Auto Insurance Rates Increase Because of Driver Distractions
According to the article “Driver Distractions Behind Auto Insurance Rate Hikes” by Danny Workman on examiner.com, 80% of crashes and 60% of near crashes are the result of driver distractions such as spilled coffee, hot soup, tacos and hamburgers.
Many of these accidents occur when the lead automobile is stopped and is rear ended by a driver who is distracted. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Virgina Tech Transportation Institute find that these crashes and near crashes happen within 3 seconds of a driver being distracted.
Some other distractions that are causing auto insurance rates to increase are talking on the phone, text messaging, tuning the car radio, reading a map, lighting a cigarette and applying makeup or shaving. While it may seem obviously dangerous to do many of these tasks while driving it happens all the time and many of these items are becoming illegal in an attempt to make the roads safer.