Spencer Insurance Blog

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays.  I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year.  This year I will continue to offer you ways to keep your teen drivers safe.

Car accidents are the leading cause of severe injuries and death among teenagers all across the U.S. and inexperience is the leading factor in these accidents. “New drivers just don’t know how to react to dangerous situations that, many times, they get themselves into,” says Ret. Master Police Officer James Poer who investigated car accidents for 30 years. “Education and most importantly, experience, is critical to helping kids learn how to avoid dangerous situations and how to react when they encounter dangerous situations.”

 Driving school experts recommend 100 hours of behind the wheel experience before a teen drives unsupervised. Unfortunately, driving schools can’t provide this amount of experience. Depending on the state, schools are only required to give 4 to 6 hours of driving practice and with so many students in a class, schools simply cannot provide adequate experience. This places the responsibility on the parents. cover-of-teen-driver-safety-course-spencercover-of-teen-driver-safety-course-spencer

 One way to make the most of this time is to use a home study driving course. By following a structured lesson plan, parents can teach their teens the most important skills to driving safely and make the needed driving time most effective. The Society of Family Insurance Specialists (SFIS) has released a 16 step home study course, The Safe Teen Driver Guide, that provides parents a lesson plan and practice exercises to help them accomplish this important goal. I helped co-author this guide along with Officer Poer and a certified driving school instructor.

 Since receiving a call from local police telling me that my son was in an accident, I have been on a mission to help parents keep their teen drivers safe. My agency offers many tools including GPS teen driver monitoring systems, “How’s My Driving?” bumper stickers, Parent/ Teen Driver Contract, 101 Safety Tips for Teen Drivers and much more. The Safe Teen Driver Guide is one tool that I have had a great response from.  Almost every parent that has received it is grateful for having such a great tool to help them teach their teen to drive.

 This guide is now available at no cost to Philadelphia area parents simply by completing a brief on-line survey. The SFIS is interested in the concerns of parents of teen drivers and is conducting a marketing survey offering the guide and a chance to win a $500 college savings bond as a reward for completing the survey.

Parents can enter the drawing for the savings bond and get a copy of the Safe Teen Driver Guide valued at $59 by taking the survey at www.teendriverinsurance.com/spencer/survey .

For more information on how to keep your teen driver safe visit my website at www.teendriverinsurance.com/spencer.

On behalf of my staff I would like to wish all of you Happy Holidays.  Our hope is that no matter how you celebrate the holidays that these days  bring  joy and peace to you and your family.   We also extend to all of you the Best for 2009!

Our staff and I understand that it is because of all of you that we are in business.  Do not hesitate to call us with your questions or concerns.  Your Protection and Peace of Mind is our only business!  Our offices will close on Noon Christmas Eve and remain closed until Monday December 29th so our staff can enjoy Christmas with their families.  We will also close at 3:00 PM on News Years Eve and remained closed for New Year’s Day.  We will reopen on Friday January 2nd!

Have a Wonderful Holiday

Charlie

This is a very exciting week for our family.  We will have about 25 people coming over for dinner at our house on Thanksgiving.  It will be a hectic day but I wouldn’t want it any other way.  Now that my children are on their own it is great to have them back on Thanksgiving. 

I have many things for which to be thankful.  I want to especially thank all my clients, family and friends who refer people to our agency.  Thank you for your confidence in our agency and for your business.  I want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving! 

The Fall Colors have been beautiful the last few weeks.  Then all of the sudden I have a carpet of leaves on my front lawn, sidewalk and porch. The leaves always seem to fall the week after our township scheduled our leaf pick up, but they will be back again in a couple weeks and our township does a great job picking up the leaves.

Driving down the street last weekend with the wet leaves covering the road reminded me that the leaves soon will be replaced with ice and snow.  This is the time to start thinking of ways to take the opportunity to teach your teen drivers how to drive safely in bad road conditions.

Parents should not avoid taking their children out during bad weather to teach them how to handle these conditions.  It is probably one of the most difficult lessons to administer.  The reason is that parents feel very uncomfortable putting their children behind the wheel in these conditions.  This is only natural as your instinct wants to protect your children.

However, eventually they will be driving in these conditions whether it is heavy rain, wet leaves, snow or ice.  It is better to prepare them for these conditions with a few lessons.

The tough part of this training is that it has to be done on a moments notice.  Depending on when your teen receives their permit you may not see snow or ice for a year or more.  So as soon as the opportunity presents itself jump on it.  It will be a valuable lesson for your teen.

When starting this lesson go back and remember the first lesson you gave your teen.  It was probably in some remote area like a empty parking lot.  That is a great place to start this training.  Even though your teen may have been driving for a while they have not experience the effects of ice and snow on the car.

Take them out into that empty parking lot where you have some room to maneuver.  Have them brake on the snow and ice.  Show them it takes more time to stop when sliding on ice and snow.  Explain to them the importance of putting more distance between their car and the car in front of them when it rains, snows or is icy on the roads. Keep practicing braking, turning and steering through the snow and ice.  Discuss what black ice is.

Take time to go over safety checks with your teen.  Show them how to properly clear their car of snow and ice.  Make sure they remove all the snow from their car and not just the snow on the windshield.  Remember last winter Pennsylvania passed a law making it clear that you need to remove the snow from your entire vehicle. “Snow or ice can cause injury or death to another person,” state officials said.  If you do not follow the law by removing snow from the tops of your car the fines could range from $200 to $1,000.  How many times have you been behind a car or truck and snow blew off the top of their truck or car and landed right on your windshield blinding you temporarily

Show your teen how to get leaves and snow out of the area surrounding your windshield wipers.  Have them make sure the wipers are free of snow and ice and that the windshield washer fluid tubes are not blocked by ice and snow.  Make sure the windshield washer fluid is full and that you have a backup container in the trunk of the car.  .

Another tip is to put together a winter safety kit for each of your cars.  Use a small plastic container and fill it with the following items: blanket, spare gloves and hat, small shovel, emergency flasher and flashlight, sand or cat liter, and windshield washer fluid.  Make sure you car also has an ice scraper and a brush to remove snow from the top of your car.

Remember your teen’s inexperience and poor decisions are only compounded when they drive in bad weather conditions.  Take the time to practice how to drive in these conditions.  It is valuable time spent making your teen a safer driver.

For more tips on teen driving safety visit: www.teendriverinsurance.com/spencer.

Last time I talked about the importance of a driving contract between a parent and child that sets the ground rules for your child’s safe driving.  I also mentioned the importance of writing this down and having a list of consequences for breaking the rules.

This is a great start but the downside is that it only addresses an issue after it happens.  How do you know if your child is speeding if a ticket is not issued? 

When my son was 17 I found out the hard way that he was speeding.  Late one evening while watching the 11:00 news a local police officer knocked on our door.  He told me that my Buick had been in an accident.  I asked how my son was doing and he said he did not know.  My son was not at scene. For one hour as the police searched the area with police dogs we did not know where our son was.  Later I found out that he had walked a couple miles in search of a phone and that he was okay.

My son admitted going 70 in a 35 zone.  As often happens with speeding he swerved to the right to avoid a car and lost control and took out a telephone pole with a transformer on it.  The pole landed on the roof and trunk of the car.  Fortunately my son was wearing a seat belt and the airbag deployed.  The car was a total loss but I was fortunate that my message of wearing a seat belt got through to my son.  Without the seat belt I believe he would have been another teen death statistic.   

I wish the technology was available back then that is out there today.  Today parents can get a GPS monitoring device that will alert you when your child is speeding.  The system is placed in the car and reports back certain driving behaviors through alerts.  The system will send these alerts as an email to the parent or text message the parent’s cell phone. 

There are other alerts as well.  If your child goes out of certain area it will also alert you.  You can even prevent the car from starting remotely if you choose.

This is a great tool to protect your child.  If I had known my son was speeding I may have been able to correct his behavior before he got into the accident that could have cost him his life. 

The system allows the parent to go onto a website and monitor in real time where their son/daughter is at that moment.  It will also provide you a history of where they have driven. 

I have to believe if my son knew this device was in the car he would not have been speeding. I hope no parent ever gets a visit from the local police like we did that night.  I strongly urge you to check out these GPS monitoring devices.  It may well save a life!

My son is a good kid.  He just made a bad decision.  Auto accidents are the number one killer of Teenagers.  Sixteen year olds are inexperience and immature drivers.  Protect them any way you can.  Stay vigilant in discussing driving safety with your children.  You may think they are not listening but they hear you.

For more information on the GPS monitoring device visit: www.teendriverinsurance.com/spencer.

Winter is coming!  The leaves are falling and the streets will become slick. In my next Blog we will discuss how to teach your child to drive in snow and ice.

I just got back from the polls and it was great to see a high voter turnout.  Today is Election Day and I know most of us are glad it is here. My mail will be a little lighter tomorrow and I won’t have as many voice mails to listen to when I get home.

Despite all the problems our country is facing today I still believe it is the best country in the world to live.  We can go to the polls without incident.  We hold our leaders accountable by voting them in or out of office.  It is a great process.

Parents can learn a lesson from today. Our country has many laws.  The police enforce these laws, sometimes to protect us from ourselves.  We don’t always make the right decisions.  Why should we expect any less from our children? 

When it comes to teaching your child to drive responsibly parents need to lay down the law.  Your children need to know that there will be consequences if they do not drive safely.

 Driving is a privilege not a right.  Parents can take that privilege away.

I suggest that every parent sit down and discuss the laws of driving with their children.  Some of these laws may be to obey traffic laws, not to text or talk on a cell phone while driving,  have no more than one passenger in their car at a time, use seat belts and not to drive if tired. 

Just as important parents must hold their child accountable if they break the law.  Your child needs to know the consequences of breaking the laws.  For example you may tell your child if they get a speeding ticket that not only will they have to pay the fine, but they will lose their driving privileges for 30 days.

Just as important as having this discussion with your child is the need to write it down.  I don’t know about you but with all that goes on in my life I sometimes forget things unless I write them down.  This should be no different.  Write down the rules and consequences on a piece of paper and have your child sign it.  Did you ever hear your child say “you never told me that”?  Now if they forget you can pull out the contract and show them what they signed.

Parents need to keep their side of the contract also.  If you encourage your children not to drive when they are tired you need to be prepared to pick them up without being angry and be happy that they called you.  If you tell your children not to text or talk on a cell phone while driving don’t do it yourself.  You are setting an example every time you drive with your child.  If you speed your child will speed.  I think you get the picture. 

Learn how to teach your children to be safe drivers.  Your car insurance agent should be able to help you in this area.  Call your agent for a copy of a driving contract and a list of consequences. 

Driving contracts and a list of consequences can be found at www.teendriverinsurance.com/spencer.

Check out my next blog when I discuss a GPS system to help you monitor your child’s driving.

By Charlie Spencer CLU

 Halloween!!  It is that time of year again when all the little gremlins will be showing up at our doors.  I thought I would pass on some reminders to protect you and the little gremlins.

Last year I saw a sign on a bank door instructing anyone in costume to take off their mask before entering the bank.  It reminded me of a Halloween years ago when I was in college and working part time for a major hotel as a room service waiter.  The company policy was to allow all employees to come in costume that day.  Well we did and had a great time with the guests.  However, when I was out delivering a meal a man in costume came into our area and robbed our cashier.  Fortunately nobody was hurt and only cash was missing.

So be careful in your offices and businesses to guard against something like this happening to you.  Be aware of what is going on around you.

Here are a few more safety tips:

• Make sure your walkways, driveways and porches are clear of obstructions.  Are all your decorations out of the path of the children?
• Make sure your paths and porch are well lit.
• Put pets away so they do not escape out of your house or attack a visitor.
• Handle all candles carefully and do not allow the candles to come near the costumes of the visitors.  Make sure you extinguish all candles at the end of the night. 
• Be careful to park your cars so that the children do not have to walk off the sidewalk and onto the street.
• Be aware of what is going on in the neighborhood and report any suspicious activity.

Be careful to protect your children and to protect yourself from lawsuits.  Make sure you have the proper liability protection.  Call your agent today!

By Charlie Spencer CLU

Well, you are ready to hand over the keys of your car to your teen driver.  Get ready to be nervous but show your teen that you trust them.  Make sure you and your teen have discussed the ground rules.  Make sure you have a written contract and a list of the consequences for breaking any of the rules.  Call us for a copy of a Teen/parent contract.

You as a parent are the best teacher of your teen.  Make sure you lead by example.  Remember every time your teen drives with you he/she will be observing you closely.  Here is a list of 11 safety tips we suggest all parents should enforce:

1.     Practice makes Perfect.  Your teen should have a minimum of 100 hours behind the wheel experience before obtaining their drivers license.

2.     Pay for your teen to attend a professional driving school.

3.     Always wear your seat belt.

4.     Limit the number of passengers.  Driver distraction and peer pressure increases as the number of passenger’s increases.

5.     Install a GPS System.  If your teen knows you are watching, they WILL drive differently!  They WILL drive safer!

6.     Obey the Speed Limit.  Speed KILLS.  Allow yourself plenty of time to reach your destination.  If you are late, speeding WILL NOT get you there on time!

7.     Ban cell phones while driving.

8.     Maintain your vehicle.  Make sure the windshield is clean and the tires are properly inflated.  Many teens drive older cars; make sure they have newer tires and wiper blades.

9.     Use turn signals to let other drivers know your intentions.

10.            Don’t get caught asleep at the wheel.  Today’s teens are more active than any previous generation.  Consequently, they are out later and are more tired.  Don’t get behind the wheel if you are tired.

11.            Don’t Drink and Drive, and don’t ride with anyone that has been drinking or is otherwise impaired. 

Take the time to train your teen driver to be a safe driver.  It could save a life!

By Charlie Spencer CLU

My wife Tammy and I had a wonderful event this past Sunday.  Our son Brian married a wonderful young lady named Jennie Roach.  I wish Brian and Jennie all the best for their bright future.  Jennie, welcome to the Spencer Family!! 

Weddings are a great time to meet up with friends and family and celebrate the occasion.  As the father of the groom I watched as Jennie planned the wedding.  It was better for Jennie that I was not too involved.  She wisely spoke with Tammy and my daughters when planning the wedding.

Well, the insurance agent in me came out during the planning of the wedding and many things that happened at the wedding and during the planning got me thinking insurance.  (Yeah, I know I should get a life).

A wedding is a wonderful time but also a huge investment!  There is a lot of planning, the ceremony, reception, flowers, photographer, etc.  Fortunately for us the wedding went off wonderfully, but I was prepared if something went wrong.

In these economic times we need to be careful who we choose for the reception, photographer, bridal shop, florist, DJ, and more.  What if they go out of business?  What happens with my deposit?  What happens if the bridal shop or photographer goes bankrupt?  For a very small premium you can insure your investment in this wonderful day.  Don’t leave it to chance, insure it.  Call us at 215-885-2200 for more details.

I want your special day to be as wonderful as our wedding was!  Savor the moment!  Remember at Spencer Insurance Agency, Your protection and peace of mind is our only business!

By Charlie Spencer CLU

Recently there have been news articles pushing for the minimum age for a teen driver to be pushed up to 17 nationwide.  The reasoning is that Teen Driver deaths would go down significantly.

  Another recent push has been to increase to 100 the number of hours needed before driving unsupervised. In Pennsylvania a teen needs only 50 supervised hours before they can go and take the test to get their license. While teenagers look forward to getting their driver’s licenses, their parents often face this juncture of their children’s lives with fear and trepidation. Car accidents are the leading cause of severe injuries and death among teenagers all across the U.S.  I want to make sure you do not experience the same nightmare that my wife and I experienced when the local police came to our door at 11:00 PM one night to tell us our 17 year old son was in an accident.  Fortunately for us he was fine although the car was totaled.

 I think we all agree our teens benefit from more supervised time behind the wheel.  However as parents we struggle and are given little guidance on what to do with this valuable time.  Driver training schools typically provide only 6 to 8 hours of training.  What do we do with the other 92?  “Parents need t take the responsibility to provide their teen with more driving experience” said Officer Poer.  Let us help you. Email or call our office today at 215-885-2200 for our “Safe Teen Driver Guide” which contains 16 lessons.  These lessons provide a step by step outline of driving skills and practice exercises that parents can use to teach their teen to drive. By using this guide, parents can spend time with their child and make the experience more enjoyable.  Plus it gives parents the peace of mind of knowing that their child is a safe driver.

  We want to help you make your teen a safe driver.  Check out my website at www.teendriverinsurance.com/spencer that is dedicated to keeping your teen safe.  The website offers many useful tools for parents to help keep their teens safe.  When you are on the website sign up for VIP Access.  You will get my monthly email newsletter “Driver Seat” which will provide more tips to help make your teen a safe driver.

At Spencer Insurance Agency, Your protection and peace of mind is our only business!