In the first half of 2012, deaths of young teen drivers have risen.   Deaths of 16 and 17year old drivers in traffic accidents were up 19% percent over the same period in the previous year.    

Motivating our teenagers to maintain safe and responsible behavior should remain a constant priority.   Reminding our teens to stay focused on the road and surroundings and to be a defensive driver will keep them safe.

Behaviors like talking on the phone, texting, putting on make-up, eating and being distracted by friends in the vehicles, driving late out at night put teens at risk.

When parents call me to add their newly licensed teenager to their auto insurance policy, there's always a shock factor on how much the cost is to insure these inexperienced drivers.  Insurance carriers pay the cost of these teenager fatalities and know too well that inexperienced drivers can cause loss of life and serious damage to themselves and property.   It is our hope to keep our teens safe and responsible drivers.    Let's keep reminding our teens about driver safety.