Be Careful: Today is California's Most Dangerous Driving Day - KTLA

Dec. 15th has been dubbed California's most dangerous driving day of the year. (KTLA-TV / December 15, 2010)

LOS ANGELES ( KTLA) -- California drivers should be extra careful on the roadways Wednesday since it's been dubbed the most dangerous driving day of the year.

More Californians crash their cars on December 15th than any other day of the year, according to an Allstate Insurance Company review of its California auto insurance claims over the past four years.

The number of accident claims on Dec. 15 jumps 23 percent compared to the daily average during the rest of the year.

It's believed the spike in crashes could be due in part to weather, holiday shopping or other distractions, said Robert Feldman, a Los Angeles-area Allstate agency owner.

"What's important for drivers is that we stay focused while at the wheel whether on the highway or in the driveway-on December 15 and every day of the year," Feldman said.

The fourth worst day of the year is just three days later on Dec. 18th, according to Allstate.

The company ranks the top 5 worst driving days for Californians as:
December 15
February 14
October 13
December 18
September 5

Allstate suggests drivers eliminate distractions like cell phones and shifting packages, drive according to weather conditions and don't drink and drive.

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California auto insurance goes green - Los Angeles Times

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California auto insurance goes greenDecember 6, 2010 |  4:58pm

California motorists who spend little time on the road could pay significantly lower insurance premiums with new "pay-as-you-drive" auto policies starting in February.

To be offered first by California insurance giants State Farm Mutual and the Automobile Club of Southern California, the new policies are designed to reward drivers who drive less. Other insurers are expected to follow.

Under current law, drivers are only required to provide insurers with estimates of their projected mileage. This creates an inaccurate system that may not reward those who are truly driving less.
 
Studies show that pay-as-you-drive insurance results in fewer accidents, fewer asthma-related missed work days and hospital visits, and more money in California consumers’ pockets, according to Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-Marin), who authored the legislation authorizing the new programs. Less driving also means less greenhouse gas spewed into the atmosphere at a time when California is clamping down on planet-heating emissions.

Under State Farm's plan, customers would provide their vehicle's actual mileage when they sign up for the program or they could automatically transmit their mileage if they have the OnStar computer-communication system in their General Motors Co. vehicle.

Subsequent mileage readings would be personally recorded by a State Farm agent or determined by third-party verification services using servicing records, Carfax reports, California Smog Check data or other sources. The Auto Club would use similar verification services and also give motorists the opportunity to install an automatic mileage data transmission device in their car.

State Farm estimates that "ultra-low-mileage" drivers — less than 2,000 miles a year — could save up to 45% of the cost of a six-month premium compared with current rates based on a driver's own mileage estimates. Premiums from its Drive Safe & Save program could drop by hundreds of dollars a year, State Farm said.

State Farm, California's No. 1 seller of private car insurance, intends to aggressively market the new product. The company expects eventually to sign up about one-fourth of its 3.3 million policyholders in the state.

More accurate customer mileage readings should translate into better risk underwriting, spokesman Bob Devereux said. "We believe in the long run, if we're better matching price to risk it's good for the customer and good for the company," he said.

The Auto Club, the state's second-largest car insurance company, estimated drivers' potential savings at between 1% and 10.5%, depending on how much someone drives a year. It said members who opt for its verified mileage program could save an average of $68 per vehicle compared with customers who keep their traditional coverage.

Making the new pricing plan available has been a top priority for outgoing Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. "The voluntary pay-as-you-drive initiative is an innovative program that will allow insurers to offer plans based on more accurate mileage, so that people who choose to drive less will pay less for auto insurance," Poizner said.

Environmentalists, who were some of the first proponents of pay-as-you-drive auto insurance, were pleased."This encourages and rewards drivers to lower the amount they drive," said Lauren Navarro, an
attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund in Sacramento. "Just not taking unnecessary trips will help us to meet our clean-air mandates and global-warming pollution mandates."

The launch of pay-as-you-drive is expected to spur competitive plans from most of California's insurers. Almost all of them early on expressed interest in the concept. "Once there is a sense of how this is working for State Farm and the Auto Club, more insurers will be compelled to offer the same thing," said Deputy Insurance Commissioner Joel Laucher.

State regulations also seek to ensure that mileage information will be used only to set premiums and that the data will not track a motorist's driving habits or compromise a customer's privacy.

State Farm policies will be available for sale to new and renewal customers Feb. 28. Auto Club members can sign up starting Feb. 1.

Consumer advocates generally hailed the plans as an innovation. But Douglas Heller, executive director of Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog, said he clearly preferred the State Farm plan. It increases rates more gradually, with prices going up for every additional 500 miles driven.

The Auto Club uses just four steps of 2,500 miles each for the first 10,000 miles driven and, above that, seven more steps of 5,000 miles each. The Auto Club says its formula is more fair to drivers who occasionally run up their mileage with long vacation trips.

"Auto Club doesn't give drivers a serious opportunity to lower rates," Heller said."With State Farm, if you cut out 500 miles a year, you save some money."

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-Marc Lifsher and Margot Roosevelt

Photo:The southbound 110 Freeway as seen from Elysian Park in the late morning. Credit: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times

Twitter: @latenvironmentFacebook: latimesenvironmentMore in: Air Pollution, Automobiles, California, Climate policy, Margot RooseveltRead LaterComments (10)
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Comments (10)

I question the environmental impact this is going to have since I don't see this as having any affect on commuters. If I'm driving 12,000 miles a year to get to and from work, there's no way I'm going to drop down to 2,000 to save a few dollars. And with the lack of viable public transportation options, I probably couldn't do it even if I wanted to. This may reduce the number of trips someone takes, but I suspect that fuel prices are already somewhat of a deterrent.

I also don't see how this is going to result in more money in the California consumer's pocket. For every person that gets his/her premium reduced for driving less, there is going to be someone who's premium is increased for driving more.

Posted by:Dan |December 12, 2010 at 11:08 AM

Free Advertising! Is this a commercial? State Farm & Auto Club??? who in California can keep it under 2000 a year? Public transportation in most area is not good or worth it.

Let's Face it California folks love their cars and will drive just because it is nice out. 6 miles a day is all this allows.

As I recall Most studies show that accidents frequentcy is greater with less use or closer proximity to home. This is an example of this usage.

In a nut shell State Farm & AAA got to toot their horn about how many they have not lost to the competition yet.

I'll keep my 12,000 miles a year Mercury Insurance policy and enjoy my car... After all that's why I have it. Not to mention price beats the competiton.

Posted by:Mindless News |December 08, 2010 at 11:37 AM

The average customer will pay an average of $68 less - so who cares? Really? That's not savings - you could get that much simply by changing policies....

Posted by:san frann |December 08, 2010 at 12:10 AM

Not sure that 'pay-as-you-drive insurance results in fewer accidents'. From experience; lived in SF for number of years - went from 2 cars to having only 1. Wife drove probably once every 2 months. I definitely noticed her driving style change. Especially once we moved and went to having 2 cars again. It took a while for her to get her driving skills back. My point, people who drive less, although statistically in less accidents, are definitely not better drivers.

Posted by:joe |December 07, 2010 at 04:26 PM

Hoorah! I drive less than 7,000 miles annually,yet I'm insured at 10,000 miles annually (42% more than what I actually dive) so this could work very well for me.

I'll double check the fine print.

Posted by:Gaucho420 |December 07, 2010 at 04:13 PM

What a joke. "Drivers who drive less than 2,000 miles a year could save up to 45%"? That's it??

Let's see, the average driver puts at least 20,000 a year on their car. Driving 90% less should result in paying 90% less.

Speaking of "pay as you go," while I'm not for another state bureaucracy, I've often wondered how driving habits would be effected if we paid for insurance via some sort of "pay at the pump" - which would be much closer to paying per actual mile.

Posted by:David in Los Angeles |December 07, 2010 at 04:08 PM

I like this plan, tying together insurance cost with the amount of driving someone does. It will more fairly set insurance payments and provide incentives to drive less, which will decrease road congestion and reduce gasoline usage. Also, more palatable than a gas tax, although there are things to be said for that as well: http://livinggreenandsavingenergy.com/sound-energy-policy-includes-a-gas-tax.html

Posted by:Steve |December 07, 2010 at 03:42 PM

Don't like this idea. For many people, driving is a necessity to get to work. There is no way around it, not carpooling nor commuting. Rates should only be based upon a driver's accident record.

Posted by:MICHAEL WHITE |December 07, 2010 at 03:29 PM

Don't look for insurance companies to play fair. Seems like another red herring. What is the legislature and the auto insurance companies really up to? Somethins rotten up in here!!

Posted by:mansterEZ1 |December 07, 2010 at 03:17 PM

This is a crock, read the fine print on your policy, I did. Not a good deal for anyone.

Posted by:A Money Grab |December 07, 2010 at 02:08 PM

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PD Editorial: Insure or not? - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

NICK ANDERSON / Houston Chronicle
Published: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 9:51 a.m.

In California, as in many states, you can be arrested for driving without insurance.

The reason is obvious: Costs stemming from a collision — car repairs, hospitalization, lost income — can be enormous. Liability falls to the responsible driver. If liable drivers were always responsible drivers, laws requiring insurance wouldn’t be necessary.

The trouble is, they’re not.

At a sobriety checkpoint in Santa Rosa this past Saturday, police arrested 13 people for driving without a license. Chances are, they didn’t have auto insurance, either.

Perhaps these drivers have the resources to cover the costs of any accidents they may cause. More likely, they don’t, making them a danger to others if they stay on the road.

Unfortunately, some of the same people who zealously defend mandatory auto insurance laws are in court fighting the federal health care reform law because it would require people to obtain health insurance.

The insurance mandate is the foundation for some of the most popular aspects of health care reform, most notably the provision barring insurers from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions. It’s also key to many of the cost-cutting aspects of the new law. Those cost savings, in turn, will help make insurance more affordable.

But on Monday, a federal judge in Richmond, Va. ruled that Congress overstepped its constitutional authority by making health insurance mandatory. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson wrote that there is no legal precedent for using Commerce Clause powers to compel an individual to purchase a private commodity, such as insurance. Two other federal judges have upheld the insurance mandate in separate cases, and a fourth is poised to rule, perhaps as early as next week. So it’s safe to say this issue is headed for the U.S. Supreme Court.

For anyone who objects to California’s auto insurance law, with its $500 fine and auto impound, there’s an alternative: Don’t drive.

With health care, it’s not so simple.

Not only is no one assured of good health, hospitals are required to provide care for people without means to pay. That care isn’t cost free; the expenses are passed on to taxpayers or added to premiums paid by those who are insured. Sounds like an entitlement.

Conservatives such as Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli routinely argue against costly entitlements. Is the alternative here to allow hospitals to turn people away if they’re uninsured, possibly risking the spread of communicable disease? Or is the intent to keep forcing the insured to foot the cost of treating the uninsured?

All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.

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An Auto Insurance Comparison Can Save Big on Premiums - The Auto Insurance

Listen up, California drivers – there are big changes coming to auto insurance. Comparison shopping is a smart thing to be doing now, because you could wind up saving some big bucks on your premiums.

New Options for Motorists

Thanks to new changes in state insurance regulations, California auto insurance companies can now offer coverage that is based on the number of miles a motorist actually drives. The new pricing, known as “Pay-As-You-Drive” is not a new concept. It was first pioneered by the Texas insurer MileMeter starting in 2008, and has been slow to catch on. However, in a state that has more cars, more drivers, more air pollution and more congestion than any other, this new pricing structure will not only enable Californians to get the best insurance rates (since they won’t be paying insurance for their vehicles while they are sitting in the garage).

More Benefits

If history teaches us anything else (especially recent history), it’s that economic incentives work to change behavior when virtually nothing else does. For instance, mandatory gasoline rationing – instituted during the Second World War as well as the late 1970s – did very little to reduce driving. It says a great deal about America’s addiction to their automobiles that while Americans were more than happy to give up meat, grow their own vegetables, forgo sugar and make other sacrifices for the troops during World War II, fraud when it came to gasoline rationing was rampant. Such cheating also undermined the ill-fated “odd-even” rationing that took place in the Golden State during the winter of 1979-80.

Today, however, Californians who compare car insurance quotes based on their actual mileage are going to find that by driving less, they are going to save money – and this means less traffic, less congestion, fewer accidents and lower pollution levels.

Who’s Doing It and How

As of this writing, only two of the largest California insurers – State Farm and the Automobile Club of California – are offering this type of insurance pricing. With the former, customers state their odometer readings at the time they buy their policies. Drivers with newer cars equipped with OnStar and similar technology will then provide odometer readings at regular intervals. Drivers with older cars can have their mileage verified through smog inspection records.

According to State Farm, a motorist who drives his/her vehicle no more than 2,000 miles a year could save up to 45% every year.

As more and more California insurers begin offering this type of coverage, it’s a sure bet that California motorists will start to compare car insurance rates more often and more thoroughly.

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December 15, the Day Most Cali Drivers Crash - autoevolution

Allstate says December 15 is the worst day for Cali drivers23 percent more accident claims on that dayDecember 18 follows close behindCali drivers crash the most on December 15When they don't go after you, the customer, in an aggressive manner to promote this or that product, insurance companies like to conduct all types of surveys and studies, related to just about everything which involves a car and/or its driver. Useful or not, these studies often fail to shed some light on the matter under investigation, mostly because the insurance companies are unable to get to the bottom of the subject and show the big “why.”

One such study is the one released by insurance company Allstate. By reviewing its California auto insurance claims over the past four years, the insurer found that on December 15, accident claims in the state jump 23 percent compared to the daily average during the rest of the year.

Of course, the insurer has no idea why. Can it be the weather? The spirit of Christmas? The exuberance we all feel when we receive a Christmas bonus? Or the rage felt when there is no Christmas bonus?

"This spike in crashes could be related to weather, holiday shopping, travel or other distractions," said Robert Feldman, Allstate agency owner in metro Los Angeles. "What's important for drivers is that we stay focused while at the wheel whether on the highway or in the driveway—on December 15 and every day of the year."

In fact, the month of December is probably the most dangerous in the year, with two of its days being in the top 5 worst days to drive – December 18 is the second. The top is completed by February 14, October 13 and September 5.

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California Car Insurance Companies Report Jump In Claims - The Auto Insurance

There are numerous reasons why claims presented to car insurance companies are higher at some times of the year than others. In some ways, this makes sense and can be predicted. For example, one would expect that in parts of the country that experience a great deal of snow and ice in the winter, there would be more accidents – and hence, more claims. Another time during which claims tend to rise is early and late in the school year as more high-risk teen drivers take to the roads.

However, one of California’s leading insurers reports that for the past several years, mid-December – specifically the 15th – has been the busiest day for insurers when it comes to customers filing claims.

“Beware the Ides…”

In old Roman society, the 15th day of the month was known as the ides. As most history buffs know, it was the “ides of March,” or the 15th, on which Julius Caesar was assassinated. For California auto insurance companies however, the ides of December appears to be the day that is malis avibus (literally “under bad birds,” or a day of unfavorable signs – the ancient Romans were nothing if not superstitious). Since 2006, more claims on their auto insurance coverage have been filed by customers on this day than any other, according to data collected by Allstate.

In the northern regions of the country that experience bad late fall and early winter weather, this would make sense – but in sunny California?

Not Necessarily the Weather

While one Los Angeles Allstate agent acknowledged that the weather might have something to do with it (Southern California does get a bit of rain in the winter months), he also suggested that it may also have to do with increased travel and more trips to the shopping malls during the holiday seasons.

Of course, the December holidays can be a stressful time for many people, particularly among those who are expected to entertain and fulfill a host of social expectations. This can lead to an increase in driver distraction, which can have the same effect on judgment as alcohol.

And you can expect that any increase in claims will exert upward pressure on the typical California auto insurance rate.

What to Do?

Wherever you are in the country, it is important to remember that even under the best conditions, operating a motor vehicle requires 100% focus and concentration at all times. Avoid distractions, particularly cell phone usage – which can have the same effect on one’s reaction time as two alcoholic drinks. If you must drive in heavy traffic (and in Southern California, is there any other kind?), be aware of your fellow motorists at all times, allow for plenty of stopping distance (at least one car length for every ten miles per hour of speed) and remember the first lesson you learned in driver’s ed – “leave yourself an out.”

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