insurance cost. If your teen doesn’t have a job, they can earn opportunities to drive the car by doing jobs around the house.

What tips do you have for minimizing the costs (insurance, etc.) associated with having a teen driver in the household?

The best advice is to shop around and look at different insurance companies to find the best deal. Look into programs with discounts for good grades or safe driving. Make a spreadsheet of the various discounts you’re eligible for, along with the rates you’re quoted by each. If your current insurance company doesn’t offer discounts, find out why.

Try to negotiate a lower rate. It never hurts to ask! Be prepared before you call your company. You can write out a script and have it in front of you. If you are a loyal customer, tell them so! If you have a good track record of on-time payments, make sure to point that out.

Always be polite when haggling a bill. If you’re not getting anywhere with the person you’re talking with, ask to talk to someone else. You can use silence in your negotiations. Pause for 30 seconds and you may get a counter-offer. Don’t threaten to walk away if you’re not prepared to follow through.

Dan Beeson Professor, Automotive Technology, Bellingham Technical College

What tips do you have for parents of teen drivers?

Model good behavior (i.e. you cannot expect a teen to not text while driving if you text while driving).

Be involved and ask questions about who/where, etc.

Agree on expectations and consequences (including consequences for a ticket) BEFORE an event happens.

Teach them how to do regular basic inspections of their vehicles to identify obvious things like a bald tire or leaking radiator hose.

Teach them how to check their under-hood fluids and tire pressures.

Take them with you when you have your vehicle serviced - make them responsible for getting their own vehicle serviced but go with them until they are comfortable doing it solo.

It is becoming common place that teens of today do not have the strong desire to drive as soon as they turn 16 like some previous generations. Many of today’s teens are fine with ride sharing and using public transportation as it is considered more socially responsible.

What is the biggest risk that teen drivers face?

Distracted driving primarily from cell phones.

Over confidence has always been a risk with new drivers but now, combined with additional distractions, overconfident teenagers are more dangerous than ever.

What tips do you have for minimizing the costs (insurance, etc.) associated with having a teen driver in the household?

Hold them accountable to PREVIOUSLY agreed on consequences.

Most teens understand the responsibility of vehicle ownership when they have a financial stake in the responsibility - maybe they pay for all or part of their own fuel/insurance/car purchase costs.

Inquire about and participate in any programs offered by your insurance company such as Teen Driver Training classes that provide a discount on insurance rates.

Most insurance companies offer discounts for students who maintain a good GPA - this is only an effective incentive if they have some financial responsibility for their insurance premiums.

Should we increase the age at which an individual is eligible for a license to 18?

Because the precedent is so ingrained into our society I believe this would be a tough sell. I do believe states should continue to restrict driving privileges for anyone under 18 such as requiring the completion of a driver’s education program, limiting nighttime driving and not allowing others under 21 in the vehicle except family members.

What should policymakers do to increase the safety of teen drivers?   

As stated before, I think policymakers should hold teen drivers especially accountable for distracted driving and other non-moving violations such as failing to wear a safety belt. I believe drivers under 18 should have one opportunity to retain the privilege of driving which will be lost if any serious infraction is obtained.

Tom Humphreys Director, Risk Management and Insurance Center, Assistant Professor of Insurance, Risk Management and Financial Planning, Olivet College

What tips do you have for parents of teen drivers?

Be aware of when and how your children are using automobiles. Where is their destination, who will be a passenger, what is the proposed time of departure and return and have they previously driven the proposed route with an adult are all items for consideration. Spend as much time as possible supporting your teen to learn safe driving habits. At every opportunity, have them drive you to the grocery store and for other errands may take a little more time, but allows them to gain valuable experience as well as a parent’s level of comfort with the teen's road skills. Lastly, set a good example as a conscientious driver beginning from the time your children are small. Children watch what parents do and say which forms both good and bad habits early.

Utilizing a Parent-Teen Driving Contract can cement teens awareness of parent’s concerns as well the hazards of the road. Many insurance companies and driving safety organizations provide a template which can be customized to meet parent’s needs. Keys are to complete the contract, review with the teen, sign the contract, and post in a conspicuous location inside the home to serve as a reminder of the agreed terms for automobile usage.

What is the biggest risk that teen drivers face?

• Teen drivers have many of the risks faced by all drivers. The top concern currently is distracted driving. Cell phone use, whether for texting, talking, social media and even utilizing GPS features are all forms of distracted driving.
• Inexperience is a tremendous factor. Inexperience can be overcome by supervised driving during safe weather and daytime conditions to gain experience.
• Passengers in the vehicle are noteworthy distractors. While transporting friends is common for teen drivers, limits on the number of passengers and activity in the vehicle during operation must be significantly limited.
• Night driving rounds out some of the biggest risks for teen drivers. Many studies have shown a spike in the number of accidents and fatalities for teens driving from 6 p.m. to midnight.

What tips do you have for minimizing the costs (insurance, etc.) associated with having a teen driver in the household?

Often insurance premiums are the largest cost associated with automobile operation and teen drivers. While cost is most parent’s primary concern, appropriate coverage should not be sacrificed. Many insurance companies offer discounts for good students and teen driver monitoring devices. Consider a vehicle with a lower value that you could replace out-of-pocket if necessary. Collision coverage is often the most expensive part of a policy for a teen driver. Being able to decline collision coverage can provide significant cost savings. Safety features on the vehicle such as the number and location of air-bags, anti-lock brakes, traction control and seat belt usage are all considerations. Many states utilize a form of credit scoring to determine automobile insurance rates. If the vehicle is to be owned and titled in the teen drivers name, establishing credit early may garner substantial savings as well.

Should we increase the age at which an individual is eligible for a license to 18?

Most states have a graduated driver’s license system which is reasonable and assists parents in slowly introducing teen drivers to different types of driving conditions and hazards. This graduated system has reduced the number of teen driver accidents.

What should policymakers do to increase the safety of teen drivers?

Many states have implemented distracted driving laws, graduated drivers licensing and campaigns to bring greater awareness of teen driving concerns. Adequate funding to continue these efforts are critical.

Cindy Baroway RMI Lecturer, University of Colorado Denver, Risk Management and Insurance Program, School of Business

What tips do you have for parents of teen drivers?

• Driving is a privilege not a right -- so (parents) set standards with your teen drivers -- possibly even develop a written driving contract that spells out consequences for violations and include the young driver in developing those consequences. For example, in many states, young drivers cannot have passengers in their vehicles (other than family members) until they have been driving for 6 months. If that's the case in your state, then include that as a possible infraction in the driving contract and provide a consequence to match the infraction. And enforce the contract when a violation does occur.
• If the parent is buying a car or giving a car to the teen driver, look for a 4-door sedan, 4 cylinder, if possible. So long as the car has all the safety features such as seat belts, air bags, etc., most young drivers only need transportation -- so forego the fancy sports car, 4-wheel drive SUV's, and cute little 2-door cars. A sedan typically costs less to insure than other vehicles and your teen driver is already going to cost you more on insurance why increase your rate any more than you have to. Additionally, a used car is best. Most teen drivers will have some type of car accident within their first few months of driving. (In my son's circle of friends, two of his friends were given brand new cars by their parents and both totaled those cars within 4 monthsof receiving their license/car.)
• Have your teen driver take drivers' education. Just doing an online course and then driving to get in their hours is not enough to teach them the art of driving. A good drivers' education course will provide proper training for your child as well as provide a discount on your insurance rate.
• Encourage your children to keep up good grades as those are another potential rate discount

What is the biggest risk that teen drivers face?

Teach them the dangers of texting & driving. Distracted driving is one of the biggest risks for teen drivers. In the past, there was the radio. Today, there's the radio/stereo, cell phone, texting, ear buds, email, Facebook, etc. Too many distractions for inexperienced drivers to manage.

What tips do you have for minimizing the costs (insurance, etc.) associated with having a teen driver in the household?

Insurance carriers today provide discounts for teen drivers for having completed a drivers education course, having good grades, and now some carriers also offer a discount if the insured voluntarily places a device in the car that monitors the teen's driving habit. Some teens will feel like "big brother" is watching; however, used correctly the devices can help correct driving habits before they become bad habits. And, the parent has some peace of mind knowing how their teen is driving. And, as mentioned earlier, older cars are usually less expensive to insure than newer ones. Another thought would be to have the teen driving an older car -- and you elect not to carry collision and comprehensive coverage. Instead, carry Uninsured Motorist Physical Damage coverage as well as the State required liability coverage (and in some cases, also carry Medical Payments coverage). As an example, with my children, they drove older vehicles and we elected not to carry collision and comp. Our theory was that if they were at fault for damages to the vehicle, we'd likely have them pay for it themselves. And, if their car was stolen or damaged by hail or totaled by fire, we would likely help them out as in those cases it would not have been their fault. If they were not at fault in a motor vehicle accident, most other drivers are insured and would take care of their damages and injuries. If the other driver was not insured, then our children's cars did have the UMPD coverage. This saved a fair amount of money on the insurance rates.

Another way to save money on insurance, if you can afford to, is to ask for higher deductibles.

What should policymakers do to increase the safety of teen drivers?

I would encourage all states to enact Graduated Drivers Licenses if they are not already in place.

Robert W. Klein Associate Professor of Risk Management and Insurance, Director of the Center for Risk Management and Insurance Research, Department of Risk Management and Insurance, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University

What tips do you have for parents of teen drivers?

To address your questions, it is helpful to understand why insurance costs are high for teen drivers. Basically, insurance companies base their rates on what they see in their data on different groups of drivers. All other things equal, the data indicate that younger drivers tend to have more accidents and more severe accidents than older drivers. This is especially the case for teen drivers. There are several reasons for this.

When a teen first starts driving, they are very inexperienced. This inexperience leads to more mistakes and accidents. As a driver gains more experience, they should make fewer mistakes and have fewer accidents. Other factors associated with teen driver accident frequency and severity include distracted driving (e.g., texting while driving), not using a seat belt, speeding, not engaging in defensive driving, and use of alcohol. Note these are broad generalizations and don't necessarily apply to any specific driver.

So the biggest risk that teen drivers face is getting into an accident and getting into a severe accident (whether an accident is their fault or another driver’s).

There are a number of measures that parents can take to minimize the cost of their teen drivers. First, they should shop around for coverage among different insurers to find the best rates. Deductibles can be raised on collision and comprehensive coverage to lower costs. I don't recommend lowering liability limits for reasons I can explain.

Another thing parents can do is pay for more driving training. Some parents may only pay for what is necessary in order for their son/daughter to get their license. If they pay for more training beyond this, this can lower their insurance costs.

Parents should also take advantage of all possible discounts; some companies provided discounts for teens who maintain a grade point B or higher. Also, parents can opt for some form of usage based insurance rate that allows an insurer to monitor a driver's driving electronically.

Further, as a driver establishes a record, if they can remain violation and accident free this will really help. Hence, it is important for parents to stress the importance of safe driving for their teens. It seems pretty clear that parents spending time with their teens when they drive could be helpful.

Another thing that parents can do is choose an older model and safer vehicle for their teens. This will lower their insurance costs. Parents can consult with insurance agents on how to minimize their costs.

While I might be comfortable with raising the age to 18 for licensing, I don't this may be realistic for some families. Parents can choose when their children start driving.

I'm not sure what policymakers can do to increase the safety of teen driving other than education. I am 64 years old. I took my driving course through my high school and I remember watching films that sought to motivate us to drive safely (scare tactics?). I don't know whether high schools do this now, but they should.

Beyond education, policymakers could support alternative forms of transit. This would help all drivers. Also, with UBI, the fewer miles one drives (especially at high-traffic time and in high-congestion areas), the lower their premiums will be.

The other thing a family could do is buy a separate policy for their teen driver if they have their own car. The catch here is that normally it is cheaper to insure multiple drivers/cars on one policy than separate policies. Also, if a family goes this route, they would want to avoid having their teen excluded on their family policy if the teen might drive the cars insured under that policy.

Mei Chen Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Kentucky

What tips do you have for parents of teen drivers?

Be a positive role model to your teen drivers in safe driving practice, such as wearing seat belt, be attentive, minimizing distraction, etc. You can start teaching them situation awareness and your best driving practice as you shuttle them around long before they start driving themselves. Let them have enough practice on both local roads and highways before getting a license.

What is the biggest risk that teen drivers face?

I would say lack of experience.

What tips do you have for minimizing the costs (insurance, etc.) associated with having a teen driver in the household?

Take advantage of those programs recognized by your insurance company.

Should we increase the age at which an individual is eligible for a license to 18?

Level of maturity should be the deciding factor here.

What should policymakers do to increase the safety of teen drivers?

Promote driver education programs, and make enforceable laws to minimize distraction.

Methodology

In order to determine the best and worst states for teen drivers, WalletHub analyzed the teen-driving environment in the 50 states across three key dimensions: 1) Safety, 2) Economic Environment and 3) Driving Laws.

We evaluated those dimensions using 21 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for teen drivers. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), the square root of the population was used to calculate the “Number of Residents” in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across states.

We then calculated the total score for each state based on its weighted average across all metrics and used the resulting scores to construct our final ranking.

Safety – Total Points: 50

• Teen Driver Fatalities per 100,000 Teens: Double Weight (~10.00 Points)
• Vehicle Miles Traveled per Capita: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Teen “Under the Influence” Traffic Violations per 100,000 Teens: Double Weight (~10.00 Points)
• Share of Teen Drinking & Driving: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Share of Teen Texting/Emailing While Driving: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Cost of Teen Crash-Related Deaths per 100,000 Teens: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Quality of Roads: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Driving Schools per Capita*: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Economic Environment – Total Points: 20

• Maximum Cost of Speeding Ticket: Half Weight (~1.54 Points)
• Maximum Cost of Red-Light Ticket: Half Weight (~1.54 Points)
• Maximum Amount of First-Offense Fines for Not Wearing Seat Belt: Half Weight (~1.54 Points)
• Premium Increase After Adding Teen Driver to Parent’s Auto-Insurance Policy: Double Weight (~6.15 Points)
• Average Cost of Car Repairs: Full Weight (~3.08 Points)
• Average Gas Prices: Full Weight (~3.08 Points)
• Punitiveness of Insurance Companies Toward High-Risk Drivers: Full Weight (~3.08 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s States with the Highest & Lowest Insurance-Premium Penalties for High-Risk Drivers ranking.

Driving Laws – Total Points: 30

• Provision of Teen Driver's Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) Program Laws: Full Weight (~6.00 Points)
• Presence of Occupant-Protection Laws: Full Weight (~6.00 Points)
• Presence of Impaired-Driving Laws: Half Weight (~3.00 Points)
• Presence of Distracted-Driving/Texting-While-Driving Laws: Full Weight (~6.00 Points)
• Presence of Red-Light & Speeding-Camera Laws: Half Weight (~3.00 Points)
• Leniency Toward DUI Violations: Full Weight (~6.00 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s Strictest & Most Lenient States on DUI ranking.

 

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Road Information Program, CarMD, InsuranceQuotes, the Governors Highway Safety Association, American Automobile Association and WalletHub research.

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