Is Your Teen Driving with a Graduated License? What You Need to Know Before You Go Shopping for Car Insurance Quotes Online.

Is Your Teen Driving with a Graduated License? What You Need to Know About Teens, Graduated Licenses and Shopping for Car Insurance Quotes Online.

Ah, spring. The time of year when a young man's fancy turns to love. Or, to quote the words of the immortal Robin Williams, "Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's Party!'" No one wants to be stuck in the house when the weather's nice enough to finally see the grass in your backyard again, especially a teenager dying to take their brand-spanking-new driver's license for a test drive! If your teen has a shiny new license in a graduated license state, make sure you're up to date on what that means-and why you might want to go shopping for car insurance quotes online before you hand over your car keys!

The 411 on Your Teen's Graduated License

Not too long ago, a driver's license was a driver's license. As soon as you hit your state's legal driving age you were free to cruise the highway any time, day or night. Then someone decided that was a really, really bad idea, teens needed more restrictions placed on their driving time, and the graduated license system was born.

The precise rules and regulations change from state to state, so you're going to need to find out yours before you turn over your car. Since we're talking generalities here, however, I'm going to post New York's guidelines for a graduated license to give you an idea of what you're up against:

· Phase 1: Learner's/Instructional Permit-Teens are allowed to drive on a Learner's Permit once they turn 16 with a licensed driver older than 21 and with no more than 2 passengers under the age of 21 unless they're immediate family. If you live in NYC there are certain areas that don't allow your teen to drive between 9pm and 5 am, so make sure you check that out.

· Phase 2: Intermediate License-Once your teen has logged 20 hours of instructional time behind the wheel (this is a little vague-what they mean is they want 20 hours with a Driver's Ed instructor) they're eligible for an Intermediate License. This says they're allowed to drive between 5am and 9pm, with no more than 2 passengers under the age of 21 in the car with them unless they're immediate family (so your dreams of having them play taxi for their brothers and sisters aren't completely shot).

· Phase 3: Full License-Once they turn 17 (18, if they decided Driver's Ed wasn't for them) they're eligible for a full license that says they can drive whenever they want.

Shopping for Car Insurance Quotes Online

Your teen may be itching to get behind the wheel, but you're not itching to pay the hike in your car insurance rates. The good news is, not everyone has the same policies when it comes to teen drivers. That's why once your teen is ready to hit the highways it's a good idea to go shopping for car insurance quotes online.

Don't get me wrong, your car insurance rates are still going to go up. Teens are high risk drivers until they get some experience. Companies offer discounts for teens to help take the edge off, however, including discounts for being a good student, only spending a certain amount of time on the road and completing a state accredited Driver's Education program. Shopping for car insurance quotes online is a fast, easy way to see who's going to give you a break and let you hand over the keys so your child can take the next step toward giving you a full head of grey hair.