Do's and Don'ts for Folks

CARS FOR TEENAGERS

Young drivers have always had a bad rep and buying a new car for your child can be a very expensive business. Loathed by insurance companies and vilified in the press, teenagers are often seen as accidents waiting to happen.

And sadly this negative attitude is however born out of some very real statistics. Crazy overtaking and excessive speeding were only some of the things the road safety charity Brake discovered in a recent survey.

CARS FOR TEENAGERS

This doesn't affect the sheer desire your son or daughter probably has to drive a car. So what options are available to ensure they have the best car and training to keep them safe?

The most popular new cars for young drivers are 1.2-litre-or-less hatchbacks. Used or new Vauxhall Corsas, Ford Kas or new Ford Fiestas, Renault Clios and similar superminis are all great cars for the first time driver.

Cheap car insurance young?

Insurance companies of course are not as a rule enthusiastic about having young drivers on their books. Some will turn them down flat while others will charge thousands to insure a young male of seventeen or eighteen years.

These steep prices might leave you to consider 'fronting', where the car is registered in the parents name but ostensibly owned and driven by the children: a recent survey by Co-operative Insurance revealed a whopping 41% of parents are 'fronting' for their children.

Young drivers car insurance

If an insurance company believes 'fronting' has taken place, it can refuse to pay any claim. The young driver can also be treated as driving without insurance and face a fine with six penalty points on their licence.

There are solutions however to ease the burden on your wallet.

As a parent, consider the six-hour Pass Plus training course aimed at new drivers. This is a joint effort between the Driving Standards Agency and insurers and can contribute to a 10% reduction in costs.

There are also more repressive measures a parent can take.

Insure The Box fits a telematics box which records how the car is being driven and how many miles are being covered. You get 6,000 miles to start with and extra miles can either be 'topped-up' or even earned through safe driving - the box monitors your speed and any heavy and sudden braking.

It can even detect when you've been in a crash and call for help.

Such a box can have a significant impact on lowering insurance bills (in some cases by as much as half) and offers a nervous parent real peace of mind when their teenage son or daughter begins driving unsupervised.