It could be worse, but it could be better.  Texas ranks in the middle when it comes to teen driving in the US, and here's why.  If you've got a teenage driver, you'll want to check this out.

So, it seems like a minute or two ago your son or daughter was just learning to walk and then you blinked and he or she had mastered the computer and the iPhone, and now you're buying a car and teaching driving lessons.  The safety worries and the financial aspects are scary for parents, and it turns out the roads can be kinda scary for teen drivers too.

Wallethub put some stats together and said Texas ranks #24 on the 2016 list for Best and Worst States for Teen Drivers.  They used factors like road conditions (Texas does have its share of cracks and potholes), laws protecting teen drivers, the number of miles traveled, and the dreaded insurance premium increase after a teen driver is added to the policy.  Yikes.  That can be the scariest part.

You probably wouldn't think New York would be the best state for teen drivers, but it is.  And South Dakota is the worst.  Texas ranked the best on safety and the economic environment, and didn't do so well in the driving laws category to rank 24th overall.

My grandpa always used to say, "Watch out for the other guy."  We can do everything right behind the wheel, and there's still some wacko driver that's texting and not paying attention, and that can cause big problems, especially for newer drivers.  With the busy 4th of July travel weekend coming up, now is a good time to sneak in an extra conversation about how to make it a safe one.  Locking the smart phone in the trunk, for starters!

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