Chicago, IL (Vocus/PRWEB ) August 1, 2009 -– Now that the Cash for Clunkers bill, officially known as the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), is up and running, consumers can also find cheaper car insurance premiums than with their older vehicle. CheapCarInsurance.org gives the latest details on CARS and explains ways consumers can find cheap car insurance rates.

CARS, signed into law by President Obama on June 24, is the 2009 program that is aimed at encouraging consumers to trade in their older, less fuel-efficient vehicles for one that is more fuel efficient by providing a $3,500 or $4,500 credit. Although older vehicles are generally less expensive to insure because of their lesser value, consumers can find cheaper car insurance premiums through additional discounts.

Many insurance agents will offer up to a 10% discount or even cheaper car insurance premiums for hybrid owners. This additional discount is due to the way insurance companies view hybrid drivers. Insurance companies base their rates on risk. Statistically, hybrid owners fall into the “preferred insured category,” which means they will receive the cheapest car insurance quotes.

Hybrid owners fall into this category because they are typically more mature drivers who are less likely to be in an accident and file a claim. Statistically, hybrid owners are married men and women between the ages of 41 and 60 who are financially stable and responsible citizens. This formula equates to less risk for the insurance company and the cheapest car insurance quotes for the driver.

In addition to going green and saving some green by purchasing a hybrid, consumers can also take a few additional step to be more eco-friendly and save on their car insurance premiums. By switching to paperless billing, people can cut down on wasted paper use, which saves trees and the insurer money. Generally, the insurance company will pass these savings on by offering additional discounts for people who pay online or have their payments automatically withdrawn. Moreover, carpooling will cut down on an individual’s carbon footprint and they may find cheaper car insurance premiums as they cut down on their personal mileage.

About CheapCarInsurance.org:
CheapCarInsurance.org offers a quick and easy way for people to find the cheapest car insurance quotes. To learn more about CheapCarInsurance.org, visit the website.

In the next few lines we will summarise under headings the steps that a new aspiring Driver must take in order to legally drive on the road.

1) License Requirements
2) Theory Test
3) Provisional license
4) Road Tax for vehicle
5) Insurance
6) National Car Test (NCT)
7) Tyres The Driving Test
9) Foreign License Transfer

We will firstly look at the Complete Beginner Driver, someone who has never driven before and then take the Driver who has driven in his or her own Country

- You must first sit and pass the Driver Theory Test.
- You may then acquire your Provisional Driving License.
- With your provisional license you are then legally allowed behind the wheel.
- You MUST then have an accompanying Driver who holds a full Irish Driving License.
- The car you are driving must be insured for you to drive .This can be insurance in your own name or as a Named Driver on a relatives or friends insurance policy.
- The Car you are driving must have a current Insurance Disc displayed.
- The Car must have a Current Tax Disc Displayed.
- The Car must have an NCT Certificate displayed where necessary.
- All equipment in the car must be functioning correctly, Lights, Brakes, Indicators.
- Finally Tyre tread depths must be a minimum of 1.6mm across two thirds of the width of the Tyre.
- The first Provisional license will last for two years and once you are using your second Provisional License you will not be able to renew this without having sat your Driving Test.

- The waiting list for Driving Tests is approximately 12 months so it is advisable to apply for the Driving Test when you commence lessons with a Professional Driving School.

- Please dont waste your time and that of the Dept. of Transport by attempting to sit the Driving Test without having had a substantial course of Lessons.

- Part of the reason for the lengthy wait for a Driving Test is precisely because too many Applicants are not sufficiently well prepared for this Exam and are having to sit the Test on subsequent occasions

- When you have passed your Driving Test you should exchange your Provisional License for a Full Irish Driving License which will enable you to reduce your Insurance costs and of course drive throughout the European Union.

- If you do not exchange your Provisional license for a full License you will not legally be entitled to drive on a Motorway.

- Your License (Provisional or Full) must be carried with you at all times.

Drivers who have an existing License from their Own Country:

- Nationals of Countries belonging to the European Union may exchange their full Licenses for a Full Irish License if they are intending to reside permanently in Ireland.

- Provisional Licenses held by European Union citizens, including the United Kingdom, are not transferable and therefore an aspiring Driver must undergo the full action described above of Theory test; Provisional License; Driving test in order to achieve a Full Irish Driving License.

- Non E.U.Nationals driving on a full license from their own country will mostly need to undergo the full system of Theory Test; Provisional License: Driving Test; in order to qualify for a full Irish Driving License.

- There are a few exceptions to this rule and the list of acceptable Licenses for Transfer to an Irish License can be found on the Dept. of Transport web site.

Insurance (more info www.onlinecarinsurancetips.com)

- Driving without insurance, which is a serious offence and can lead to heavy fines and Penalty point on your license, increases the insurance costs for all motorists!

- All Drivers pay a percentage of their Insurance premium into a fund to cover the costs of accidents incurred by uninsured drivers!

- Getting insurance cover even for a vehicle which has only a nominal value is extremely expensive, particularly for the Provisional License holder .Therefore it is imperative, for the beginner driver to accept this fact and spend the necessary amount on Driving Lessons and pass the Driving Test as soon as possible.

- With a full license, insurance will still be expensive, but with an accident free record this will reduce year by year.

- One final reminder about Insurance Discs; if they fade in bright sunlight, they must be replaced as otherwise a Driving Test could be forfeited if the Examiner cannot read the Disc!

Legislative changes are a fact of life for us in the Motoring Community and indeed as we continue to be brought in line with our larger and better regulated E.U.neighbours, it is essential to be aware of these changes which have been continuing for several years now and will continue into the foreseeable future.

Know the route that Grandpa takes to his regular daytime activities.
Make sure Mom carries identification and your contact information with her
whenever she’s out of the house.
Check that your senior’s car is well maintained. Check often for problems
with windshield wipers, tires, and brakes.
Even those who drive safely by day may suffer night blindness, which is
common among seniors. Ride along with your loved one periodically at different
times of day to assess these skills.
AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) offers a course
called 55/ALIVE for mature drivers. It’s designed to help troubleshoot a lot of
the problems seniors develop in driving. If you suspect your loved one needs
help, insist he take this course. It may help convince him if you let him know
he’ll probably get a reduction in his car insurance when he completes the
course. Call toll-free at 1-888-227-7669 or go to aarp.org/55alive.
A problem seniors often have with night driving is that they’re more likely
to be “blinded” by bright headlights. There are special glare-reduction
glasses your senior can wear to avoid this problem.
Remove the distributor cap from Mom’s car or take the keys if she shouldn’t
be driving but is being really stubborn about it. Loss of the ability to drive
can be extremely upsetting for seniors-many consider it to be the single most
difficult change they face. Recognize this and work to set up practical
transportation alternatives so Mom won’t feel completely stranded.
Take the time to teach Dad necessary public transportation routes (to and
from the senior center, etc.). Accompany him the first few times to make sure
he knows what to do in case there are glitches.
Great gift idea: a small change purse filled with a supply of transportation
tokens or the correct change if your mother’s using a senior discount pass.
Great gift idea: a small change purse filled with a supply of transportation
tokens or the correct change if your mother’s using a senior discount pass.
Many individual organizations provide transportation to and from their
facilities or meetings. Examples are hospital or senior center shuttles, or
church or synagogue carpools. Make sure to look into these options if Mom needs
a way to get to the doctor’s office or to Sunday services.
If you add up the expense of owning a car-paying for insurance, gas, and
maintenance, plus tolls-it might not come out to much more than your parent
would spend if he hired a private car service, assuming he doesn’t drive more
than a few times a week. What a luxury!
Arrange for a responsible teenage personal escort to help your parent on
shopping trips and other excursions.

While you can still waste a lot of time calling individual companies or checking out their websites, the fastest and easiest way today’s consumers are finding solid insurance quotes is through a myriad of insurance sites now available on the internet. These sites offer you a one-stop shop for buying insurance, by comparing individual companies and their policies with your needs and budget.

Why are multiple-company insurance sites becoming so popular? Maybe the ease in which consumers can shop for all of tier insurance needs by:

-Allowing carriers to compete for your business.
-Only requiring consumers to fill out one simple questionnaire, instead of a questionnaire for every company, in order to obtain price quotes.
-Giving consumers information on only A-rated companies to ensure reliability.
-Giving consumers money saving tips and answers to their insurance questions through on-site chats and features.

Obtaining Quotes:
Be sure when talking with any insurance agent to be sure that you understand all of the advantages and disadvantages to purchasing their policy. While one carrier may have a slightly higher rate for insurance, they may offer better coverage that may be well worth the cost. Also, be sure to ask about the company’s cancellation policy. If you have a claim or two in the first few years, how likely will they be to cancel your policy and leave you uninsured?

Another question to ask: how long does it usually take the company to approve a claim and disburse funds? Many homeowners have found that cheaper polices often result in longer waits when an incident occurs.

Lowering Your Insurance Quote:
Once you get those quotes, here are a few ways to negotiate an even better deal:

-Raise your deductible - this could save you as much as 35% on both your hoe and automobile insurance bill

-Install security devices such as deadbolt locks, window locks, and burglar alarms and save up to 20% on your homeowner’s insurance. Car alarms too can help ease the high cost of insurance premiums

-Install safety devices like fences, gates and stair railings to save an additional 10%

-Ask your insurer about multi-policy discounts. By combining your home, car, health and life insurances with a single company you can save hundreds every year in premium costs. Also, multi driver discounts are available by most insurers.

-Choose a Cheaper Neighborhood. While you want to stay away from high-crime areas, living in a less prestigious area can also save a bundle on both home and car insurance. Also, the older your car, the cheaper the insurance will be, so consider the added cost of insurance when considering an upgrade.

The centres have been set up to offer helpful advice and a range of services to:
People with a disability, who may require special modifications to a vehicle
People with a medical condition that impacts their ability to make appropriate decisions with regard to safe driving
Carers who need to transport individuals with restricted mobility in a motor vehicle
Older drivers with mobility requirements

The centres are a wealth of information for disabled drivers. You can get help with adaptations to overcome physical problems with vehicle control and advice on the following:
A drivers ability to drive safely
Wheelchair and scooter loading and transportation
Wheelchair selection
Passenger and driver access to vehicles
Motorcycles or heavy goods vehicles

Driving lessons
The minimum age for able drivers is 17. However, you can drive at the age of 16 provided you are getting a Disability Living Allowance at a higher rate (the mobility component).
For all new drivers, professional driving lessons are a good idea to get you started. There are qualified instructors that are equipped with specialist knowledge for disabled drivers. You can find a qualified instructor by contacting a Mobility Centre near you. When you are ready to drive, make sure you or the owner of the car has adequate car insurance.

Passing the driving test
Passing the driving test can be daunting for any new driver. It pays to book in advance for both your theory and practical driving tests, as sometimes there are long waiting lists. The first test you need to pass is your theory test. Once you have achieved this, you can book your practical test. You need to pass your practical test within two years of passing your theory test. If you dont, you will have to take the theory test all over again.
The theory test is available in a spoken as well as a written format. If you have difficulty hearing, there is a video of the test available in sign language. If you suffer from light-sensitive epilepsy, the test conditions can be adapted to suit your specific needs. In addition, you can ask for extra time for the multiple-choice element of the theory test.

If you have any special requirements including:
Wheelchair access
Deaf or hearing difficulties
Dyslexia or reading difficulties
Unable to read or understand English
Difficulties with the practical test itself
If any of the above applies to you, tell the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) when you book your test.

Altering your car
Many alterations can be made to cars to suit a range of requirements. Depending on your disability, you can make any of the following alterations:
Hand controls for the accelerator and brake
Joystick steering, or steering wheel knobs to turn and control the wheel
Wheelchair hoists, ramps and tail lifts to allow easy access in and out of your car
Cushions, covers and supports
Adapted mirrors
Safety belts, seat belts and harnesses
Rotating seats, people lifts and wheelchair hoists

For more information, check out these sites:
Mobility Centres
Blue Badge Network
Mobilise

Whether you have a car with a wheelchair hoist, a ramp or any other modification, you will also need car insurance before you venture out onto the road. For a car insurance quote and more information about the types of car insurance available from Privilege, visit www.privilege.com/motor/index.htm

Perception, perception, perception - if there’s a single word that most often crops up in articles on being a safe driver, perception seems to be the key. Perception is so much a key, in fact, that certain principles have formed the core of many driving tuition courses since the 1950s. According to these principles, safe driving is a life skill based around the perceptive skills of concentration, observation, forward planning and anticipation. These skills are combined, of course, with the necessary practical skills required to handle the car and keep it fully under control. Perceptive driving - and being a safe driver - comes down to being prepared for any and every eventuality on the road. The seemingly “clear road” ahead is never empty! In order to react to a problem or hazard, it’s important to be able to see it.

The perception of a problem also hinges on recognising what type of hazard it is. Most drivers will have heard the time-worn excuse “I don’t know where he came from - I just didn’t see him”. Hazard awareness and perception, therefore, will take into account whether the hazard is in the shape of a road junction or a bend, or whether it’s a moving hazard, such as another car, lorry, pedestrian or cyclist. It also takes into account our own speed and the speed of the other road users along with any weather conditions affecting visibility and the state of the road. It’s also important to identify if there’s a single hazard or a combination of several hazards.

Perception, of course, is about seeing. There’s little point anticipating and understanding hazards unless we can see them. Any defective eyesight needs to be properly corrected so that the driver can see and make safe judgments, especially when the weather or darkness makes vision even more difficult. Similarly, perception is about staying alert, free from the impairment of tiredness, drugs or alcohol and free from other in-car distractions which can take the driver’s concentration away from the job in hand.

Although there seem to be a hundred or more schools of thought on being a safe driver, perhaps one of the ‘acid tests’ is the assessment made by car insurance companies. It’s their business after all to know the risks they’re taking by insuring all types of driver and distinguishing between those they can reasonably expect to be “safe” and those who are less so.

For car insurance companies, being a safe driver is about the profile of the driver most likely to make a claim. Although gender, age and occupation come into it, insurers may set the greatest store on the driver’s record of past claims. Safer drivers are those who make fewer, less expensive claims and have no driving convictions. A brief visit to our comparison website will help you compare different car insurance policies from different providers. You may get a an understanding of the ways in which insurers “reward” those drivers with a clean driving record and few or no past claims, together with the no claims discounts available for those who make no claims in the future.

Alas, it wasn’t so long after that that the bubble popped and the realities set in. Oh, I had saved hard enough and long enough with my part time work to buy my first motor, but being a young and inexperienced driver meant that finding affordable car insurance was not going to be an easy task. Actually, some of the early quotes I got worked out more than what the car was worth. Can you believe that!

Good ole dad came to the rescue and gave me a much needed reality check. First he explained why car insurance for young drivers was so pricey, and then he gave me some real useful tips on how to adjust to the situation so that I can get my first motor and gain some much needed experience. Here’s what he told me:

The first and obvious fact was that young drivers, and in particular young male drivers, are among the most reckless on the roads, therefore making them a high risk to the insurance companies. As the insurance business is out to make money, many are reluctant to hand out policies to young drivers. Many will deter you by offering a ridiculous premium that is well out of the reach of Joe the average teenager, or they will simply refuse to quote.

My dad went on to say that there are ways to get into the good books of insurance companies and methods to lower your early quotes. One of the first tricks is to forget the snazzy sports car as your first purchase. It’s always wise to go for a car that has a low insurance group number both for safety and cost reasons. If you are purchasing in the UK, these numbers range from 1 to 20, and the higher the number, the higher the premium. So, it’s important to narrow down your first choice of car by the insurance group number. Higher numbers are usually determined by a few factors including bigger engines, faster vehicles, and a higher price tag etc.

A low insurance group vehicle on the other hand, is obviously cheaper, smaller and less expensive. Ok, so this probably means your first wheels are not going to be the lady puller you hoped for, but be a little patient, play by the rules, and you’ll be getting your experience and no-claims bonuses banked in no time at all. Another advantage of purchasing from the low insurance group is that you will be looked at as a responsible kid by the insurance company. Many folks stay with the same company or broker for years and once they build up a good relationship with the insurer, there are some great deals and discounts offered over time.

Another cost cutter is to purchase only third party fire and theft insurance which will drastically reduce your premium. If your first car is old and inexpensive, maybe you don’t need to take out fully comprehensive cover. However, if you have spent a fair bit on your first motor, then only fully comprehensive will do of course.