Your opportunity to get cheap insurance for young drivers can be greatly enhanced by the use of Event Data Recorder (EDRs). EDRs have been used for tracking data from cars such as speed, air-bag deployment, and safety-belt use and are in fact already installed in millions of vehicles.

What is happening now is that aftermarket products are becoming available that are purposely designed to track the driving behavior of teen drivers. Small, easily installed and inexpensive, parents can now install EDRs on their vehicles and know how their young drivers are behaving behind the wheel.

There is lots of motivation to installing EDRs. Teen drivers have some of the highest insurance rates because their immaturity and inexperience are a dangerous combination that leads to higher accident rates. When teens know that their driving habits will be monitored and reported to their parents they are more likely to show more maturity behind the wheel and their driving performance will also improve more quickly. This fact is recognized by insurance companies and as a result they will offer reduced rates for young drivers when an EDR is installed.

Certain models have the added feature of audible warnings when certain types of behavior are detected such as driving faster than a preset limit, braking too hard or cornering too fast. These audible warnings can help the teen driver correct bad habits before they develop.

Installing the devices is relatively straightforward as they simply plug into the On-Board Diagnostics port. This is the port that has been installed in new vehicles since 1996 and is used by mechanics to run diagnostic tests or check systems for proper performance. These ports are usually easy to access making the EDRs easy to install.

One thing you want to check before purchasing is their ease of use. Most will allow you to download the data and produce a number of reports that you can then use for review with your teen. Don’t buy without the opportunity to experience the ease of downloading the data and what kinds of reports get produced. Make sure they give you the information you think you will need.

The cost of installing an EDR should be recovered by getting some cheap insurance for young drivers.