MA Auto Insurance – Teenage Driving

 

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety offers the following tips for Parents of Teenage Drivers:

Don’t rely solely on driver education. High school driver education may be the most convenient way to learn skills, but it doesn’t produce safer drivers. Poor skills aren’t always to blame. Teenagers’ attitudes and decision-making matter more. Young people tend to rebel, and some teens seek thrills like speeding. Training and education don’t change these tendencies. Peers are influential, but parents have much more influence than typically is credited to them.

Know the law.Become familear with restrictions on your drivers. Then enforce the restrictions. (To learn more about MA Junior Operator License restrictions go to: http://massautoquote.com/blogdata/?page_id=446)

Restrict night driving.Most young drivers’ nighttime fatal crashes between 9 p.m. and midnight, so teenagers shouldn’t be driving much later than 9. The problem isn’t just that such driving requires more skill behind the wehel. Late outings tend to be recreational, and even teens who usually follow the rules can be easily distracted or encouraged to take risks.

Restrict Passengers. Teenage passengers riding in a vehicle with a beginning driver can distract the driver and/or lead to greater risk-taking. About 6 of every 10 deaths of teenage passengers occur in crashes with teen drivers. While driving at night with passengers is particularly lethal, many of the fatal crashes involving teen passengers occur during the day. The best policy is to restrict teenage passengers, especially multiple teens, all the time.

Supervise practice driving.Take an active role in helping your teenager learn to drive. Plan a series of practice sessions that include a wide variety of situations, including night driving. Give beginners time to work up to challenges like driving in heavy traffic or on the freeway. Continue to supervise practice drivign by your teenager after graduation from a learner’s permit to a restriceted or full license.

Remember that you’re a role model.New drivers learn a lot by example, so practice safe drving yourself. Teenagers who have crashes and violations often have parents with poor driving records.

Require safety belt use. Don’t assume that belt use when you’re int he car with you 16 year-old means a safety belt will be used when your child is driving alone or out with peers. Insist on using safety belts all the time.

Prohibit driving after drinking alcohol. Make it clear to your child that it’s illegal and highly dangerous for a teenager to drive after drinking alcohol or using any other drug. While alcohol isn’t a factor in most of the fatal crashes that involve 16 year-old-drivers, even small amounts of alcohol are impairing for teenagers.

Choose vehicles with safety, not image, in mind. Teens should drive vehicles that reduce their chances of crashing in the first place and then offer protection from injury in case they do crash. For example, small cars don’t offer the best occupant protection in case of a collision. Avoid vehicles with performance images that might encourage a teenager to speed. The best vehicle choice for your teenager, and for everyone else in your family, is one that’s equipped with the latest safety technology including side airbags that protect people’s heads and electronic stability control. 

Beware: Rear-end Collisions use the “three-second rule”

The American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association suggests using the “three-second rule” to help prevent rear-end accidents.

The “three-second rule” accounts for your reaction time to the movements of the vehicle ahead and your vehicle’s stopping distance.

You should add more time if the road is slippery, if you’re being crowded by a tailgater, if you’re towing a trailer or if you’re driving a large truck.

The three-second rule:

When the vehicle ahead of you passes a stationary object, start counting:  1,001 … 1,002 …

The first second is your reaction time; the next two seconds account for your braking distance

You should not reach the object before you count to … 1,003. If you do, you are following too closely.

At a vehicle speed of 55 mph, the three-second rule creates a gap of 243 feet between cars.

MA Auto Insurance Quotes

 

If you’re looking for Massachusetts auto insurance, you’ve come to the right place.

Massautoquote.com utilizes the power of the Massachusetts Independent Insurance Agent.

Your MA Independent Insurance Agent:

  • Licensed professional with strong customer and community ties.
  • Gives you excellent service and competitive prices because your agent can access the insurance coverage from more than one company.
  • Unlike other agents, your Independent Insurance agent is not beholden to any one company; thus, you don’t need to change agencies as your insurance and service needs change.
  • Assists you when you have a claim.
  • Is your consultant, working with you as you determine your needs.
  • Offers you a choice of Massachusetts insurance plans and programs.
  • Is a value hunter who looks after your pocketbook in finding the best combination of price, coverage and service.
  • Offers one-stop shopping for a full range of products – Massachusetts home insurance, renters, Massachusetts car insurance, business, life and health.
  • Can periodically help you review your coverage to keep up with your changing insurance needs.
  • Treats you like a person, not just another number.
  • Works for you as advocate at claim time, or if you have a billing question.
  • Will assist you with the Registry of Motor Vehicles and offer home, business & life insurance through numerous companies.
  • Customer satisfaction is the key to a Massachusetts independent agent’s livelihood. So, serving you is the #1 concern.

Did We Mention MA Auto Insurance Discounts?

Some of the available discount programs include:

  • Good drivers
  • Good students
  • Driver training
  • Mileage
  • Multi-vehicle
  • Multi-policy
  • Age 65+
  • Air-bag/Passive restraint
  • T-pass (public transportation)
  • Hybrid vehicle
  • Roadside assistance (AAA)
  • Alumni & Professional Organizations
  • Anti-theft
  • Paid in full
  • E-customer
  • Advanced driver training
  • Years at residence

For your free MA auto insurance quote, please fill out our quote request form or call us at: 781-246-8699.

Massautoquote.com will provide you the best MA auto insurance rates, with the best companies, the best coverage, and the best service.

Massachusetts Junior Operator Law License Restrictions

Any motor vehicle operator or motorcyclist between the ages of 16 1/2 and 18 is considered a Junior Operator. The Junior Operator Law has several requirements and restrictions that significantly affect the operation of a motor vehicle by a person who has a Junior Operator’s License (JOL). The basic purpose of the law is to provide new drivers supervised opportunities in which to develop good driving skills, while keeping those drivers free of the possible distractions caused by friends under age 18 who are present while the drivers are behind the wheel.

Following, from the MA Registry of Motor Vehicles Driver’s Manual, we offer Massachusetts Junior Operator License Restrictions:

  • You may not operate a motor vehicle within the first six months after receiving your JOL while any person under age 18 is in the vehicle (other than you or an immediate family member), unless you are accompanied by a person who is at least 21 years old, has at least one year of driving experience, holds a valid driver’s license form Massachusetts or another state and is occupying a seat beside you.

General Rule: The passenger restriction that applies to the Junior Operator (Under age 18) is lifted once the Junior Operator completes the six-month period or you reach age 18, whichever occurs first.

The six-month passenger restriction period will stop running, temporarily, during any suspension. When your JOL is reinstated, you will still have to complete the remainder of the six-month restriction period that existed at the beginning of the suspension period, unless you have already turned 18.

  • As the holder of a Junior Operator License (JOL), you may not operate a motor vehicle between 12:30 a.m and 5:00 a.m. unless you are accompanied by one of your parents or your legal guardian. If you are found operating a motor vehicle in violation of this restriction, you may be charged with operating a motor vehicle without being licensed. This is a criminal violation.
  • If you violate the passenger restriction or the night restriction, you will be subject to a license suspension of 60 days for a first offense, 180 days for a second offense, and one year for subsequent offenses. For a second or subsequent offense, you will also be required to complete a Driver Attitudinal Retraining course. The law requires the Registrar to impose this suspension in addition to any other penalty, fine, suspension, revocation, or requirement that may be imposed in connection with a violation committed at the time you were violating the passenger or night restriction.
  • You may not operate a motor vehicle that requires a commercial driver’s license (CDL).
  • You will be suspended for one year if you are under 18 when you have committed certain driving offenses and alcohol or drugs were involved (180 days if age 18 to 21), in addition to any penalty assessed by a court or other law.
  • You will be ineligible for a full license until you have completed the period of suspension imposed while operating with a JOL and you reach age 18.
  • You will face additional suspension periods of one year for a first drag racing offense and three years for a subsequent offense, you will be suspended for one year.

Planning a trip to Canada?

If you are a Massachusetts resident planning a trip to Canada don’t forget to ask you Independent Insurance Agent for a Canada Non-Resident Liability Insurance Card. Canada requires that U.S. vehicles provide evidence of liability coverage when travelling the provinces.

There is no cost for a Canada Liability Card.

Kids & Cars in Massachusetts

 

Massautoquote.com recommends that parents, in order to best protect assets, consider registering and insuring a vehicle in their child’s name.  In Massachusetts parents are provided 100% insulation from lawsuits arising from bodily injury or property damage claims.

Mass. MGL Chapter 231, section 85A: “If a car is registered to the child and the child gets into an accident causing personal injury and/or property damage, there is no reponsibility on the parent. It does not make any difference who bought the car or who pays for the insurance, or how old the child is so long as we are talking about negligence.”

On this basis it might make sense for parents to consider insuring a vehicle in their child’s name.

Appealing Your MA At-Fault Accident Surcharge

If you live in Massachusetts and are in an auto accident, insurance companies are required to determine if you are more than 50% at fault by applying specific “standards of fault.”

If your MA insurance company determines you are at fault for the accident, they will send you a Surcharge Notice. This notice will include instructions for appealing the surcharge to the Massachusetts Appeal Board at the Division of Insurance.

If you believe you were less than 50% at-fault for the accident, follow the instructions on the Surcharge Notice to appeal. There is a $50 fee and you must file within 30 days from receiving your Surcharge Noitce; otherwise, you may lose your right to appeal.

If a surcharge is applied to your MA auto insurance premium, you must pay the additional premium while your appeal is pending or your policy will be cancelled. If you win your appeal, you will receive a refund or credit from your insurer for any increased premium paid as result fo the surcharge.

For more details about the at-fault accident appeal process:

Massachusetts Division of Insurance Board of Appeals: 617-521-7478

Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Crash Operator Report

As a MA consumer service, we offer the following link to your Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Crash Operator Report:

Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Crash Operator Report

When Should You File a Report?

  • You should file a report if you’re the operator of a vehicle involved in a crash where the damage to any one vehicle or property is over $1,000, or if there is an injury to any person, even if a police officer was on the scene. You should file the report within 5 days of the date of the crash.

When Should you NOT File a Report?

  • You should not file a report if the crash occurred on a private road, driveway, private parking lot or other private way.

Why this Report is Important

Data from this report is used for many purposes including:

  • Identifying locations with a large number of crashes.
  • Improving dangerous highways and intersections.
  • Developing highway safety public information programs.
  • Developing programs to save lives and reduce highway injuries.

Where to send completed reports:

  • Mail or deliver one copy to your local police department in the city or town where the crash occurred.
  • Mail one copy to your Insurance Company.
  • Mail one copy to the RMV at: Crash Records RMV; PO Box 55889; Boston, MA 02205-5889

Link to RMV MA Motor Vehicle Crash Operator Report:  http://www.mass.gov/rmv/forms/21278.pdf

Massachusetts Consumer Auto Insurance Dilemma

Most agree, MA “Managed Competition” auto insurance has been a good thing.

National insurance companies have come into the state, and MA insurance consumers now have more choices.

There is, however, a flip-side to all the discounts and improved insurance programs:

If you have a poor driving record (at-fault accidents, moving violations, suspensions or revocations) or a cancelled policy, you may have difficulty obtaining MA auto insurance.

The MAIP (Massachusetts Auto Insurance Plan) marketplace is an option available to MA consumers.

The MAIP program requires 25% down-payment on new business.

If cancelled over the past 12 months for non-payment, MAIP requires (like many companies) 100% premium payment in full.

Our independent MA Agency (Johnson & Rohan Insurance) recently lost a longtime, good client (although not a very organized bill payor) due to cancellation frequency.

Late on one too many Statutory Notices of Cancellation, he is now required to pay 100% annual premium in full.

In addition, he had an accident over the past 12 months and the annual premium has gone up.

Unfortunately, it’s an all too common Massachusetts Consumer Auto Insurance Dilemma.

MA Auto Insurance Driving Records

Massachusetts drivers may obtain official copies of their driving records from the Merit Rating Board (MRB). The MRB is the Massachusetts agency that maintains driving history records. The MRB receives and maintains information from insurance companies, police departments, and MA courts regarding at-fault accidents and motor vehicle traffic violations. You can receive a copy of your MA driving record by submitting a completed “Request for Detailed Driving History Record” form to the MRB. There’s a $15 fee to process your request. Learn more about the MRB by visiting: http://www.mass.gov/mrb or you can call them at: 617-351-4400.