How Distracted Driving Can Increase Your Premium

 

Most drivers are aware of the dangers of driving while distracted. However, something that many drivers do not realize is that in addition to the legal ramifications, these distractions can affect the premiums you pay for your auto insurance.

While any number of things can distract a driver from the road — including eating, adjusting the sound system, or talking to people in your vehicle — the distraction that often has the biggest and most dangerous impact is using a cell phone or other mobile device while driving. That is why it is great to look into cars equipped with hands free devices while driving– such as Bluetooth.

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data, driving while distracted killed 3,450 people in 2016. The vast majority of those accidents occurred because the driver was using a cell phone.

While concern about accidents should be enough to deter drivers from engaging in this risky behavior, state legislatures are also adding financial penalties to distracted driving.

Here’s what you need to know about the financial and legal penalties for driving while distracted.

Distracted Driving and State Laws

With the exception of Arizona, Missouri, and Montana, all U.S. states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, have instituted a ban on texting while driving for drivers of all ages.

Most states have made texting while driving a primary offense, which means law enforcement has the right to pull over an offender simply for violating the ban.

In states where the texting prohibition is a secondary offense for those over the age of 18, such as Florida, Nebraska, Ohio, and South Dakota, the texting ban can only be enforced if the driver is also violating a primary offense. For example, if a driver fails to stop at a stop sign because she is distracted by her cell phone, the officer who pulls her over for failing to stop can also cite her for texting while driving.

The penalties for texting while driving vary from state to state. At one end of the spectrum are states like Virginia that charge a $20 fine for a first offense. On the other end are states like Alaska that can levy a maximum fine of $10,000, plus a maximum of 10 days in prison for a first offense. In between those extremes, drivers face financial penalties ranging from $30 to $750 and additional penalties that may range from demerit points on their licenses to jail time.

In every state with a texting ban, the penalty goes up with subsequent offenses. Drivers in states that assign moving violation points for texting while driving are more likely to see a negative effect on their auto insurance premiums.

Additionally, even if you yourself are not a distracted driver, other people’s distracted driving can affect your insurance premiums. One factor that can affect your auto insurance rates is the number and severity of crashes across the population of drivers in the country and in your state. To the extent that distracted driving contributes to an increase in accidents, other people’s distracted driving can cause your auto insurance rates to increase.

Teens and Distracted Driving

For a variety of reasons, you can expect to see increased premiums when you add teenagers to your auto insurance. One reason is that insurers recognize that teen drivers are the most likely to be distracted behind the wheel. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, “distraction was a factor in nearly 6 out of 10 moderate-to-severe teen crashes.”

Distraction for teens does not necessarily come from their phones. In 15% of all teen distracted driver accidents, the distraction was talking to or interacting with a passenger in the car, whereas an electronic device was the distracting element in only 12% of such crashes. Another 11% were caused by distractions occurring inside of the vehicle such as eating while driving, reaching for objects or adjusting music and GPS settings. There are ways that parents can monitor their teen driver with car tracking devices that can help prevent these risks.

The concern over distracted driving is one of the reasons why many states have instituted graduated driver’s licensing programs. These programs ease teens into the skills of driving, while placing hard limits on when and with whom teens are allowed to drive. States also impose harsher penalties on teens who drive while distracted to help deter distracted driving behavior.

Take the Pledge! Educate your teen about the dangers of distracted driving, and together, as a family,  download your certificate and take the pledge to not drive distracted in any way. 

Mitigating the Dangers of Distracted Driving

Safe drivers who want to keep themselves out of danger may wonder what they can do to reduce the problem of distracted driving.

To start, it’s important to understand which behaviors are most likely to distract you behind the wheel or cause accidents. This means that in addition to refraining from using your phone while driving (and pulling over if a passenger is distracting you), you also need to drive defensively, leave enough room between yourself and vehicles in front of you, check your blind spots, refrain from driving while fatigued or impaired, and wear your seat belt (and insist that your passengers are also properly secured).

For parents, modeling good driving behavior goes a long way to helping novice drivers learn safe habits. Parents need to set clear rules and expectations for teen drivers, and monitor their driving to make sure they are ready to take on the responsibility of getting behind the wheel.

Using Technology to Be a Safer Driver

Though cell phones may be behind the majority of distracted driving incidents, mobile technology can also help to both reduce distractions and reward you for safe driving.

For example, drivers of all ages can take advantage of Apple’s Do Not Disturb While Driving© feature that seeks to minimize distractions by muting the driver’s incoming calls, texts, and notifications. Both iPhone and Android devices can generate an auto-reply message to alert those calling or sending a text that you that you’ll be back in touch when it’s safe to do so.

In addition, telematics technology can measure your driving habits via a free mobile app that can be downloaded to any smart phone. While you are driving, the app will run passively in the background, using sensors that are already in your phone, such as GPS, accelerometer, and gyroscope.

Since this technology is app-based, rather than a tracker installed in a specific car, it will track your driving anytime you get behind the wheel, even if you are driving someone else’s car. This means you will also have to alert the app anytime you are a passenger, or traveling by bicycle, bus, train, or other form of transportation to ensure only your driving habits are measured.

Telematics apps measure things like the time of day you drive, your speed, instances of hard braking, and distance traveled. These measurements can help your insurer understand when and how you drive. In many cases, insurers will offer both a small discount for signing up for such a program, and a potential safe driving discount after a period of data collection (typically about six months) if you have shown yourself to be a safe driver.

Keeping Your Eyes on the Road

Distracted driving has always been a concern on the road, but the sheer number of potential distractions has increased with all the advances in mobile technology.

Mobile phones offer multiple ways to lose focus on your driving — whether it’s the need to use a hand-held device, concentrating on your conversation (even when you’re using a hands-free device), or the temptation to check (or send) a “quick” text. Even cogitative instances like drowsy driving or aggressive driving can be a distraction.

To put the texting dangers into perspective, the NHTSA reports, “Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for five seconds. At 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.” Probably not a choice you’d consciously make.

But even though new technology can be a distraction behind the wheel, it can also offer solutions to the problems of distracted driving. Taking advantage of do not disturb options on your phone and telematics tracking apps from your insurer can give you the tools you need to help keep your eyes on the road, your hands on the wheel, and — perhaps most importantly — your mind focused on your driving.