No Pressure Driving

Nothing is worse than a car break down when it’s jaw-chattering cold outside. Just thinking about it makes me shiver! Taking steps now to prepare your car for the winter can save your car (and your teeth).

One big step in preparing your car for the cold is to have your tire pressure checked. Since tire pressure drops when temperatures cool down, your tires could be dangerously low on air and could jeopardize your car’s handling, which could lead to more road accidents. In fact, tire pressure is so important to your safety, that as of 2008, tire pressure monitors are required on all new vehicles. (Older cars don’t have them, so you’ll need to check the pressure manually.)

A word of caution, though: over-inflating your tires won’t do you any good either. Not having your tires at their recommended pressure will negatively affect not only your tire’s wear, but more importantly your vehicle performance and your ability to drive safely.

National Teen Driver Safety Week; Education for Parents and Teens

We all remember the feeling we had when we received our first drivers license. While our parents worried, we delighted in our new-found freedom. Our parents’ anxiety wasn’t unjustified; teens are often involved in (or the cause of) accidents. In fact:
• Car crashes are still the leading killer of people age 15 to 20.
• Young drivers are three times as likely to die in a crash as those aged 25 to 64
• The younger the driver, the more accidents. The crash rate for 16 year olds per
million miles driven is nearly three times as high as for 19 year olds, and nearly six times as high as drivers aged 20 to 24.

The O’Neill Group supports National Teen Driver Safety Week (NTDSW) which is scheduled annually in October. NTDSW is designed to spotlight the risks and hazards associated with teen driving as well as provide education. Part of NTDSW stresses the creation of a contract between parents and teen drivers.

We have developed such a contract for families with teen drivers as part of our total protection initiative because we believe it is an important step in preventing devastating teen accidents. The contract contains such items as the number of friends allowed in a vehicle at one time, and other rules teens should abide by.

Your teen is probably becoming more independent, too. Even if your teen isn’t driving quite yet, they are often passengers. It is important to start the conversation early with your teen about their new-found independence and driving responsibilities, as well as about riding with their friends who might be newly licensed.

To find even more helpful advice on the subject as well as discussion tips, we highly recommend visiting www.teendriverinsurance.com/Oneill. We also urge you to request a free copy of the parent-teen contract by calling our office at 330-334-1561 and speaking with your Personal Protection Specialist. Please help us make our streets safer, and keep your teen safe, by reminding them that with their independence comes great responsibility, too.

Non-Owned Auto Coverage

So, What Is Non-owned Auto Coverage?

Have you ever thought about the risks involved in sending out one of your employees on an errand using their own car? It could be as simple as getting into a fender bender while going to pick up the office lunch or while making a run to the post office. Unfortunately, your business could possibly be responsible for that employee’s accident.

Non-owned auto coverage protects your company in the event that an employee has an accident using their own car on company time. This coverage can be included in your commercial insurance policy for a relatively small amount compared to the damages you may have to pay should an employee be involved in an auto accident while carrying out business functions. If you would like to know if your business is covered for these types of accidents, please call our office, so we may assess your current policy.