Back-to-school season: Drive safely and you can keep your premiums down and your record point free

It’s the end of he holiday season and the time we get back into the grove. Along with getting back into the grove children and young adults all over are getting back into school. This means you will have competition on the road during your morning commute.

School bus stops change from year to year depending on where the children live. Consequently bus drivers have to learn new routes with stop variations, and the children have to get used to the new schedule as well. When the stop and go stutter traffic of the school bus reduces your morning commute to an exercise in fortitude, keep your composure.

In many states, the bus driver has the right to issue you a summons if you pass the bus inappropriately. Understand, they are not out to get you. However, nationally thousands of school busses are passed, or cut off every day. Thousands of students are injured every year due to bus accidents. Moreover, on average 20 children die a year when they are entering or departing school buses because of careless drivers. Many school districts are placing cameras on the buses to record the information of people driving illegally around the school buses. The cameras are attached to the STOP arm actuated when the red blinking lights are put on. The cameras can identify and record a car up to 100 yards away.

Depending on the state you live you can be fined several hundred dollars, and or have your license suspended, and or spend several months to years in jail. For example in NJ, you will receive 5 points on your driving record, minimum of $100 fine and up to 15 days in jail or community service. In Virginia it can be up to 11 years imprisonment.

There are things you can do to make the back to school transition period for you as a driver and auto insurance policy holder a bit easier. Get up a little earlier and leave plenty of time. If you are not rushed you are less likely to try to pass the bus as it is coming to a stop. Watch for children on the streets approaching the bus stops, and always defer to the directions of the crossing guard. You take the time to review your auto insurance policy to make sure you aren’t overpaying on your auto insurance premiums. Take the time to drive safely and you can keep your premiums down and your record point free.


Back-to-school season: Drive safely and you can keep your premiums down and your record point free

Looking for Cheap Car Insurance Rates

The cost of practically everything seems to be rising constantly. For this reason, consumers are always on the lookout for a great deal. And everyone wants cheap car insurance. Finding low rates for a good policy is the challenge. There are several ways you can look for low rates from reputable insurance companies.

Referrals from Friends and Family

Many drivers, especially young ones, simply use their parents’ insurance provider. Or they might ask a friend for a referral. You might initially get a lower rate because of the referral, but your premiums will probably be higher after the first year. If you decide to go with a referral, you should still take the time to review the insurance provider before you purchase a policy. Just because your friend or family member has had a good experience, do not assume the company has a high score with rating agencies.

Individual Insurance Companies

Advertisements for insurance companies are everywhere: television, radio, and the Internet. If you see or hear a commercial or advertisement for a particular insurance company that seems reliable, you can contact the insurance provider directly. All major insurance companies provide free online quotes to customers. However, this can be very time consuming if you plan to compare car insurance quotes from multiple providers as you will need to contact each separately.

Online Quote Comparison Sites

These sites allow you to get multiple quotes from a variety of insurance providers that are approved to serve your community. Using this type of site is exceedingly convenient as you can compare rates at any time of the day in the comfort of your home. You simply provide basic information to get a list of offers that you can review at your leisure. When comparison shopping, it is best to select comparable policies. It does not make sense to compare a standard policy against a full coverage policy. You also want to review deductible requirements as well as annual premiums.

When looking for cheap car insurance rates, you have several ways to find great policies. Using a quote comparison site that provides quotes from trusted insurance companies is the safest way to comparison shop. You get accurate cheap car insurance quotes that are good for a specified period of time so you can review quotes at your convenience.

Looking for Cheap Car Insurance Rates

On the road in a rented car with toddlers how do you manage the feeding problem?

Of course, those of us with a good credit score can rent an RV and cook whenever we need food for the toddlers. That way, we can always take the emerging food preferences into account without undue waste and expense. It’s the same if we decide to go the route of camping. We can either pick the sites with cooking facilities or carry our own gas rings. Remember starting real fires in the middle of our current hot summer is not likely to endear us to Park Rangers and others trying to prevent wildfires from starting. So this gives you a shopping list of possible makes and models to shop for at the car rental companies if you propose carrying outdoor cooking equipment.

Otherwise you load the people into the vehicle and set off into the wild blue yonder, full of the joys of the road and hope in your hearts. Those of you with toddlers will know they are just learning about the world and beginning to take some control over how they relate to it. One of the first symptoms of toddler control comes in emerging taste preferences. This is not to say any child should have a say over what gets put on the plate, but practical reality may call for some negotiation over how much is eaten. Most children go through phases of being picky. Many never seem to emerge from this phase. If you’re lucky, the child will only eat something available at every diner or restaurant. This may be macaroni cheese which has the benefit of being relatively cheap and nutritious, or it may be junk food which will encourage faster growth around the waist. Either way, you need food storage in the vehicle you rented so that, if there’s a mutiny and all outside food is refused, you can fall back on snacks when the real hunger kicks in.

Hopefully, the car rental companies offered guidance on the diners and restaurants offering child-friendly portions at reasonable price. If not, spend time on the internet searching out the likely places to eat. Never assume all diners will cater for your toddlers.


On the road in a rented car with toddlers how do you manage the feeding problem?