Before you get that first permit, there are a few things you should know:

• You cannot drive between midnight and 5 a.m. until you have held a valid driver’s license for at least one year, unless accompanied by a parent/legal guardian.  (Some exceptions do apply)
• You cannot have any passengers under 21 years old (other than family members) in the car with you for the first 6 months you have a license.  After 6 months, you may only have 1 passenger (other than family members) in the car with you.
• You can have no more than one passenger in the front seat of a vehicle, and the number of passengers in the back seat cannot exceed the number of seatbelts.
• Driver and all passengers under 18 must wear seatbelts.
• Per HB 09-1094 it is illegal for minor drivers (under 18) to use a cell phone at all while driving.
• Last, but not least, know that driving is a privilege, not a right. 

When your parent or guardian signs the DR2460, Affidavit of Liability and Guardianship, they acknowledge that they understand that they assume liabilities for you while driving a motor vehicle and that their signatures may be withdrawn upon written request which results in the cancellation of your license/permit … so it pays to follow their rules! 

Likewise, if you are issued traffic tickets or fail to recognize the restrictions placed upon your premit, the DMV may suspend or revoke your license.  

Still want to drive?

In Colorado, the steps needed to obtain a license depend on your age when starting the GDL process and the type of permit issued:

Driver’s Education Permit:  GDL process started at age 15 – 15 ½

If your objective is to be licensed at age 16, you would need to enroll in a state-approved driver education course after you have turned 14 1/2 and complete and pass the classroom portion within the six months prior to applying for this permit.  It is mandatory to complete  6 hours behind-the-wheel training from a State approved school.

Driver’s Awareness Permit:  GDL process started at age 15 ½ - 16

If your objective is to be licensed between the ages of 16 ½ and 17, you would need to have completed either a  4-hour driver awareness program or 30-hour driver’s education course in the six months prior to applying for this Permit.

Minor Instruction Permit:  GDL process started at age 16 - 17 

If your objective is to be licensed between the ages of 17 and 18, you will apply for a Minor Instruction Permit which is offered to those who are between the ages of 16 and 21 years old but have not completed either an approved driver’s education course or a 4-hour driver awareness program.

All three permits are valid for 3 years from the date of issue.   Regardless of the Permit for which you apply, minors under the age of 18 must hold it for a minimum of one year before applying for a Minor Driver’s License.  During that one year,  50 hours of supervised driving time ( 10 of which must be at night),  must be logged. 

In addition, you must meet the following requirements before obtaining one of the three types of permits:

1. Provide your state or county certified birth certificates or other acceptable forms of identification
2. provide your social security number
3. Pass both written and vision screening tests
4. Have your Parent or Guardian sign a DR2460 Affidavit of Liability and Guardianship form

THE DRIVER’S EDUCATION PERMIT, THE DRIVER’S AWARENESS PERMIT AND THE MINOR INSTRUCTION PERMIT ALLOWS  ONLY THE SIGNER OF THE DR2460 AND/OR THE DRIVER EDUCATION INSTRUCTOR TO COMPLETE AND LOG THE 50 HOURS REQUIRED ON THE DRIVER TIME LOG SHEET FOR ALL DRIVERS UNDER THE AGE OF 18.  IF THE SIGNER OF THE DR2460 DOES NOT HOLD A VALID COLORADO DRIVER’S LICENSE, THEY MAY APPOINT AN ALTERNATE PERMIT SUPERVISOR (IF OVER 21 AND LICENSED IN THE STATE OF COLORADO) TO SUPERVISE THE MINOR WHILE DRIVING.  DRIVE TIME WITH AN ALTERNATE PERMIT SUPERVISOR WILL COUNT TOWARD THE 50-HOUR TOTAL REQUIRED ON THE LOG SHEET.

THE SIGNER OF THE DR2460 MAY ALSO ALLOW ANY PERSON (IF OVER 21 AND LICENSED IN THE STATE OF COLORADO) TO SUPERVISE THE MINOR WHILE DRIVING BUT THAT DRIVING TIME DOES NOT COUNT

Be safe ~ not a statistic!

Recently several hundred homes have been added to the FEMA 100-year floodplain, and Mesa County has received a number of inquiries about the program.  Mesa County participates in the NFIP which makes federally backed flood insurance available for all eligible buildings, whether they are in a floodplain or not.  Flood insurance covers direct losses caused by surface flooding, including a river flowing over its banks and local drainage problems. 

The Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 made the purchase of flood insurance mandatory for federally backed mortgages on buildings located in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs).  It also affects all forms of Federal or Federally related financial assistance for buildings located in SFHAs.  The SFHA is the base (100-year) floodplain mapped on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).  It is shown as one or more zones that begin with the letter “A” or “V”.  FEMA updated Mesa County’s maps during 2010.  An interactive, electronic version of the maps that affect Mesa County can be found at the following link:  http://www.imap.mesacounty.us/MapSearch/Default.aspx?Value=FloodMap

The requirements apply to secured mortgage loans from such financial institutions as commercial lenders, savings and loan associations, savings banks and credit unions that are regulated, supervised or insured by Federal agencies such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of Thrift Supervision.  It also applies to all mortgage loans purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac in the secondary mortgage market.  Federal financial assistance programs affected by the requirement include loans and grants from agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, Farmers Home Administration, Federal Housing Administration, Small Business Administration and the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The NFIP insures buildings including mobile homes, with two types of coverage:  building and contents.  Building coverage if for the walls, floors, insulation, furnace and other items permanently attached to the structure.  Contents coverage may be purchased separately if the contents are in an insurable building.

How It Works:  Lenders are required to complete a Standard Flood Hazard Determination (SFHD) form whenever they make, increase, extend or renew a mortgage, home equity, home improvement, commercial or farm credit loan to determine if the building or manufactured (mobile) home is in a SFHA.  It is the Federal agency’s or the lender’s responsibility to check the current FIRM to determine if the building is in a SFHA.

If the building is in a SFHA, the Federal agency or lender is required by law to require the recipient to purchase a flood insurance policy on the building.  Federal regulations require building coverage equal to the amount of the loan (excluding appraised value of land) or the maximum amount of insurance available from the NFIP, whichever is less.  The maximum amount available for a single-family residence is $250,000.  Government sponsored enterprises, such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, have stricter requirements.

The mandatory purchase requirement does not affect loans or financial assistance for items that are not covered by a flood insurance policy, such as vehicles, business expenses, landscaping and vacant lots.  It does not affect loans for buildings that are not in a SFHA, even though a portion of the lot may be.  While not mandated by law, a lender may require a flood insurance policy, as a condition of a loan, for a property in any zone on a FIRM.

If a person feels that a SFHD form incorrectly places the property in the SFHA, he or she may request a Letter of Determination Review from FEMA.  This must be submitted within forty five days of the determination.  More information can be found at http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm/fq_genhm.shtm

Superchick will be headlining the evening which includes performances by Manafest, MeInMotion, and Bread of Stone (BOS). Tickets will be available at both our Clifton and Grand Junction office locations beginning August 16th. We are excited to be a sponsor of this event along with the Downtown Vineyard and landonbalding.com. 

For more information, please visit landonbalding.com!

House Bill 10-1008 would prohibit health insurance companies from using gender as a basis for varying premium rates for individual health insurance policies and declares premium rates based on gender to be unfairly discriminatory.

The Colorado House is considering House Bill 10-1004 that would require the commissioner of insurance to adopt rules establishing standard formats for policy forms and explanation of benefit forms provided by health insurance carriers to consumers. The bill obligates the commissioner to seek input from the health insurance industry, consumers, and other stakeholders prior to adopting the rules. The bill requires health insurance companies to comply with the standard format requirements starting July 1, 2011.

The Colorado House is considering a bill, House Bill 10-1066, that would require certain insurance policies be written at or below the tenth-grade reading level. The bill requires that automobile insurance polices, health benefit plans, limited benefit health insurance, dental plans, and long-term care plans be written at or below the tenth-grade reading level. According to the bill summary, current law does not require any readability level. The bill also requires that the text of the policies and plans will be written in 12-point type or larger and will contain an index or table of contents if they are longer than 3 pages or 3,000 words. If the bill passes, it will go into effect for all policies and plans that are issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2011.

House Bill 10-1202 requires a health benefit plan that covers cancer chemotherapy treatment to provide coverage for prescribed, orally administered anticancer medication at a cost to the patient at the same copayment percentage or relative coinsurance amount as is applied to the cost of other cancer medications.

House Bill 10-1203 is a bill for an act concerning group life insurance requirements. Current law establishes the minimum number of persons that must be covered by a group life insurance policy. The current minimum number of persons required to be covered is 3. This bill deletes the minimum number requirement.

More information regarding these bills and other bills of interest that could effect your insurance coverages are available from the Colorado General Assembly Web site.

It can be easier than you think to put the brakes on high auto insurance rates – as an independent agency, Grand Valley Insurance Service can help! We can review your policy and possibly help you find a variety of illuminating ways to save money. Here are some things you may want to consider: 

• Ask us to check several companies’ rates. Or compare rates on your own by clicking here. This is the single most important thing you can do to get the best possible rate—and we can do it for you quickly and easily. The difference between the highest and lowest rate available to you from different companies could vary by hundreds of dollars. 

• Reduce or drop physical damage coverage on an older car. Depending on your car’s age and where you live, comprehensive and collision coverage may not be worth keeping. We can give you advice on whether it makes sense to reduce or drop this coverage altogether. 

 • Raise your deductible. According to the Insurance Information Institute, raising your deductible from $200 to $500 could reduce your collision and comprehensive cost by 15 to 30 percent. In addition, because the average driver files a collision claim only once every ten years, odds are that over the lifetime of your car, a higher deductible will save you money. We can show you how raising your deductible will lower your premium. 

 • Look for discounts. Many insurance companies reduce premiums for certain driver traits or car features. For example: being a homeowner for more than three years, nonsmoker, nondrinker, students with good grades, senior citizens who have taken an approved defensive driving course, people who only drive for pleasure, cars kept in garages, antilock brakes, antitheft devices, air bags, etc. Ask us to check if there are additional discounts available for you. 

• Don’t assume having your car and home insured by the same company is the best option. Because auto insurance rates vary so much from company to company, it may make sense for you to have your car and home insured by separate companies. Let’s talk about it. As an independent insurance agency, are hands are rarely tied. We have many options that direct writers do not have.

To learn more about all we can offer you, call Grand Valley Insurance Service today at (970) 242-GVIS(4847).

I was recently reminded of this when I loaned out my vehicle and they were pulled over for speeding. I won't mention any names, but they were a little flustered when asked to provide those three little items. Mainly the proof of insurance and vehicle registration. The person who was driving the vehicle could not find the proof of insurance and vehicle registration and the officer that pulled them over was going to issue a ticket for driving without insurance and failure to provide the vehicle registration information. 

Which brings me to my point. Obviously, my vehicle is and was insured. I am an insurance producer at Grand Valley Insurance Service. However, the driver of the vehicle at the time did not know where to find it. In the State of Colorado, it is the driver of the vehicle, not the owner of the vehicle who is responsible for providing evidence of insurance and being able to produce a valid drivers license and vehicle registration upon request. So remember, if you're borrowing a vehicle from a friend or family member, make sure the vehicle is insured and that you can prove it. (The only exception to this is if you have a named insured policy and that's a whole other post). Otherwise, if you're pulled over by law enforcement, even if you have insurance yourself on another vehicle, you can and most likely will be issued a ticket for operating a motor vehicle without insurance. 

In this situation, the good news is, the person who borrowed my vehicle was able to find the vehicle registration and proof of insurance, the bad news is, they still got a ticket for speeding! So remember, drive safely and be responsible, make sure your vehicle is properly insured.

You don't have to be a Progressive policy holder to benefit from the app. Everyone can use the app to compare vehicles, find a local agent and to get a direct quote with progressive. Plus, if you're a Flo fan, you can watch all of the current commercials and more. 

Download the new Progressive iPhone app from iTunes today. It's FREE!

Is it going to be very reliable in the hands of a drunk person out at the bar on Thursday night? Probably not. No iPhone app will ever work better than some sort of PBT type of device that you actually blow into. Will it maybe get some (especially younger) people to think a little bit more about how much alcohol they can consume before they reach the legal limit? Definitely! 

Good job Colorado! Way to lead the way in the utilization of technology in an effort to promote alcohol awareness! If you own an iPhone or iPod touch and would like the FREE app, click here!

For more information on how you can "Plan ahead and get home safe." visit PlanAheadColorado.com.

R-U-Buzzed? FREE iPhone App

In case you haven't seen any of our Colorado wildlife first hand, check out this video of the Elk Rut in Estes Park. Sorry hunters, I don't know where they hide during hunting season.