Seattle - PEMCO Insurance, provider of auto, home, boat, life, and umbrella insurance to Washington state residents, has launched a teen drivers Web site designed to educate parents, teachers, and teens about the dangers young drivers face. The Web site can be found at http://www.pemco.com/teen_driver/index.asp."Teens have the highest car-crash death rate of any age group," says PEMCO spokesperson Jon Osterberg. "The main reason is, they're inexperienced drivers, and only experience can sharpen their skills. PEMCO wants to help teens grow into experienced, safe drivers."
Visitors to the Web site will find articles, quick tips, and brochures on a variety of topics ranging from how to trim costs for teen drivers to how to pick safe cars for teens. PEMCO also offers a 16-minute DVD created by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that includes research on the dangers of teen driving, testimonials from families impacted by teen driving and deaths, and information on teen driving laws for each state.
As part of a campaign to PEMCO policyholders, parents of teens will receive a teen-driver packet, including the DVD, one month before their teen's 15th birthday. A limited number of DVDs are available to the general public on request via the teen drivers Web site.
According to Osterberg, it's important for parents to know the dangers of teen driving so they can help nurture their kids through the early driving years. "Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers, and the chances of a fatal accident increase 35% when the teen driver has one passenger," he said. "What's more startling is those odds nearly triple when a teen driver has three or more passengers. PEMCO believes that if parents and others know that, they can help teens make better choices."
Osterberg also noted that many parents aren't even aware of legal restrictions on teenage driving. "We found that nearly one-quarter of those surveyed didn't know about Washington's Intermediate Driver's License Law," he said. "How can they enforce driving restrictions if they don't know about them?" More information on the poll can be found at http://survey.pemco.com/.
Source: PEMCO Insurance
