Freelance writer Susan Johnston recently interviewed Mike McCann for an article in US News & World Report about planning for and managing the cost of a teen driver in the family.
“When teens start driving, their parents experience a mix of excitement (no more chauffeuring to soccer practice or cello lessons!) and terror (what if she crashes the car?). Then there’s the financial side of the equation. The fatal crash rate per mile driven is nearly twice as high for 16- to 17-year-olds as it is for 18- to 19-year-olds, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, so younger drivers are more expensive to insure, which creates a pricey proposition for many families.
“Perhaps this explains (at least in part) why many teens are delaying what used to be a coveted rite of passage. According to a 2013 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study of more than a thousand 18- and 19-year-olds, more than half said they got a driver’s license before they turned 18. Data from 20 years ago shows that more than two-thirds of teens were licensed by age 18.” Click here to read the article at the US News Money website.