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The high price of letting your teen drive this summer

School is out, and that means America's roads are filled with teenage drivers.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while young people ages 15 to 24 make up only 14 percent of the overall population, they account for nearly one-third of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among U.S. males, at $19 billion, and 28 percent of total costs of those motor vehicle injuries for females, with a tally of $7 billion.

In fact, AAA calls the period between the Memorial Day and Labor Day holidays the "100 Deadliest Days" due to the number of crashes involving teen drivers.

"Since teens drive more during the summer than any other season, this insight is a timely reminder to everyone -- drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists -- to be mindful when sharing the roads with young drivers," Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of AAA's Foundation for Traffic Safety, said in a recent press statement.

It's little wonder then that, according to a new report, the average married couple ends up paying 80 percent more for car insurance when they add a teenage driver to their policy.

The report from insuranceQuotes.com says 16-year-olds are responsible for the highest spike in premiums. And, as you might expect, teenage boys are more expensive to insure than their female counterparts, with average rate increases of 92 percent and 67 percent, respectively.

That being said, the report notes that six states -- Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina and Pennsylvania -- won't let insurers use gender as a factor in their rate calculations.

The cost of insuring teen drivers can vary greatly by state. The most expensive place to insure your teen driver is New Hampshire, where the average premium cost can rise by 115 percent. The lowest increase in premiums to accommodate a teen driver can be found in Hawaii, where it only costs 17 percent more, followed by New York State with a 53 percent increase and Michigan at 57 percent.

"It's really expensive to insure a teen driver, but good student discounts can take some of the sting out of these bills," Laura Adams, a senior analyst at insuranceQuotes.com said in a statement. "I've seen discounts as high as 25 percent for students who maintain at least a B average in high school or college. Students and their parents need to proactively request this discount."

And along with "good student" discounts, industry analysts suggest parents keep their premium costs down by purchasing older cars that are considered "safe."

"It's up to you to be proactive and stay on top of these discounts," Doug Whiteman, an insurance analyst at Bankrate.com, told AutoBlog.

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