Posted by Benji Riggins on January 26, 2011 under Insurance News | 
The age group with the highest accident rate over all other groups is 16-year-olds. The leading cause of death for US teenagers is car accidents, which account for more than one in three deaths in this age group. Statistically, they are the most expensive to insure and as such, their premiums for automobile insurance are the highest. Here are tips on how to keep costs down for young drivers while keeping them safer.
There are regulations that drop premiums and keep drivers safer. Some state requirements include certified driver’s education courses for young drivers to get a license by 16 years old. If these are not completed they will need to wait until they are 18 years old. These classes help teens learn good driving habits and can reduce their automobile insurance rates by up to 15 percent. These certified classes are not required in all areas but they can be taken on a voluntary basis to get low-cost automobile insurance.
Most automobile insurance companies offer discounts up to 10 or 20 percent for students who maintain a minimal GPA, often called a good student discount. Teens can also gain cheaper rates by maintaining a clean driving record. Speeding tickets, accidents and other violations greatly increase premiums. By avoiding these, some companies will offer consistently lower rates each year the teen has remained free of traffic violations and accidents.
In addition to educating young drivers, there are also laws in various states that are intended to keep teens safe when behind the wheel. Besides the mandatory certified driver’s education classes, there are laws limiting time driving at night, graduated licenses, and a specific minimal amount of time driving with adult supervision. Parents and guardians can also give their young drivers rules to keep them safe. Studies have shown that accidents that involve young drivers are often caused by distracted driving. Examples of these rules while driving can include not using cell phones or not listening to music. They can also include a curfew to keep teens off roads during the high-risk times of weekend evenings and nights.
Tags: auto ins, auto safety, automobile ins, car ins, car safety, driver safety, insurance, insurance agency, insurance agent, teen driver, vehicle ins
Posted by Benji Riggins on January 12, 2011 under Interesting Info |
Hyundai and Volkswagen top the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s list of the safest cars for the 2011 model year.
South Korean automakers Hyundai Motor Corp. and Kia Motor Corp., and German automaker Volkswagen along with its Audi brand each received nine awards. Ford Motor Corp., General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. came in second with eight awards each.
To earn a top safety pick award, vehicles must earn top scores in front and side crash tests, whiplash deterrence tests and rollover tests. In addition, the vehicles must be sold with an electronic stability control option.
Hyundai received recognition for its Genesis sedan, Sonata midsize car, and Santa Fe and Tucson sport utility vehicles. Kia won for its Optima midsize car, Forte and Soul small cars, and the Sorento and Sportage SUVs. Volkswagen’s Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Golf and GTI small care, and Touareg and Tiguan SUVs received awards. Audi was recognized for its A3 and A4 sedans and the Q5 SUV.
Posted by Benji Riggins on December 20, 2010 under Insurance News |
The United States is lagging behind nearly every other high-income country in reducing annual traffic fatalities, said a report released this week by a U.S. government research panel.
There’s some good news: U.S. traffic fatalities fell 9.7 percent in 2009 to 33,808, the lowest number since 1950. In 2008, an estimated 37,423 people died on the highways, a decline of 9.3 percent from the previous year.
But dramatic declines in traffic fatalities in the U.S. over the last several years are likely due to a sour economy in which people drive less, rather than lasting changes in behavior, the report suggests. As the economy improves, researchers said, fatalities are likely to rebound.
“The experience of the past three years is not grounds for concluding that sustainable progress has been made on traffic safety,” the report said.
In the 1970s, the U.S. fatality rate was the lowest in the world. But because safety efforts have improved more slowly in the United States than elsewhere, most high-income countries have now matched or gone below the U.S. rate, said the report by the Transportation Research Board.
Countries with comparable living standards where fatality rates per mile (kilometer) of travel were substantially higher than in the United States 15 years ago are now below the U.S. rate, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Norway, France and Britain.
“The United States can no longer claim to rank highly in road safety by world standards,” the report said.
From 1995 to 2009, fatalities dropped 52 percent in France, 38 percent in Britain, 25 percent in Australia, and 50 percent in 15 high-income countries for which long-term fatality and traffic data are available, the report said. But they dropped only 19 percent in the U.S.
The dramatic declines in fatalities in other nations have been achieved in part through the kinds of programs that have sometimes generated opposition in the U.S: speed cameras and speed measuring devices, sobriety checkpoints and mandatory motorcycle helmets, for example.
If such programs were widely adopted in the U.S., it’s probable that thousands of lives could be saved each year, the report said.
Researchers estimated that nationwide, sustained and frequent use of checkpoints to detect drunk drivers could save 1,500 to 3,000 lives annually. Systematic speed control programs applied nationwide could save another 1,000 to 2,000 lives, the report said.
If every state required all motorcyclists to wear helmets, about 450 deaths a year could be avoided, the report said. Increasing the rate of seat belt use just 5 percent — from the present 85 percent to 90 percent — would save about 1,200 lives.
“Where is the public outcry against these preventable deaths?” said National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman.
“Americans should strive for zero fatalities on the road. We should be leading, rather than following the international community when it comes to roadway design and safety measures,” Hersman said. “But it is a sad fact that the U.S. is in their rear view mirror and falling further behind the rest of the world when it comes to highway safety.”
By Joan Lowy
November 17, 2010
Read more: http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2010/11/17/114965.htm#ixzz161pfFiRD
Tags: auto ins, auto safety, car ins, driver safety, insurance, insurance agency, insurance agent, motorcycle ins, road safety, traffic, vehicle ins
Posted by Benji Riggins on February 9, 2010 under Safety |
Toyota owners should place safety first and follow the car manufacturers’ instructions regarding the recalled vehicles, insurers say. After the recall of some 8 million Toyota vehicles, insurers are urging vehicle owners not to hesitate on contacting Toyota dealers.
“If Toyota drivers experience any issues with their accelerator pedal, they should contact their Toyota dealer without delay,” said Robert Passmore, senior director of claims for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).
In the event that a driver experiences an accelerator pedal that sticks or returns slowly to idle position, Toyota says the vehicle can be controlled with firm and steady application of the brakes. The brakes should not be pumped repeatedly because it could deplete vacuum assist, requiring stronger brake pedal pressure. The vehicle should be driven to the nearest safe location, the engine shut off and a Toyota dealer contacted for assistance.
“Consumer safety is a top concern for the insurance industry and we are encouraged that Toyota dealers nationwide are beginning to make repairs on the vehicles involved in the recall,” said Passmore.
Insurers want consumers to know that if Toyota’s recalled part causes an accident, the driver’s automobile liability or physical damage insurance will provide coverage.
“This type of unforeseen event is what insurance is for,” said PCI’s Passmore. “If the pedal is a factor, the insurer will pay the claim for the driver and then likely seek to be reimbursed by Toyota. This is one less thing for the consumer to worry about.”
There is also good news for consumers because a vehicle recall by itself will generally not cause insurance rates to increase, Passmore said. “Looking forward, it is unlikely that rates would be affected by the recall.”
Over the years Toyotas have had a good safety record as evidenced by their popularity, so it is unlikely that there will be enough accidents caused by the faulty pedals that rates will increase, according to Passmore.
“Insurers look at the cost of claims over a period of time for vehicle,” he added. “They are interested in how much it costs to repair a vehicle and how often the vehicle is involved in an accident.”
While Toyota is pursuing repairs to recalled vehicles, the nation’s largest auto insurer says Toyota vehicle safety has been a concern for some time.
Tags: auto insurance, auto insurance agency, auto insurance agent, auto insurance nc, auto insurance North Carolina, auto safety, car insurance, car insurance agency, car insurance agent, car insurance nc, car insurance north carolina, car safety, insurance
Posted by Benji Riggins on January 12, 2010 under Safety |
New crash tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety are raising questions about the safety of child booster seats.
After the tests, only 25 percent of the booster seats got a “good” or “best” rating from the Insurance Institute. Eleven booster seats are not recommended because the belts don’t provide a good fit.
Officials said children 4-8 years old in booster seats are 45 percent less likely to suffer serious injuries in accidents.
However, even kids in booster seats who aren’t properly belted in are at risk. Seat belts that cross the stomach can cause abdominal injuries. Plus, belts that cross the neck or are too low on the chest can cause spine and head injuries.
Twenty five states have laws requiring a booster until the age of eight. Three states — Florida, Arizona and South Dakota — don’t require booster seats at all.
Crash tests show seat belts alone do not protect a child, which is why safety experts say even booster seats that don’t get the top safety recommendation can still protect kids.
Officials said age is not the most important factor. It’s actually based more on the child’s height and how well they fit into adult seat belts.
Tags: auto insurance, auto insurance nc, auto insurance North Carolina, auto safety, booster seat, car insurance, car insurance nc, car insurance north carolina, car safety, child safety seat, driving safety, insurance agency, insurance agent
Posted by Benji Riggins on November 23, 2009 under Safety |
As regulation continues to swirl regarding texting while driving, a recent survey suggests that children and road rage provide larger threats to drivers.
Conducted by LeaseTrader.com, the survey of more than 3,000 drivers found that for 18.3 percent of men, road rage was the most dangerous distraction, followed by eating/drinking at 14.7 percent, watching other drivers at 10.9 percent, and children in the car at 9.8 percent.
For women, kids in the car ranked highest at 26.3 percent, followed by putting on makeup at 16.6 percent, the radio at 10.4 percent and navigation at 9.5 percent.
Finally, only 7.6 percent of men and 4.2 percent of women said texting while driving provided a dangerous distraction.
Posted by Benji Riggins on October 16, 2009 under Safety |
Nearly one out of five U.S. drivers surveyed has read or sent a text message while behind the wheel, even though nearly all of the respondents in an AAA survey released on Friday considered such action unacceptable.
“The new technologies that help us multitask in our everyday lives and increasingly popular social media sites present a hard-to-resist challenge to the typically safe driver,” AAA Chief Executive Robert Darbelnet said in a statement accompanying the survey commissioned by the AAA Foundation.
“Enacting texting bans for drivers in all 50 states can halt the spread of this dangerous practice among motorists nationwide, and is a key legislative priority for AAA in state capitals,” Darbelnet said.
The group, which provides emergency road services to its members and lobbies on automobile issues, formerly was known as the American Automobile Association.
The random telephone survey questioned 2,500 U.S. residents 16 and older in April and May.
Although nearly all respondents considered the practice unacceptable, 18 percent said they had sent a text message while driving within a month of being surveyed.
Most data available on texting and driving are anecdotal, but the U.S. Transportation Department is seeking more information as pressure grows to ban the practice.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will hold a two-day conference on distracted drivers next week in Washington.
Separately on Friday, 93 percent of 1,000 licensed drivers responding to a survey commissioned by Ford Motor Co. supported a nationwide ban on texting while behind the wheel.
AAA says surveys of its members also favor a ban, a step that Ford and other major automakers support.
About a dozen states have imposed prohibitions, and proposals for a national ban have been introduced in Congress.
The wireless industry — including cellphone manufacturers, carriers, and some Internet companies represented by the CTIA-Wireless Association — support state and local efforts to ban texting while driving.
Posted by Benji Riggins on October 10, 2009 under Safety |
•Be especially attentive from sunset to midnight and during the hours shortly before and after sunrise. These are the highest risk times for deer-vehicle collisions.
•Drive with caution when moving through deer-crossing zones, in areas known to have a large deer population and in areas where roads divide agricultural fields from forest. Deer seldom run alone. If you see one deer, others may be nearby.
•When driving at night, use high-beam headlights when there is no oncoming traffic. The high beams will better illuminate the eyes of deer on or near the roadway.
•Slow down and blow your horn with one long blast to frighten the deer away.
•Brake firmly when you notice a deer in or near your path, but stay in your lane. Many serious crashes occur when drivers swerve to avoid a deer and hit another vehicle, or lose control of their cars.
•Always wear your seat belt. Most people injured in car/deer crashes were not wearing their seat belt.
•Do not rely on devices such as deer whistles, deer fences or reflectors to deter deer. These devices have not been proven to reduce deer-vehicle collisions.
•If your vehicle strikes a deer, do not touch the animal. A frightened and wounded deer can hurt you or further injure itself. The best procedure is to get your car off the road, if possible, and call the police.
Posted by Benji Riggins on September 29, 2009 under Safety |
Parents beware: Giving in to teens’ demands for their own cars can have dangerous consequences, new research suggests.
Teenagers with their own cars or free use of one are much more likely to get in crashes than those who share a car. And crashes are much less common among teens whose parents set clear driving safety rules.
The findings are in two studies by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and funded by State Farm Insurance Co. They are in the October issue of Pediatrics.
The researchers say the findings can help parents keep their kids from becoming a grim statistic: Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, killing more than 5,000 each year.
Getting a driver’s license and car are often viewed as rite of passage for U.S. teens, and many parents underestimate the risks.
More than 7,000 people nationwide were killed in crashes involving teen drivers in 2007, government data show. More than 3,000 of these deaths were teen drivers, and more than 250,000 teen drivers were injured.
“With teen drivers, you have to recognize that it’s a public health issue,” said Dr. Jeffrey Weiss, a Phoenix pediatrician who co-wrote an American Academy of Pediatrics report on teen drivers.
The 2006 report encourages parents to highlight the seriousness of driving privileges by requiring teens to sign driving contracts promising to abide by safety rules.
The new research shows that kind of hands-on approach pays off.
“Families need to know that driving is different” from other steps toward independence,said Dr. Flaura Koplin Winston, the study’s lead author. “Just at the time their teen is pulling away, they need to get back involved to spare them heartache.”
The research is based on a nationally representative survey of more than 5,500 teens in grades nine through 11. Students at 68 high schools answered questionnaires in 2006.
More than 2,000 students who reported driving on their own were the focus of one study; 70 percent said they had their own cars or were the main drivers of cars they used.
Winston said it’s alarming that so many kids have their own cars or feel that they have free use of one. She said that freedom can lead to “a sense of entitlement about driving” that may make them less cautious.
Among these “main” drivers, 25 percent had been involved in crashes, versus just 10 percent of teens who shared driving access. Winston said the lower crash rate doesn’t reflect less driving time, but is likely due to having to ask for the car keys, which helps parents monitor their kids’ driving.
Compared with teens whose parents were uninvolved, kids who said their parents set clear rules and monitored their whereabouts without being overly controlling had half as many crashes and much better driving habits.
These teens were 71 percent less likely to drive while drunk and 30 percent less likely to use a cell phone while driving than kids with uninvolved parents.
Dr. Niranjan Karnik, a University of Chicago specialist in adolescent mental health, said the research underscores the importance of appropriate parenting and widely enacted graduated licensing laws for teens.
Debby Hendricks of Hatfield, Pa. made her daughters wait until age 17 to get their licenses, and gave them lots of driving practice beforehand.
The girls, aged 17 and 19, also share a family car, and can’t “just grab the keys and leave” without saying where they’re going and with whom, Hendricks said.
So far so good — neither girl has been in an accident, although the younger one, Leslie, has only had her license for a few months.
Leslie considers herself a safe driver, but adds, “I probably do underestimate the risks.”
Posted by Benji Riggins on September 9, 2009 under Safety |
The death toll on the nation’s highways dropped in 2008 to 37,261, a 9.7 decrease from the 2007 total and the lowest level since 1961, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The trend continued in the first quarter of 2009; the 7,689 traffic related fatalities from January through March represent a 9 percent decline from the same period a year ago. Plus, it was the twelfth consecutive quarterly decline the U.S. DOT statistics show.
In 1970 around 55,000 people were dying on U.S. roadways every year, so recent trends are definitely going in the right direction, says Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Speaking at a conference held by the Insurance Council of Texas in July 2009, Lund said much of the recent decrease in traffic fatalities has a lot to do with the economic downturn.
“When the economy tanks one of the few good things about it is people are driving less, they are driving more safely and we don’t kill as many people on the roads. That’s unfortunately why we’re down to 37,000 deaths in 2008,” Lund said. Vehicle miles traveled during the first three months of 2009 declined by about 11.7 billion miles, according to preliminary data collected by the Federal Highway Administration. Lund suggested that those numbers will start to creep back up as the economy recovers.
Aside from the economy, however, other influences have served to keep roadway deaths in check, including stricter traffic safety laws in most states and automobile safety improvements, such as side airbags and antilock brake systems. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a July 2009 announcement that increased seat belt use, a reduction in alcohol impaired driving, safer roads and highways, and improved vehicle safety have all played important roles in the declining death rate.
Top Safety Picks
Automobile manufacturers have realized that they can compete on safety, Lund said. As a result, the number of vehicles list of the IIHS’ Top Safety Pick rated automobiles has increased from around 13 or 14 a few years ago to more than 70 today. To be eligible for Top Safety Pick status a vehicle has to be a good performer for frontal crash protection, a good performer for side impact protection and a good performer for rear impact protection. “It also needs electronic stability control,” Lund said.
Real world data from automobile crashes show that side air bags in vehicles reduce the risk of fatalities by 30 percent, Lund said. “If you add the head protection you’ll see we’re up to 40 and 50 percent reductions in the risk of fatal injury,” he added, noting that every new vehicle sold in the U.S. after September of this year will be equipped with side airbags, the result of an agreement with automobile manufacturers.
While neck injuries are not life threatening, it is estimated that the insurance industry pays out between $8 billion and $10 billion a year for neck sprains caused automobile accidents. With a good rated head restraint system, as opposed to a poorly rated one, “we see about a 15 percent reduction in the likelihood there is a neck injury claim filed in a rear impact,” Lund said.
Electronic stability control (ESC), which basically is an extension of the vehicle’s anti-lock brake system, can apply the brakes to each individual wheel when it senses that the car is losing control, Lund explained. “ESC has a huge effect. We see about a 40 percent reduction in single vehicle crashes and overall about a 35 percent reduction in the risk of fatal crashes,” with ESC equipped vehicles, he said.
The IIHS plans to add another element to its list of requirements for Top Safety Pick status – vehicle roof strength. “We kill about 10,000 people each year in crashes where rollover is involved,” Lund said. One factor in whether or not one survives a rollover accident is the strength of the vehicle’s roof. The federal government requires a vehicle to support one and a half times its own weight, and “they all meet minimum standards. But there’s a range of performance out there and some manufacturers have built in a lot more protection than others,” he said.
The IIHS estimates that with a vehicle that supports four times its own weight the risk of death from a serious rollover accident is reduced by 50 percent. That standard “will be part of our Top Safety Pick program going forward,” Lund said.
Other examples of recent innovations in vehicle safety that are not yet included in criteria for Top Safety Picks but were available on vehicles in 2008 include crash avoidance technology such as forward collision warning, brake assist and lane departure warning systems. Blind spot protection and adaptive headlights that can rotate “to reveal what’s around the bend before you get to the bend,” are still other examples of new technologies designed to make driving safer, Lund said.
Challenges Going Forward
Despite more stringent traffic laws and vehicle safety improvements, Lund said in some ways driving is getting more dangerous. One of the main culprits is distracted driving in what is an increasingly multi-tasking society. Eating, applying make up and even smoking have long been seen as common but dangerous-while-driving activities. Cell phone use – both the voice and texting features – is now seen as a major contributor to the distracted driving problem.
“The thing about cell phone use is that we’ve actually been able to measure that,” Lund said. “We know that once the conversation begins there’s a four-fold increase in the risk of crashing.”
A few states and municipalities have implemented laws to prevent or limit the use of cell phones while driving and even more have enacted stricter provisions regarding seat belt use. At the same time however, travel speeds have been allowed to creep up.
Lund noted that Texas was the first state to get back to an 80 mile per hour speed limit, which is allowed in the western part of the state. Unfortunately, Lund said, “the faster you’re going out there when you crash the more likely it is that there are going to be severe consequences. And the faster you are going the more likely you are to crash in the first place.”
He also questioned whether consumers would continue to accept new safety features, such as crash avoidance technologies, some of which take automatic actions – such as braking – if they sense a crash is imminent. Lund said, for example, studies show that professional drivers tend to find the lane departure warning systems to be annoying and routinely disable them.
