Teenage Drivers

This past May, my 16-year-old son got his drivers' license. I don't know who was happier, me or him.

My husband and I decided that the best thing to do would be to buy a third car, call it a family car, and let him drive it. OK, that is not entirely true. My husband, who did not have the luxury of his own car to drive when he was in high school, did not think a third car was entirely necessary. I, on the other hand, did, seeing as I was the one doing all the chauffeuring.

We did our due diligence when shopping for a car. We made sure not to get a make or model that would be more expensive to insure. We got a great deal on a newer, lower-mileage car by buying through an auto auction (thanks to a cousin who is part owner of a car dealership). We set a budget ($5000) and did not go over, and we paid cash. Granted, it hurt more than a little when our insurance premium more than doubled. Thank goodness for the good student discount, which saves us about $500 per year (I kept trying to get my insurance company to give him an Eagle Scout discount, too, with no success). We do not have comprehensive coverage, and we have a fairly high deductible.

So, how does shelling out $5,000 for a car and an additional $1,600 annually for car insurance rate as being frugal?

It saves me time (and sanity). No more do I have to run him to and from swim team practice, work, Scouting and youth group events, early-morning seminary (a church class that meets before school every day). Gone are the days of picking him up after a band practice or performance. I can send him on his way to swim team practice every afternoon, and instead of having to race home to throw dinner on the table after picking him up, I have it waiting on the table when he gets home. This makes a huge difference in what I can serve for dinner each night, especially if there is something else we have to attend in the evening, and as a result, cuts down on the number of times we feel we don't have time for anything other than fast food. He can also take his brother places for me (he can't drive anyone other than family members for the first 6 months). Again, a huge timesaver for Mom.

It saves gas. Instead of me making two trips to pick up and drop off, he is only making one trip. Over the course of a year, that saves a lot of gas and greenhouse gases. And, he is doing it in his car which is more fuel-efficient than my mini van. It also saves wear and tear on my mini van, which is the more expensive of the two vehicles.

It teaches him some responsibility. He needs to follow the provisions set forth in his provisional license. (Our state sets limits and guidelines for the first 2 years of driving.) He knows that if his grades fall below the good student discount threshold (3.0 GPA), he gets to pay for the difference in the insurance. Likewise, if he is ticketed or at fault at an accident, he gets to pay not only the difference in the insurance premium, he gets to pay it all. If the car is damaged or totaled in an accident, he gets to pay to replace it. So, it is definitely in his best interest to be a safe, conscientious driver, and to keep his grades up.

Going the Bike Route

This summer, when gas prices were sky-high and the weather was good, my husband started biking the two miles to his office (yes, I know, why did it take him so long to start doing this?). He liked the exercise, and the fact that he could actually take a shorter route when he rode his bike than when he drove. Best of all, is his employer and the City of Redmond offer all sorts of great incentives and prizes for folks who use alternate forms of transportation.

I thought once the fall weather hit (and now that gas prices are more reasonable--they just recently went below $3.00/gallon around here) that he would go back to driving, but so far, that's not been the case. In fact, this weekend he went out and bought a reflective yellow rain jacket so he can bike when it is dark (by 4:30 p.m. in the wintertime) and wet. So, those incentives have really helped keep him motivated, and even though it's not a whole lot of miles saved each week, every little bit helps.

Our oldest son has also started riding his bike to early-morning seminary before school each day. Even though the chapel is less than a mile from home, we used to always drive him to seminary because it was still dark, then he would walk to school and walk home after school. We decided to let him bike because he now has a light on his bike, and it saves him time between seminary and school and school and home to be able to bike.

It's those little trips that really eat a lot of gas, so I'm glad to have eliminated the morning seminary run, and for my hubby to bike at least 3 days a week, if not all 5. Gas prices may be down now, but who knows what tomorrow might bring?