Not All Distracted Drivers Are Created Equal

Posted & filed under Auto Safety.

ConsumerReports.org’s Cars Blog has an interesting post from February 19 on driving distraction by profession. Most of the recent talk on this topic — including a full-out push by Oprah Winfrey to marshal her viewers against cell phones in the car — focuses on talking and texting behind the wheel.

As it turns out, however, not all drivers desperate to stay in touch via voice, email, and text are created equal. Almost anyone on a tight schedule or who has important pending email relative to a project is guilty of picking up their flashing BlackBerry or beeping iPhone. The drivers with the greatest culpability, however, are apparently — and ironically — judges and lawyers.

Others who aren’t keeping their eyes on the road include financial professionals, government employees, bartenders and waiters, business people of any sort, dog groomers, advertising / marketing execs, barbers and hairstylists, coaches, and nurses. (Okay, I get financial professionals checking the markets, but dog groomers?!)

The safest drivers in terms of distractions are athletes and homemakers — a real surprise since suburban Moms in mini-vans have gained a reputation for yelling and breaking up fights while driving. (Or maybe this is just one of those things women have learned to manage more efficiently.)

At any rate, sufficient evidence has piled up to get legislators at all levels of government in high gear to get distracted driving laws on the books. Be prepared to have hands-free equipment in the car or be forced to prove that you weren’t thumb typing or talking in the event of an accident.

Toyota Recalls Won’t Raise Auto Insurance Premiums

Posted & filed under Auto Safety, Car Insurance.

As if more than 6 million Toyota drivers didn’t have enough to worry about with dodgey floor mats, sticking accelerators, and potential brake problems on the Prius, many are now concerned that the recalls will affect their auto insurance rates.

Brian O’Connell at MainStreet counsels drivers to take a breath — they cannot lose their policies due to the recall and they are covered in the event of an accident.

Both State Farm and Allstate have issued statements specifically for Toyota drivers making it clear that the recalls will not lead to increased insurance rates, however, drivers will need to get their cars repaired and be able to produce proof that the work has been completed.

Moreover, if you are involved in a wreck, Toyota is more than likely going to be the one to foot the bill. (It’s always good for your rates when someone other than your insurance company is out the cost of damages.) Insurers are certain to go straight to Toyota to cover vehicle damage, but again, only if issues relative to recalls have been addressed.

If you drive a Toyota and don’t get the required repairs completed, you are likely to be held partially responsible for the bill. So even if it is inconvenient? Even if there seems to be nothing wrong with your Toyota? Get the repair.

In truth, Toyota drivers are likely to see their auto insurance rates decline in coming months, as the resale value on the vehicles drops in reaction to the negative publicity the company is enduring. According to research by Edmunds, cited in the MainStreet article, the resale value of recalled Toyotas fell between 4-8% over the past two weeks alone.

Bottom line, the recall has been frightening and for many just plain annoying, but it will no result in adverse insurance consequences for Toyota drivers — perhaps the only really good news to come out of the whole mess.

Safety Tips for Women Driving Alone

Posted & filed under Auto Safety.

While women are still considered lesser risks when it comes to car insurance – they still get better rates than men, for example – when women are driving alone they do have to be a bit more cautious than their male counterparts. Horror stories abound, but the reality is that some common sense safety tips will keep most women safe on the road, whether they’re traveling long distances, or just making a late-night commute.

What sort of safety precautions are advised? Here are some suggestions, provided by Irish driving club authority AA Roadwatch, and modified for a North American audience:

While You’re On the Road:

  1. If your car doors don’t auto-lock when you disengage the parking brake, lock them automatically, especially if you’re driving at night, or in questionable neighborhoods.
  2. Don’t keep your purse on the passenger seat. Leave it on the floor behind you, or on the floor in front of the passenger seat.
  3. Keep your back seat as empty as possible. If you’re on a shopping trip, or have a laptop you typically carry with you, put your bags or computer case in the trunk.
  4. Noise deters. If a stranger approaches your car, or another car is trying to push you out of your lane, or make you stop, use your horn.
  5. Trust your instincts. If you think you’re being followed, immediately go to a busy public place, such as a mall or shopping center – especially one with police presence. Failing that, find the nearest police station.
  6. Never, ever, pick up hitchhikers.
  7. Always keep your cell phone charged and accessible.

In Garages and Parking Lots:

  1. Always pick a well-lit spot. If you’re parking during the day, but know it will be dark when you leave, be sure you consider what the space will look like at night.
  2. Wherever it’s legal, and possible, back into a parking space, so you can drive straight out.
  3. Have your keys out and ready as you’re approaching your car; don’t waste time looking for them.

Must women follow tips like these for a few days, and then generally slack off. The key to staying safe, is staying alert, and listening to your instincts.

A Case For Mandatory Insurance?

Posted & filed under Ohio Car Insurance.

Mandatory auto insurance seems like a no-brainer to most of us but there are still people who either live in states where there are no mandatory minimum coverage requirements, or who simply drive without insurance.

Should insurance be mandatory across the country? This story, reported in Ohio’s Columbus Dispatch may serve as a case study.

As reported by Bruce Cadwallader:

A Clark County motorist with no auto insurance and a suspended driver’s license pleaded guilty today to causing a crash in Columbus that killed a passenger.

Arthur Crossley, 28, of Springfield, admitted to driving recklessly on Feb. 29, 2008, on Alum Creek Drive. His northbound car crossed the centerline and struck a southbound minivan head-on. The van struck another southbound van.

Dwight Flowers, 25, a passenger in Crossley’s car, was killed in the collision, which happened shortly before 4 p.m.

Crossley pleaded guilty today in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide and two counts of aggravated vehicular assault, one for each person injured in the two other vehicles.

Judge Daniel T. Hogan set sentencing for March 5. At that time, Crossley could be sentenced to 18 years in prison.

He will lose his Ohio driving privileges for life, Assistant Prosecutor Keith McGrath said.

Flowers, who also had a suspended license, had asked Crossley to drive him from Springfield to an Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles office on Alum Creek Drive to pay a license-reinstatement fee, McGrath said.

On the way, both men smoked marijuana and Flowers became concerned for his safety, McGrath said.

Flowers called a girlfriend to pick him up because of Crossley’s erratic driving. About 20 minutes later, the crash occurred.

Police originally cited Crossley for driving while under the influence, but that charge was dismissed after a toxicologist could not quantify the effects of the marijuana, Hogan said.

The drivers of the vans, Tiffany Young and Wilbur Robey, told the judge they suffered permanent injuries to their legs, back and spine in the crash.

So, even without the marijuana in his system, the driver had no insurance. While the story details suggest that his insurance may have been canceled at about the time his license was suspended (generally the one goes with the other), he should have been able to pay a fee and get high-risk insurance. He’d still have been at-fault, but at least then the injuries to the other drivers would be his burden, not theirs.

State Farm Predicts Toyota Safety Issues?

Posted & filed under Auto Safety, Recalls.

Amidst news from Washington, D.C. that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has spoken with representatives of Toyota about the braking system failures in the 2010 Prius, with assurances that his agency will “remain in constant communication with Toyota to hold them to that promise,” Toyota has stated that it is recalling almost 437,000 Priuses and other hybrids around the world.

In the United States, alone, the recall includes 14,500 Lexus HS250h vehicles and 133,000 Prius cars.

While American Prius and Lexus owners will start receiving information about the recall in next week’s mail, Allstate Insurance is claiming they warned federal safety regulators about possible issues with Toyota over two years ago, in late 2007, when they began seeing an increase in reports of “unwanted acceleration” from their claims database.

State Farm, the largest auto insurer in the United States, says it warned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the potential problem with Toyotas. This has been confirmed by NHTSA spokeperson Karen Aldana, who said that State Farm forwarded to the agency a September 7, 2007 claim letter addressed to Toyota, about an accident involving a 2005 Camry. The report, Aldana says, was reviewed and added to their complaint database.

Congressional investigators are currently examining the possibility that the government missed warning signs of issues with Toyota vehicles.