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Posted by Benji Riggins on April 20, 2012 under Motorcycle Insurance | 
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Jeff Foley got a motorcycle for his 40th birthday last year followed by the weekend training course that gave him a New York license. Within the first few months, the 450-pound, low-slung cruising bike fell over twice while he was riding.
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Posted by Benji Riggins on April 16, 2012 under Insurance News | Be the First to Comment
North Carolina lawmakers have decided to postpone any major effort to reform the state’s automobile insurance market until next year citing the complexity of the subject and a lack of time due to a shorten legislative session.
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Posted by Benji Riggins on April 11, 2012 under Interesting Info | Be the First to Comment
Increased reliance on cellphones has led to a rise in the number of people who use the devices while driving. There are two dangers associated with driving and cellphone use, including text messaging and using the Internet, jeopardizing the safety of vehicle occupants and pedestrians. First, drivers must take their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel to manipulate Read more of this article »
Posted by Benji Riggins on April 9, 2012 under Insurance News | Be the First to Comment
An early hurricane forecast is calling a below-average hurricane season with 10 named storms for the Atlantic basin.
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Posted by Benji Riggins on April 5, 2012 under Interesting Info | Read the First Comment
The increasing use of electronic systems in automobiles is a challenge for federal safety regulators who often lack the technical expertise to monitor and investigate problems with the electronics, according to a new report from scientists.
The report from the National Research Council’s Transportation Research Board urges the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to anticipate and address the safety issues “explicitly and proactively.”
The report says NHTSA will need to become more familiar with how manufacturers design safety and security into electronics systems, identify and investigate system faults that may leave no physical trace, and respond convincingly when concerns arise about system safety.
The study was requested in the aftermath of the 2009-2010 reports of sudden acceleration problems in Toyota vehicles. NHTSA attributed these events to drivers pressing the gas pedal by mistake and to two other issues — pedals sticking or becoming entrapped by floormats — remedied in subsequent safety recalls.
Although NHTSA concluded that errant electronic throttle control systems (ETCs) were not a plausible cause, the agency asked for further investigation by NASA, which supported NHTSA’s original conclusion. The agency also commissioned the Research Council study for advice in handling future issues involving the safe performance of automotive electronics.
The Research Council report finds NHTSA’s decision to close its investigation of Toyota’s ETC justified on the basis of the agency’s investigations. However, the report says it is “troubling” that NHTSA could not convincingly address public concerns about the safety of automotive electronics.
The report says that NHTSA will need additional specialized technical expertise in order to respond effectively to claims of defects in the more complex electronic systems that are coming.
“It’s unrealistic to expect NHTSA to hire and maintain personnel who have all of the specialized technical and design knowledge relevant to this constantly evolving field,” said Louis Lanzerotti, Distinguished Research Professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and chair of the committee that wrote the report.
He said NHTSA could name a standing advisory committee to interact with industry and with technical experts in electronics to keep abreast of these technologies and oversee their safety. “Neither the automotive industry, NHTSA, nor motorists can afford a recurrence of something like the unintended acceleration controversy,” Lanzerotti said.
The report recommends that NHTSA establish a standing technical advisory panel composed of experts on software and systems engineering, human factors and electronics hardware. The panel should be consulted on technical matters that arise throughout regulatory reviews, defect investigation processes, and research needs assessments.
One of NHTSA’s main roles is to spot and investigate safety defects that escape the automotive manufacturers’ own safety assurance processes and to order safety recalls when necessary. The report recommends a strategic planning process to guide the agency’s fulfillment of these responsibilities as cars become more technologically complex. In the future, the possibility of electronics leading to increasingly autonomous vehicles presents a new set of safety challenges and will demand even more agency planning and foresight, according to the report.
The report also recommends that NHTSA review its Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) to determine the specific capabilities needed investigate flaws in electronics-intensive vehicles.
The report endorses NHTSA’s initiative requiring installation of event data recorders (EDRs) on all automobiles to inform safety investigations. EDRs should be commonplace in all new vehicles, the report concurs. It also endorses NHTSA’s plan to conduct research in layouts for gas and brake pedals and intuitive designs for keyless ignition systems. It recommends that this study be a precursor to a broader human factors research initiative in collaboration with the automotive industry to ensure that electronics systems and drivers interact safely.
The study was supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies. The Research Council is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.
Posted by Benji Riggins on March 31, 2012 under Insurance News | Be the First to Comment
If all states implemented comprehensive graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws, an estimated 2,000 lives could be saved. Further, if all 50 states were to enact comprehensive GDL laws, it could generate savings of $13.6 billion per year.
That’s according to the Allstate Foundation License to Save Report, developed in conjunction with the National Safety Council. The report found that over the last 20 years, graduated driver licensing laws have already saved an estimated 15,000 lives.
The report findings are timely, as Congress readies to consider reauthorization of highway and infrastructure spending – legislation that historically has included public health and safety measures.
Novice teenage drivers are the most likely drivers on the road to have car accidents. In fact, 16-year-old drivers have crash rates two times greater than 18-to-19-year-old drivers and four times that of older drivers, according to the report.
GDL helps new drivers gain experience under supervised and less risky conditions. The most comprehensive GDL laws include nighttime driving restrictions, passenger limits, cell phone and texting bans, mandatory behind-the-wheel driving time, minimum entry age for learner’s permit (16), and age 18 before full licensure. In some states that have enacted strong GDL laws, the incidence of teenage driving related deaths have dropped by as much as 40 percent.
“Teen driving deaths are a real public health crisis,” said Vicky Dinges, vice president of public social responsibility, Allstate. “What’s worse is that these deaths are avoidable.”
More than 81,000 people were killed in crashes involving drivers ages 15 to 20 in the decade from 2000 to 2009, making teen driving crashes the leading cause of teen deaths nationwide.
In addition to the lives lost, the report estimates that the total cost to the nation of crashes involving teen drivers in 2009 at $38.3 billion. These costs include wage and productivity losses, medical expenses, administrative expenses for public and private insurance, police and legal costs, motor vehicle damage, employers’ uninsured costs and fire losses. These costs were paid by employers, state and local governments and by citizens through taxes, fees and insurance premiums.
“Our elected officials do not have many opportunities during their careers to take action that will save thousands of lives and billions of dollars in one legislative action. This is one of those times,” said Janet Froetscher, president and CEO of the National Safety Council.
The report estimates of lives saved were generated using a 2007 study which analyzed the effect of graduated driver licensing programs to produce percentage reduction estimates compared to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s estimate of the number of young driver-related fatalities in each state.
Posted by Benji Riggins on March 29, 2012 under Insurance News, Uncategorized | Read the First Comment
Chances are next year will be another active hurricane season in the Atlantic if an El Niño does not develop, say forecasters at Colorado State University.
The forecast team of Philip Klotzbach and William Gray released its early hurricane season forecast for 2012, saying that it is dispensing with the usual numerical forecast for the number of storms. Instead, Klotzbach and Gray issued their forecast in terms of the probabilities “of the key factors influencing the hurricane season.”
The reason for the change, they say, is the difficulty forecasters have in determining whether an El Niño will occur in the Pacific, which impacts the Atlantic hurricane season.
The team says there is a 45 percent chance that climate conditions that have persisted since 1995 will continue along with no El Niño development in the Pacific. These conditions include warmer water temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and reduced vertical wind shear—conducive conditions for hurricane formation.
Should that be the case, hurricane activity would be 140 percent of the average season, which would be characterized as 12 to 15 named storms, seven to nine hurricanes and up to four major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5 with sustained winds of 111 mph and greater), the forecasters say.
The team says there is a 30 percent chance that Atlantic wind circulation remains unchanged and a significant El Niño occurs, which would reduce the tropical-cyclone season to approximately 75 percent of the average season. That would be 8 to 11 named storms, three to five hurricanes and one or two major hurricanes.
There is a 15 percent chance that current Atlantic wind conditions could become unusually strong, and no El Niño occurs, which would lead tropical-cyclone activity of up to 180 percent of average hurricane season—about 14 to 17 storms, 9 to 11 hurricanes and four to five major hurricanes.
And the forecasters say there is a 10 percent chance that current Atlantic wind conditions weaken and a significant El Niño develops, which would reduce the tropical-cyclone activity to 40 percent of the average season—five to seven storms, two to three hurricanes and possibly one major hurricane.
For 2011, the CSU forecast team had predicted that the hurricane season would be well above average. In June the team called for 16 named storms, nine hurricanes and five major hurricanes. The season produced 19 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360.com
Posted by Benji Riggins on March 27, 2012 under Safety | Be the First to Comment
Most U.S. adults support a nationwide ban on the use of cellphones while driving, according to a new IBOPE Zogby poll.
The poll of 2,099 adults finds that 64 percent support the National Transportation Safety Board’s recommendation for a nationwide ban on the non-emergency use of personal-electronic devices while driving, with 41 percent saying they “strongly agree” with the recommendation.
Twenty-two percent of respondents say they strongly disagree.
The poll comes days after several risk managers told NU Online News Service that they would support such a ban.
The American Insurance Association has also said it supports the NTSB’s recommendation.
However, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced on Dec. 22 that he would not back a nationwide ban, saying he supports using hands-free devices while driving instead.
The IBOPE Zogby poll shows more women than men strongly support a ban (49 percent of women versus 31 percent of men).
Adults 65 and older are also more likely to strongly support a ban (58 percent) than younger adults (34 percent for both the 18-29 and 30-49 age groups).
Broken down by political affiliation, 59 percent of adults identifying themselves as Democrats strongly support a ban compared to just 33 percent of independents and 27 percent of Republicans.
Commenting on the poll, Daniel DeVries, IBOPE Zogby communications and media manager, says, “I think the numbers show some strong support almost universally, with the only major variations really appearing when it comes to age. Unsurprisingly, young people who grew up in a time of widespread cell use are more likely to disagree with the NTSB recommendation.”
NU Online News Service
Posted by Benji Riggins on March 23, 2012 under Safety | Be the First to Comment
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced winning vehicles for this year’s Top Safety Pick. Good news for drivers: at 115, the number of winners is greater than ever this year.
The award recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, rollover, and rear crashes based on ratings in Institute evaluations.
Specifically, frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of 40 mph frontal offset crash tests. Side evaluations are based on performance in a crash test in which the side of a vehicle is struck by a barrier moving at 31 mph. In the roof strength test, a metal plate is pushed against a side of a roof at a displacement rate of 0.2 inch per second. Rear crash protection is rated according to a two-step procedure, with starting points measuring the head restraint geometry. Seat/head restraints with good or acceptable geometry are tested using a dummy that measures forces on the neck.
The ratings, which cover all 4 of the most common kinds of crashes, are designed to help shoppers pick vehicles that offer the highest levels of crash protection.
In all, 69 cars, 38 SUVs, 5 minivans, and 3 pickups were recognized. The winners’ circle includes 18 new recipients for 2012, while 97 models that previously qualified for the 2011 award carry over to 2012.
“For the second year running a record number of models qualify,” said Institute president Adrian Lund. “It’s tough to win, and we commend auto manufacturers for making safety a top priority.”
Again this year every major automaker has at least one winner. Subaru remains the only manufacturer with the distinction of earning awards for every model it builds. Subaru picked up 5 awards, including one for the redesigned Impreza, a small car.
Toyota/Lexus/Scion has 15 winners for 2012, more than any other auto manufacturer. General Motors is next in line with 14, followed by Volkswagen/Audi with 13, and Ford/Lincoln and Honda/Acura with 12 awards apiece.
The full list can be found at: www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr121511.html
Posted by Benji Riggins on March 21, 2012 under Safety | Be the First to Comment
Online auto insurance quotes provider 4autoinsurancequote.org released a study which reveals that insurance rates are rising due to the increase in texting while driving. The study found that both texting while driving traffic citations and cell phone related accidents can cause monthly premiums to go up.
As part of the study, 4autoinsurancequote.org found that fatal traffic accidents caused by drivers distracted by their cell phones have almost doubled since 2005. According to the company, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that distracted driving accidents saw a marked increase in 2008, when texting found its way into the mainstream. The following year, distracted drivers were at fault in 24,000 injury accidents and caused 1,000 fatalities.
When conducting this study, the company found that those who text and drive place themselves and others in danger due to three specific factors. First, drivers are visually distracted, as they remove their eyes from the road in order to read incoming texts. Secondly, drivers are cognitively distracted, as they are thinking about the content of the text message rather than their surroundings. Lastly, drivers are limited in their ability to drive safely and to react quickly when they remove their hands from the wheel.
Though the risks of texting and driving are apparent, many drivers admit to continuing with this practice. During the study, 4autoinsurancequote.org learned that nearly 10 percent of the driving population in the United States text and drive on a regular basis. According to the CDC, drivers who fall between the ages of 18 to 29 admit to texting while behind the wheel at least once per month, while a full 25 percent of those in that age group state that they habitually text and drive.
The study found that because of the high incidence of accidents caused by distracted drivers, as many as 35 states as well as the District of Columbia and Guam have enforced strict regulations related to texting and driving. In many states, it is now illegal for drivers to text while behind the wheel and law enforcement officials may cite any driver that is visibly seen conducting this practice. In some states, law enforcement agents may stop drivers who are texting even if no other offenses are being committed.
Because texting and driving causes serious accidents every year, being issued a ticket for this offense can cause the driver to be viewed as an insurance risk. Thus, the monthly premium can escalate very quickly. 4autoinsurancequote.org has learned that the insurance industry is not only raising premiums for those drivers who text behind the wheel, but the industry as a whole is attempting to curb the practice altogether. The industry suggests blocking text messaging services while driving by installing text-blocking apps on phones or installing sensor devices in cars that block signals on cell phones.
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9132011.htm
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(c) 2012 PRWEB.COM Newswire
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Benji Riggins is an independent insurance agent and president of Statewide Insurance Group, Inc. He has been in the insurance industry for more than 20 years and is based in Union County, North Carolina. Statewide Insurance is your local home and auto insurance specialist!
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