Teen Driver: Just Another Day At The Mall

So, you’ve spent the day hanging at the mall with your bffls, and you walked back to your (parent’s) car only to find that someone smashed into the back of it and broke the tail light and pulled the bumper halfway off. After the shock, you come to the horrible realization that your parents are going to kill you. You know that they’re gonna blame you, simply because you’re a teenage driver… as though this never could’ve happened to an older person!

Is there any way to prevent your parents’ hysteria? Well, not really, but you will be able to maybe keep it down to a mild outburst of profanity and expletives if you follow these instructions:

• Calm down and take a deep breath.
• Call the police from your cell phone and tell them what happened; you need to have them file a police report on your behalf so that your parents can file an insurance claim. Although parking lots are “technically” private property, you can still have a police report completed; if they won’t come to you, you may have to go them.
• Contact the mall’s security office and let them know what happened. There’s a strong possibility that they will have a security tape that can provide some very relevant information – i.e. license plate – of the offender.
• Leave a note on the windshield of the vehicles parked next to you – they may have seen or noticed something.
• Write down everything that you remember seeing, doing or saying; memories have a way of changing as time passes.
• Call the insurance company as soon as you get home. Even though the policy may be in your parents’ names, the claims adjuster will want to speak to you, the driver, directly. Of course, you have already ensured that your have car insurance for teenagers, right?

Finally, understand this: Parking lot accidents can happen to old (experienced) drivers, too. Your parents may need a little reminding.