4 Tips for Back to School Car Shopping for Your Teen

If you have a new teen driver in your family, the last thing you should be stressing about is car shopping. That’s why we’ve made it easy for you with four simple things to keep in mind.

1. Don’t let high horsepower vehicles tempt you. Your teen will be tempted to push speeding past the limits.
2. Skip the sports cars. Bigger, heavier vehicles are ideal for protection during a crash or rollover.
3. Electronic stability control is a must.  It works even better than that imaginary brake pedal you keep pressing, trust us. It will help  your teen maintain control of the vehicle around curves and on slippery roads.
4. Pick vehicles with the best safety ratings possible from the IIHS and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

10 Safety Tips Every Parent Teaching their Teen to Drive Should Know.

Did you know that the most significant threat facing teens is the vehicle sitting in their parents’ driveways? Yet, many parents remain under-educated about teen driving safety and the risks new drivers face. The list below is a few safety tips that many parents do not know, but need to.

1. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the U.S.
2. The most dangerous time of a teen driver’s life is the first 12 months after receiving a license.
3. A teen drivers’ crash risk is three times that of drivers ages 20 and older.
4. Teens crash most often because they are inexperienced – not because they take more risks behind the wheel.
5. Teen passengers are one of the biggest distractions for teen drivers. Just one teen passenger raises a teen driver’s fatal crash risk 44 percent. Two passengers doubles fatal crash risk. Three or more quadruples crash risk.
6. Most fatal nighttime crashes involving teen drivers happen between 9 p.m. and midnight.
7. More than half of teens killed in car crashes were not restrained by a seat belt.
8. Most states’ teen driving laws and restrictions do not adequately protect teen drivers from the most serious crash risks.
9. Teens really do learn to drive from watching their parents. A survey from The Allstate Foundation found 80 percent of teens cite their parents as having the most influence over teen’s driving habits.
10. Crash risk remains high after you receive your license. In fact, young drivers’ crash risk does not significantly begin decreasing until age 25. 

4 Reasons You Want Your Car To Be A Travelling Hotspot

Chevrolet is known for a lot of monumental firsts.  The most recent and arguably most exciting Chevy first is the all-new option of 4G LTE Wi-Fi Connectivity.  Just in case you’re not sure about your car doubling as a hotspot, here is a list of fun facts that might sway your opinion.

-Connects up to 7 devices at the drop of a hat.

-After the initial set up, there’s nothing more you need to do but enjoy a connection stronger than any smartphone.

-Whenever your car is on, your hotspot is on.  No need to over-think it.

-It’s the most powerful built-in connection offered by any car company.

Ballads For Back Roads: 11 Songs That Make You Happy To Own A Pickup Truck

There’s just something about a pickup truck that begs you to turn up the jams. Whether you’re zipping across city asphalt or cruising through country back roads, there’s a melody to set the mood.  Here’s a list of our favorite truck tunes of all time. What’s yours?

“All I Do Is Drive”

Johnny Cash

“I Drive Your Truck”

Lee Brice

“Truck Yeah”

Tim McGraw

“Dirt Road Anthem”

Jason Aldean

“Pickup Man”

Joe Diffie

“Truckin’”

The Grateful Dead

“Something ‘Bout A Truck”

Kip Moore

“Rough and Ready”

Trace Adkins

‘That Ain’t My Truck’

Rhett Aikins

“Mud on the tires”

Brad Paisley

“Pickup Truck”

Kings of Leon

“American Pie”

Don McLean

Don't Lose Your Cool: Merging Etiquette 101

Merging can be one of the more stressful driving situations people face on the road. With constant horns blaring, indecent hand gestures, and swear words flying it is important to learn the proper way to merge into a lane. Follow these simple steps in order to merge safely and without incident.

1. Accelerate to the same speed as highway traffic.

The first step of merging safely is to make sure you're going the same speed as the traffic on the highway. Use the acceleration lane - the entrance ramp or place where you're entering the highway - to quickly gain speed.

2. Put on your turn signal.
Do it early, so other drivers know what you intend to do. This gives them time to make any necessary adjustments. However, keep in mind that as the person merging, you don't have the right of way. Other drivers are not expected to move out of the way; rather, they'll keep going at the same speed, and it's up to you to make sure you adjust your speed and merge safely.

3. Look for a gap in traffic.

If traffic on the highway is heavy, you'll have to find a gap before you merge. Keep your eyes on the road, but check your mirrors and look behind you to figure out when it's safe to go. At the same time, maintain an appropriate speed to allow you to merge safely into the flow of traffic.