Teen drivers are easily recognized by New Jersey police officers, thanks to a new license plate feature.

Stricter licensing provisions and identification programs have lead to a decrease in accidents for teen drivers.

When out patrolling, police officers rely on not just equipment, but also on visual clues that someone is breaking the law. In New Jersey, they now have the assistance of a new license plate feature to help them identify if it’s a new teen driver that is the one breaking the law.

And from the statistics, not only are cops issuing out more tickets thanks to this feature, they have also possibly prevented a high number of accidents.

How Are Teen Drivers Identified in New Jersey?

In the state of New Jersey, drivers that are new to the road have to place a reflective decal sticker on both the front and back license plates on the vehicle they drive. This sticker is not meant to identify them to other drivers, but to give police officers the heads up that this driver is subject to graduated driver licensing provisions.

These provisions include that teens are only allowed a permit when they turn 16, and they are not allowed to have a driver’s license until they have reached 17. In addition, they are restricted from driving after 11p.m. and are limited to the number of people (specifically other teens) they are allowed to have in the car while they are driving.

Statistics Tied to this New Jersey Decal

Because these decals allow police officers automatically know that the driver is subject to graduated driver licensing provisions, they can quickly identify if the driver is violating any of the provisions. Being able to identify these teen drivers quickly has worked, as there has been a 14 percent increase in the number of citations to teen drivers that are in violation of the provisions, per a study done by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

CHOP also found that there was a 9 percent decrease in police-reported crashes for this same driving group. So it is looking like these stricter driving laws and graduated licensing provisions for teen drivers really do make a difference.

Teen Drivers in Other States Beware?

For those teen drivers that are laughing at their counterparts in New Jersey at the moment, don’t laugh too loud. Several other states are already looking into using these same decals to identify the teen drivers in their states, as well.

This last summer the federal government has also decided to step in, and will now be awarding grants to individual states that implement stronger graduated driver licensing provisions for their teen drivers (onlineautoinsurance.com).

An American Family Insurance family takes a road trip protected by their insurance coverage.

Commercial

The commercial goes through almost a home video of the announcer talking, his son and his grandson and all the national parks they have travelled to. It also shows all the stops and troubles they have had out on the road.

Announcer: It began as a promise, “Son, were going on a road trip.” That promise has lasted over 30 years. Our dream is to visit every national park in America. It’s been thousands of miles, countless bumps along the way. But we’ll just keep moving on, pursuing this amazing dream.

The American Family Insurance logo shows up on screen, followed by “Protects what matters most” under the American Family red roof symbol, and “Your dream is out there” also under the red American Family roof.

Commercial closes with the American Family Insurance logo on the screen again, the company website as well as the changing text of “auto”, “24/7 Claims Service, and Emergency Roadside Service.

Point of this American Family Commercial

American Family Insurance is not only highlighting an example of a possible American Family Insurance client, they are also making a point about the extent of their insurance coverage. With the example being a family driving all over the country, American Family is showing that you are protected under their coverage no matter how far away from home you drive.

What American Family Insurance Wants You to Do

First, American Family Insurance wants you to trust that they will be there for you for all your claims and road assistance troubles. They want you to have a feeling of security and freedom in knowing that they will be there for you if you ever do get in trouble while pursuing these “dreams”.

Second, they want you to visit their website. They make no other mention of how to contact them; which was most likely done on purpose. By not giving you a bunch of ways to contact them you don’t feel the pressure of the sale. They instead are quietly leaving you with the feeling that you can contact them when you need them and not that they are just trying to sell you insurance.

My Thoughts on the American Family Insurnace Commercial

I like the quiet simplicity of this insurance commercial. Normally I lean towards the funnier commercials, but the lack of sales pressure combined with the emotional factor of family men spending time with each other hit a chord with me.

Giving this American Family Insurance commercial two thumbs up.

Here are 5 things I give thanks for this year, in regards to the insurance industry.

Even insurance has good points to give thanks for.

Even though insurance companies and required insurance coverage is a common complaint today, there are things about insurance you should give thanks for. As silly as it may sound, insurance is actually a good thing. It just happens to be a good thing that we don’t like being forced to have.

I Give Thanks That We Have to Carry Insurance

Okay, once you stop laughing and pick yourself up off the floor from falling out of your seat, really think about what insurance does for us. We make payments to the insurance company, so that they will make an even bigger payment for us if we are ever in an accident.

I don’t know about you, but there is definitely no way I have room in my monthly budget to be paying for unplanned damages to my car or to someone else’s car that I caused. If it wasn’t for insurance, many people would go broke from having to pay for things like this out of their pocket. That is less money going into other areas of our economy, which just snowballs into an economic problem. I may be exaggerating a little here, but I am sure you see how it would have an effect.

So yes, I give thanks that I have insurance.

I Give Thanks That Other People Have to Have Insurance

If you have ever been in a car accident that was not your fault, you know where I am coming from here. Unfortunately, not everyone does carry insurance, and that creates problems for the people they hit.

I Give Thanks that Insurance is Not Run by the Government

I can see the confused looks on your faces already, so let me clear something up. Insurance is REGULATED not SOLD by the government. This means that the government makes sure that the insurance companies that sell the insurance are doing so ethically and within the law.

Can you imagine what our car insurance would be like if it was government run. We would have to wait two years just to get a decision as to whether they were going to insure us or not, and forget about getting a payment for damages in any reasonable fashion.

Also it’s illegal for an insurance company not to have funds available to pay claims, and with how the government runs on a constant deficit they would be breaking their own law.

I Gave Thanks That We Can Switch

The great thing about our insurance industry is all the options we have. If you ever are unhappy with how your insurance company treats you, you are free to leave them and go with one of the many other insurance companies available.

With so many options, you don’t have to put up being treated badly by an insurance company. You also have a better chance of finding an insurance company that works best for your personality and budget.

I Give Thanks for Insurance Commercials

If you have read many of our posts you will know that we frequently talk about insurance commercials, and how effective they are. But all that aside, insurance commercials are a cheap form of entertainment.

With commercial characters like Mayhem, Flo, and the 21st Century guy, you are bound to at least find yourself smiling when these commercials come on. And anything that makes me break out in a random smile during the day I give thanks for.

The 2012 Dodge Journey brings pleasant safety and insurance premium surprises to its owners.

The 2012 Dodge Journey is one of the cheapest vehicles in the nation to insure.

The 2012 Dodge Journey is a great pick for drivers looking for a good SUV that will keep their family safe. It is also a great pick for those that prefer to keep more money in their wallets than in the bank accounts of their insurance company.

IIHS Safety Ratings of the 2012 Dodge Journey

Good news for those of you that are considering buying a 2012 or even a 2013 Dodge Journey, the IIHS (Insurance Institute of Highway Safety) has rated these models as “Top Safety Picks” after testing them. “Top Safety Picks” are the safest vehicles on the road today; which does affect your insurance rates for some of the coverages on your policy.

The 2013 and 2012 Dodge Journey earned “good” ratings in all four categories that the IIHS tests in now. The categories include frontal crash tests, side impact crashes, rollover crash tests and rear crash protection tests. With each test the vehicle is ranked as being good, acceptable, marginal or poor.

To be a “Top Safety Pick” the vehicle has to earn “good” ratings in all four categories.

2012 Dodge Journey Recalls

There have been two recalls for the 2012 Dodge Journey and both were in late 2011.

The first was a recall due to the brakes, and only affected 340 vehicles. The second one was due to an issue with the engine cooling, and only affected 667 vehicles.

In the full spectrum of things, these were two very minor recalls. The number of vehicles that were recalled was minute compared to other recalls that manufacturers have faced in recent years, with other recalls sometimes numbering in the millions.

If you do have one of these vehicles, you should have been notified by Dodge already as to what to do. If you purchased a used 2012 Dodge Journey and want to make sure that your vehicle was not affected, you can always call and talk to your local Dodge dealer and they should be able to look up your vehicle history by its VIN number.

Insurance Thoughts on the 2012 Dodge Journey

Right off the bat I can tell you that the insurance on the 2012 Journey is going to make you very happy. Per the 2012 insurance ranking from insure.com, the 2012 Dodge Journey SXT was ranked as the 11th cheapest vehicle to insure. I would be very surprised if next year the 2013 journey didn’t also make it somewhere on the list for the lowest insurance premiums in 2013.

Buyers beware of a previously damaged car and the hassle of trying to get it insured.

This is one previously damaged car you may not want to purchase.

Most of us have seen the pictures that surfaced in the days following Hurricane Sandy. The sheer destruction that the storm caused to almost everything it came in contact with, including an incredibly high number of vehicles, was staggering. For me, the cars submerged underwater and piled against the opening of an underground parking garage is one of the pictures that sticks out most in my head.

That picture got me thinking about all the salvaged titles that I have talked to people about in the past. It also made me wonder how many of those vehicles will end up being sold to unsuspecting buyers, instead of ending up in a junkyard.

Why Do These Vehicles End Up Being Resold?

Because water damage leaves very little trace, it’s very easy for some unethical people to buy a salvaged vehicle and then sell them to buyers enticed by the low price tag they see. What they don’t see though, may be hidden mold that can damage their heath, electrical systems that can short out and cause a car fire later down the road, as well as damage to engine parts if the car was in salt water (most of the cars damaged by Sandy were).

To protect yourself as a buyer, always check the history of a vehicle before you handover any money.

Checking the History of Damaged Cars

Anytime a vehicle is totaled out it has to be reported to the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System within 30 days. This data base helps to protect buyers from purchasing vehicles that were previously damaged without them know about it.

To access the report for the vehicle you are interested in, visit vehiclehistory.gov. The report will provide you the information you need to find out if the vehicle is good or was previously damaged and has a salvage title.

What are Salvage Titles for Damaged Cars?

If you pull a report for a vehicle and it lists that there is a salvage title for that vehicle, this means that the vehicle was declared a total loss by an insurance company in the past. A vehicle that has been declared a total loss by an insurance company means that the total amount to fix the car exceeded 75% of the worth of the vehicle.

The problem with salvage titles is that they are hard to insure. Most insurance companies don’t want to cover a vehicle that has had that much previous damage to them. Before you choose to purchase a damaged car with a salvage title, contact your insurance company.