Student Driving: The High Cost of College-age Car Ownership
It’s an age-old debate for young people on their way to college for the first time – to drive or not to drive? You might be married to your car, but in reality, far fewer teenagers and twenty-somethings are driving than ever before. In 2012, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute did a study on college-age drivers, which found the number of 19-year-olds with drivers licenses dropped around 20 percent in the past two decades. Young people make up a much smaller percentage of drivers than they have in the past, and the reasons they give for not driving are numerous. But when you’re headed off to college, the number one thing to consider on your pros and cons list is going to be cost. With how much you and your parents already shell out for higher education, is owning a car really worth it? It all depends on your priorities.
Are you a Responsible Car Owner?
The first question you should ask yourself when you’re thinking about driving your car to college is whether you can handle the responsibility. If you have a history of minor accidents, running out of gas, driving your friends all over town, or letting people borrow your car without permission, your parents will probably realize that college life will just compound these issues. While they’re obviously worried about your safety, they also know that irresponsible drivers end up with expensive insurance premiums, especially when they’re young. Driving is pretty much a life or death activity that most adults engage in daily. Having the maturity to own a car may mean showing your parents you can step up and assume the price tag. Prepare for your extra financial aid and money from any jobs you’re working to go to gas, insurance, oil changes, and the like.
The Pitfalls of Campus Driving
If you’ve never tried to drive or park on a college campus before, you’re in for a real adventure. Campus parking lots are notorious for their staggeringly high parking fees, ticket-happy police, and ridiculous overcrowding. If you live off-campus or at home, you’ll end up heading to class at an early hour in the hope you can get a space somewhere in the same city mile as your destination. But you’re not off the hook if you live in the dorms, either. Not only will you be paying higher rates for a parking pass – as much as $2,500 a year for an urban campus – you’re usually not guaranteed a space any more than commuter students. If you take your car out at the wrong time, you could be driving around for an hour and end up parking on the street anyway, which is a waste of a lot of money. Remember, most college campuses are pretty self-sufficient, and all of your needs will be within walking distance. You probably won’t have as many reasons or as much spare time to drive as you think.
If You Decide to Bring Your Car
Maybe you’ve heard all the warnings and you understand the cost, but you simply can’t imagine life without your car. Or maybe you really need it to get to an off-campus job or make sure you can come home whenever you need to. The first thing to talk to your parents about is finding more affordable insurance, especially if they’re asking you to handle the bill. The internet is full of options for every kind of driver, even notoriously risky college-age drivers, and you can find insurance at Monkey.co.uk. The good news is that in college, you won’t be using your car all that much, so you may be able to get a cheaper policy. The second thing to talk to your parents about is how you’re going to make sure nothing goes wrong. College is full of opportunities for heavy drinking and light sleeping, which makes for dangerous driving conditions. Not only will they expect you to never drink and drive, they’ll probably have issues with you lending your car to other students who don’t have one. And they should – if other drivers don’t have insurance or aren’t covered by your policy, you will be responsible if they get in an accident.
If you’ve been driving all through high school, it’s understandable that you might not be ready to suddenly give up that privilege in college. But if you’re going away to a new town, having a car on campus can be expensive and a little nerve-wracking. More and more schools are asking freshmen not to bring cars, simply because of the risks involved and the ridiculous parking issues, so you may even have to look into alternative places to park. But if you can make it work, it’s one more step to responsible adulthood. Stay behind the wheel, but stay ahead of the costs.
Author Amy Thomson blogs for Monkey.co.uk . If you’re trying to save money at college, check out her other articles at Twitter @VroomVroomAmy.
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Category: Car Insurance
