Insurance Blog

Safer roads and vehicles appear to be contributing to what has been a steady decline in U.S. highway deaths since they reached a near-term peak in 2005. Preliminary statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimate that 16,626 people died in motor vehicle crashes in the first half of 2009, down 7 percent from 17,871 fatalities in the first half of 2008. The fatality rate (the number of deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled) also dropped to 1.15 in the first half of 2009, down from 1.23 in the first half of 2008. A New York Times article by Matthew Wald notes that the recession and high gas prices may also have helped a bit. Preliminary data reported by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) shows that the number of vehicle miles traveled in the first half of 2009 declined by about 0.4 percent, or 6.1 billion miles. […]

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The number of vehicles on U.S. roadways has grown by 7 percent over the last five years, but the number of times those vehicles have collided with deer has jumped by 18.3 percent. In its latest study of annual deer claims, State Farm estimates 2.4 million collisions between deer and vehicles occurred in the U.S. during the two-year period between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2009. Among the 35 states where at least 7,000 deer-vehicle collisions occur per year, New Jersey and Nebraska posted the largest increases of 54 percent. Deer-vehicle collisions also jumped by 41 percent in Kansas, by 38 percent in Florida, Mississippi and Arkansas, by 34 percent in Oklahoma and by 33 percent in West Virginia, North Carolina and Texas. For the third year in a row, West Virginia tops the list of those states where a collision with a deer is most likely. State Farm […]

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The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced the schedule for its two-day distracted driving summit scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Panelists will discuss a range of issues including: the extent of driver distraction; research results on the nature of the distracted driver problem; how technology is both contributing to and can prevent the consequences of distraction; proposed legislative and regulatory approaches to address distracted driving; and initiatives to increase public awareness of safety issues. Participants include Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. One of the issues to be discussed is how proposed federal legislation would address cell phone use by bus and truck drivers. According to an article in today’s New York Times by Matt Richtel, the trucking industry says on-board computers that hundreds of thousands of truckers on U.S. roads use for directions and to stay in contact with dispatchers can be […]

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There were 6 percent fewer highway deaths in 2008 than in 1960 despite the fact that last year there were nearly three times as many licensed drivers, four times as many cars and ten times as many miles driven than in 1960, according to I.I.I. president Dr. Robert Hartwig. His comments came in a keynote speech on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Dr Hartwig noted that IIHS has been on the vanguard in highway and automobile safety for half a century. “Without exaggeration, over the past 50 years, hundreds of thousands of lives have been saved and millions of injuries avoided—or their severity lessened—in whole or in part because of the fine work of this institution,” Hartwig said. While for most of its first 50 years IIHS got its message out primarily through television and the print media, the institute is […]

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Guidelines on how to meet the auto insurance requirements under President Obama’s Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), also known as the “Cash for Clunkers” program are expected to be available today at www.cars.gov. Administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the program helps people purchase a new, more fuel efficient vehicle when they trade in a less fuel efficient vehicle. Depending on the difference in fuel economy between the new vehicle and the trade-in vehicle, people will get a credit of between $3,500 and $4,000 to help pay for the new vehicle. An important feature of the program is that the trade-in vehicle must have been registered and continuously insured for the past year. Check out I.I.I. facts and stats on auto insurance.

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A recent survey by Nationwide Insurance shows that driving while distracted (DWD) is quite prevalent among today’s drivers and more dangerous than you might think. As well as talking on a cell phone, the survey found that reading while driving, adjusting music, talking to someone else in the vehicle and eating are also considered dangerous distractions. On the latter distraction, auto insurance agency Insurance.com has just come up with a top 10 list of the most dangerous foods to eat while driving – a level of detail that may surprise hungry drivers. According to its press release here are the top foods to avoid while driving:

Coffee: even with a travel lid, hot coffee can find its way out of the opening when you hit a bump.
Hot soup: many people drink it like coffee and run the same risks.
Tacos: any food that can disassemble itself will leave your car looking like […]

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The importance of road safety at home and abroad is underscored by two new reports. In its first global status report on road safety, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that only 15 percent of countries have the comprehensive laws needed to address five key risk factors: speeding, drink-driving, seatbelt use, child restraints and the use of helmets. Where laws on these risk factors are in place, they are often inadequately enforced, particularly in low-income countries. WHO noted that enacting and enforcing legislation is critical in influencing exposure to the risk of a crash, crash occurrence and injury severity. Road traffic fatalities are predicted to rise to the fifth leading cause of death by 2030, resulting in an estimated 2.4 million fatalities per year, according to WHO. Check out I.I.I. info on U.S. highway safety.
 
Meanwhile, New York has jumped from third to first ranking to claim the title as the […]

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The rising incidence of text messaging among drivers has again been highlighted in a survey from mobile application vendor Vlingo Corporation. The findings come just weeks after text messaging led to a Boston trolley collision, injuring 50 people. Despite driving while texting (DWT) bans in seven states and the District of Columbia as well as reports of accidents caused by DWT the survey reveals that one in four mobile phone users continue to text behind the wheel. The report also indicates that text messaging has increased steadily over the past 12 months across all age groups, with nearly 60 percent of mobile phone users now texting, compared to 54 percent in 2008. Almost 60 percent of those aged 16-19 admit DWT and 49 percent of those aged 20-29. While older drivers do not drive and text as much, still 13 percent of those in their 50s admit to doing so. […]

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American drivers are paying for the rough state of the nation’s roads multiple times, according to a report from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). It reveals that one-third of major highways, including Interstates, freeways, and major roads are in poor or mediocre conditions. In high traffic urban areas the situation is even worse with one in four roads in poor condition. AASHTO says the American public pays for poor road conditions twice – first through additional vehicle operating costs and then in higher repair and reconstruction costs. For the average driver, rough roads add $335 annually to typical vehicle operating costs and up to $746 annually for drivers in urban areas. Sustaining deteriorating roads also costs significantly more over time than regularly maintaining a road in good condition. It costs $1 to keep a road in good shape for every $7 you would have to […]

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The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) yesterday reported that 2008 marked the fifth consecutive year of declining vehicle thefts in the United States. Its annual Hot Spots study said preliminary crime data from the FBI indicates that 2008 will post a double-digit decline (-12.6 percent) in vehicle theft when final numbers are released in the fall. If the preliminary figure holds, it will be the largest single year percent drop in thefts since 1999. Despite the overall decline in vehicle theft, NICB described this year’s findings as a “mixed bag” of good and bad news. Why? Although most areas experienced a reduction in vehicle theft in 2008, NICB said there were several noteworthy exceptions in states that border Mexico. The Texas Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) of El Paso, Laredo and San Antonio along with Las Cruces in New Mexico each saw an increase in vehicle theft in 2008. California remains […]

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