"Currently, auto accidents are the leading cause of death for teens between the ages of 16 and 20," according to Kristi Broekhove, a Report My Teen spokeswoman.
2003 Teen Related Accident Statistics:
- 15 to 18
Yr. Old Drivers Injured
- 15 to 18 Yr. Old Drivers Involved
- Crashes Involving at
Least One
15-18 Yr. Old Driver
- Nonoccupants Injured in
Crashes
- Involving a
15-18 Yr. Old
Driver
-
Occupants
of Other
Vehicles
Injured
-
Passengers
of Drivers
15 to 18 Yr.
Old Injured
-
Total Injuries
Motorists can now report teen driving behavior by calling the phone number shown on a bumper sticker. Amy King, a Report My Teen subscriber, told Trouble Shooters, "Parents lay awake at night sometimes worrying, how is my child driving?" The solution is that now parents may put a bumper sticker on the vehicles that their teens drive with a four digit reportable pin. This new web-based service allows motorists to report beginning teen drivers who "need improvement" in their driving skills by reporting the code number on the bumper sticker and the violation or complaint.
What if you're the neighbor of the teen you want to report and wish to remain anonymous? That is completely up to you according to the service home page, "If you're worried about reporting a teen driver, you shouldn't. You can remain anonymous." The parent is then notified with an email copy of the voice recording from the complainer.
AAA Foundation has just posted the results of a new study on teen drivers and NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams featured Report My Teen Wednesday Evening on October 25, 2006.
With this new program parents are now able to keep track of their teen's driving habits. After a parent is notified of a complaint they now have the opportunity to then have a discussion with their child about driving safety. For further information on how to use this service or to view sample calls visit http://www.reportmyteen.com. Because teens are the least likely to use seatbelts, and the most expensive age group to insure, Report My Teen is working with insurance companies to offer reduced pricing for subscribers. "We are working with the insurance companies to consider discounts for members of RMT. We look forward to insurance companies rewarding parents and teens with reduced rates for responsible drivers," according to the website.
Report My Teen has led to the reduction of repeat speeding offenders. "A Dallas area Municipal Court and RMT have been working together successfully now for 7 months using RMT stickers as a sentencing tool for teens with speeding tickets," Broekhove said. "Juvenile courts in Dallas are hopeful that other courts in the United States will follow suit."
The Report My Teen service originated with two professional moms and two teenage sons learning to drive. "As moms, we trusted our kids but we were astonished at the level of inexperience and impulsiveness we saw watching our sons drive. We were equally overwhelmed to find out our car insurance rates would be 50-100 percent higher with a teen driver. Our insurance companies told us that these high premiums are due largely to the staggering statistics of accidents and deaths caused by teen drivers. With that in mind, we set out to find a solution. The concept of simply adding a Report My Teen bumper sticker to the vehicle changed the driving behavior of our teens."
I guess the other solution would be to not allow teens to drive... | 
