MichiganAutoRates.com » Driver Education

Avoid Hitting a Deer

MIAutoRates — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 18:23:15 +0000

Car accidents seem to be more of an occurring thing happening lately. When you picture a car crash happening, most would envision two or more cars crashing into each other. In reality, they can involve factors like hitting a deer instead of another car. The Insurance Information Institute stated that 1.6 million deer-vehicle collisions happen each year, which result in around 200 deaths, thousands of injuries, and over $3.6 billion in damage to vehicles. You should always be prepared for this possibly, and if you listen to the tips below, you could avoid being a part of the statistics.
1. Watch for the entire gang: Deer rarely travel alone, they are pack animals. If you see a deer in your upcoming path chances are there are more to come. You should slow down your vehicle and keep an eye out for any movement that could be potentially be the rest of the pack.
2. Timing is essential: Deer are definitely most active at dawn and dusk times which means it’s pretty dim lighting. On top of that, they mate during the months of October- January when you travel at those times more frequently. Again, keep an open eye and be alert.
3. Wear your seatbelt: Yes, you should always wear a seatbelt, but you can be seriously injured if you run into a deer. Wearing your seatbelt ultimately will not prevent the crash from happening, but it can help reduce the damage done.
4. Watch for signs: First, look for road signs. The signs will be a yellow diamond shape with a deer in the center. That means it is a very high traffic area for deer. Not only will the signs help, but the deer itself will do you a favor as well. Their eyes will actually reflect the headlights on your car.
5. Stay center: If you are on a multi-lane road, try to stay in the center lane. That could help you avoid the deer collision. Staying center gives the deer the space they need, and gives you more time to react if you do startle them.
6. Stay on course: If you see a deer, brake firmly, but calmly. It is so important to stay in your own lane, and try not to swerve, it could cause more damage. Deer are unpredictable, and could end up swerving the way you do if you were to swerve as well.
7. Honk: Some experts recommend to honk as it will scare the deer off. However, you should not just rely on honking because studies have shown that it is not the most effective thing that can be done when you encounter a deer.
If you do end up colliding with a deer, pull to the side of the road if possible, turn on your hazards, and call 911 right away. While you’re waiting stay away from the deer regardless of its state. It could be confused, injured, or dangerous. Be sure to let the authorities know if the deer is in a dangerous spot on the road too. Be sure to get in contact with your insurance company as soon as possible to let them know about any vehicle damage.

Smart Driving

MIAutoRates — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 21:29:11 +0000

Safety on the road is so important. You would be surprised by how many crashes are results of just not being smart on the road. A few tips to remember are stay off of your phone! You can wait to give the person a call back. If it is an emergency then you should pullover to a safe spot and take the call. Another rule is no texting a driving. You become so distracted when texting and driving at the same time. You basically are bound to crash. This one’s easy; obey the speed limit. Everybody knows not to speed, but going at too slow of a speed could cause a problem too. Always be on the defense. You never know what kind of driver you will come in contact with so always be aware of the people around you!

Annual Global Road Crash Statistics
 Nearly 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,287 deaths a day.
 An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled.
 More than half of all road traffic deaths occur among young adults ages 15-44.
 Road traffic crashes rank as the 9th leading cause of death and account for 2.2% of all deaths globally.
 Road crashes are the leading cause of death among young people ages 15-29, and the second leading cause of death worldwide among young people ages 5-14.
 Each year nearly 400,000 people under 25 die on the world’s roads, on average over 1,000 a day.
 Over 90% of all road fatalities occur in low and middle-income countries, which have less than half of the world’s vehicles.
 Road crashes cost USD $518 billion globally, costing individual countries from 1-2% of their annual GDP.
 Road crashes cost low and middle-income countries USD $65 billion annually, exceeding the total amount received in developmental assistance.
 Unless action is taken, road traffic injuries are predicted to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030.

Texting and Driving

MIAutoRates — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 17:31:55 +0000

It’s no secret that technology is taking over, but it should not be taking our attention while we drive too. If you didn’t know, texting and driving is a fad; everyone is doing it. People are so occupied with their cell phones that they cannot even put them down while they drive. News flash; innocent people are being killed by these distracted drivers. The U.S needs a wakeup call! Everybody is now made aware by several different platforms such as commercials, or newspapers, so why do they still text and drive? There needs to be a better solution now! What will it take for people to stop texting while they are on the road?
Did you know?
• 23% of crashes that happened in 2011 were because of cell phones? Doesn’t sound like a huge percentage? Think twice, that’s 1.3 million crashes.
• 5 seconds is the minimal amount of time your attention is not on the road if you are on your phone. Think about it this way; it is equivalent to driving one whole football field and not looking if you’re traveling at least 55 mph. Scary right?
• Texting and driving gives you 23x more of a chance to crash your car. Better keep your eyes on the road instead.
• It’s easy they said! Wrong. 10% of teen drivers who text and drive go out of their lane. That is not safe for the teen or anyone else on the road.
• 1 in 5 drivers confess to surfing the web while driving. Just turn it off people!
Now that we’re all aware of very few of the dangers that comes with texting and driving, we can think of a solution on how to stop it. Recently, there has been a few apps that you can install to insure your teen driver or you are not driving and texting at the same time. There are a range of apps for Androids and iPhones so no excuses for anyone. If you’re not interested in paying the small fee an app might cost then there’s other options to pursue. One is to simply silence your phone, you won’t know when you get a notification so you won’t be tempted to answer. Another solution would be to completely turn it off. If you aren’t strong enough for either of those options then you can go ahead and store it in your glove box or trunk. Texting and driving puts everyone on the road in danger, is one text really worth somebody’s life? Please be considerate and put down your phone while on the road, it could save around 1 million lives.

Things That Affect Price of Auto Insurance

MIAutoRates — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 21:26:49 +0000

Your Driving History: If you have more tickets and are involved in more accidents, your rate will be higher. Based on statistics, drivers with no traffic violations and with fewer tickets pay less because they are considered to be lower risk. It is believed that they have a smaller chance of being involved in incidents, therefore, it is less expensive to insure those who are less of a risk.
Your Vehicle: You will probably have to pay more if your car is going to be more expensive to be repaired, if it has a higher chance of being stolen, or if it likely to cause more damage to the other car if involved in an accident. Sports cars and SUVs tend to fall into this category, so they will be more to insure.
Where You Live: Again, based on statistics, it shows that drivers who live in a smaller town pay a smaller amount of money to be insured. They argue that they will not get into as many accidents as those who live in a bigger city. If where you live experiences more theft, vandalism, natural disasters, or severe weather, you will pay more.
Age: Drivers under the age of 25 typically pay more, and drivers aged 50-65 will pay less. Why? Drivers under the age of 25 have more accidents than drivers who are older and more experienced.
Marital Status: Statistics show that married drivers have fewer accidents than single drivers. If you’re married then you’ll typically pay less for insurance. This particularly applies to younger drivers.
Gender: Are you surprised? Gender inequality is a real thing, and the men are taking the loss this time. Men under the age of 25 are said to be more reckless than women under the age of 25, so they pay more. If you’re a young man, expect to have higher premiums.
Financial Responsibility: Extensive industry analysis has shown that drivers with better credit history have better driving records. In states where insurance scoring is used, if you’ve got good credit, then you’ll generally pay less for auto insurance.

How Credit Score Affects Car Insurance Rates?

MIAutoRates — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 19:26:09 +0000

Credit-based insurance scores, like credit scores, are numerical summaries of
consumers’ credit histories. Credit-based insurance scores typically are calculated using
information about past delinquencies or information on the public record (e.g.,
bankruptcies); debt ratios (i.e., how close a consumer is to his or her credit limit);
evidence of seeking new credit (e.g., inquiries and new accounts); the length and age of
credit history; and the use of certain types of credit (e.g., automobile loans). Insurance
companies do not use credit-based insurance scores to predict payment behavior, such as
whether premiums will be paid. Rather, they use scores as a factor when estimating the
number or total cost of insurance claims that prospective customers (or customers
renewing their policies) are likely to file.

Credit-based insurance scores evolved from traditional credit scores, and
insurance companies began to use insurance scores in the mid-1990s. Since that time,
their use has grown very rapidly. Today, all major automobile insurance companies use
credit-based insurance scores in some capacity. Insurers use these scores to assign
consumers to risk pools and to determine the premiums that they pay.

Insurance companies argue that credit-based insurance scores assist them in
evaluating insurance risk more accurately, thereby helping them charge individual
consumers premiums that conform more closely to the insurance risk they actually pose.
Others criticize credit-based insurance scores on the grounds that there is no persuasive
reason that a consumer’s credit history should help predict insurance risk. Moreover,
others contend that the use of these scores results in low-income consumers and members
of minority groups paying higher premiums than other consumers.

So what insurance companies correlate that if you are not financially responsible, they assume that you don’t drive responsibly either and raise the amount you pay for your policy.

Not all states allow for insurance companies to base your policy rate on your credit score but the state of Michigan does. If you don’t agree with this, contact your representative in Lansing.