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Auto Club to Offer New Drivers 20% Graduated Driver License Discount

18 October 1999

Auto Club to Offer New Drivers 20% Graduated Driver License Insurance Discount; New Teen Driving Law Showing Safety Results

    LOS ANGELES--Oct. 18, 1999--The Automobile Club of Southern California, co-sponsor of the 1998 Graduated Driver License Law, is now using the new law as a basis for offering a major auto insurance discount to new drivers.
    Eligible new drivers with good records will receive an average 20 percent discount after Nov. 1 on new policies or upon renewal for current policies.
    "The Auto Club supported the Graduated Driver's License as a way to ease teens into the responsibilities and risks involved with driving," said Lawrence Baker, the Auto Club's senior vice president for insurance. "Now, we are backing up our conviction that this law creates safer young drivers by offering them a discount."
    California Highway Patrol statistics show that injury and fatal accidents caused by teen drivers have declined after the new law took effect. The number of accidents caused by 16-year-old and 17-year-old drivers dropped by approximately 5 percent during the first quarter of 1999 compared with the first quarter of 1998. Accidents caused by 15-year-olds (teens with permits), obtained under the stricter requirements of the new law, dropped by 13.75 percent between the same time periods.
    "We believe this new law will continue to save lives and reduce the number of tragedies on California highways," said Arline Dillman, Ph.D., traffic safety manager for the Auto Club. "By the early years of the new century, we think the crash statistics will show that this law has significantly improved highway safety for teens."
    In addition to the new driver discount offer, the Auto Club is supporting parents who teach their teens to drive with a behind-the-wheel training video and workbook that helps families complete the Graduated Driver License requirements.
    "Teaching Your Teens to Drive" includes a 50-minute video or a CD-ROM with 13 lessons that allows parents and teens to plan their driver training sessions together. The accompanying workbook enables parents to judge how well their teen is learning specific driving skills.
    The program is available for $24.95 for members and $27.95 for non-members, plus shipping and handling. To order, call 800/327-3444.
    The Graduated Driver License law requires 50 hours of behind-the-wheel training with a parent or guardian before teens can obtain their licenses. Once they earn licenses, they are prohibited from carrying passengers under age 20 for the first six months unless a licensed driver at least 25 old is present. For the first year, they may not drive between midnight and 5 a.m.
    The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest affiliate of the AAA, has been serving members since 1900. Today, the Auto Club's members benefit by the organization's emergency road service, insurance products and services, travel agency, financial products, automotive pricing, buying and financing programs, automotive testing and analysis, trip planning services, highway and transportation safety programs and legislative advocacy. Information about these products and services is available on the Auto Club's Web site at www.aaa-calif.com.

Number of At-Fault Injury/Fatal Crashes by Teen Drivers in California:
           First Quarter Comparisons Between 1998 and 1999

Age of Driver     1998         1999         Percent Change

    15              80           69            -13.75%
    16             881          833              -5.6%
    17           1,279        1,214              -5.1%

  Total          2,240        2,116              -5.5%

     Source: California Highway Patrol