You May Lose Your Cell Phone Usage While Driving

The newest is in about cell phone usage while driving, and that news isn't good depending on where you stand on the issue. Driving distracted is one of the top reasons for accidents and cell phones - talking and texting - are contributing to increases in this distraction.

Laws are being discussed to a federal ban on cell phone use while driving. Do we need it? The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) believes we do. It recommends that all 50 states ban non-emergency cell phone usage. 

Inattention caused specifically by increased texting and Web use while driving, especially in the younger generations, may be merit enough to support this proposed ban.

For drivers 18-29. Accessing the Internet while on a cell phone while driving increased from 29 percent in 2009 to 43 percent in 2011 for drivers 18-29 and 13 percent in 2009 to 18 percent in 2011 for all drivers.

Reading social media networks while driving increased from 21 percent in 2009 to 37 percent in 2011 for drivers 18-29 and 9 percent in 2009 to 14 percent in 2011 for all drivers.

Updating social networks while driving increased from 20 percent in 2009 to 33 percent in 2011 for drivers 18-29 and 9 percent in 2009 to 13 percent in 2011 for all drivers.

We have all probably heard about the school bus driver that was texting while driving, with children on the bus. When the professionals aren't paying attention, who is?

As one commenter so glibly remarked, "Maybe the high school guidance counselors who prepare students for prom night by using severely damaged cars to create a lasting visual of the "don't drink and drive" rule should blend messaging about what happens when John texts "lol" and takes out a family of five."

Did Your Car Make The Top Safety List?

Each year the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) evaluates all types of vehicles for their overall safety performance. The tests measure each vehicle's crashworthiness, its ability to protect occupants during an accident, These tests include high-speed front and side crash tests, rollover tests, and effectiveness of seat and head restraints for protection against neck injuries in rear impacts.

The results are rated with good, acceptable, marginal, or poor. Those with good ratings in all four tests, including electronic stability control, are chosen for the IIHS Top Safety Pick of the year. Is your car on the list? Here are the top five in each category:

(To see the complete list and find links to past year's winners, go to IIHS Top Safety Picks 2011.)

Minicars

Ford Fiesta sedan and hatchback built after July 2010

Small cars

Chevrolet Cruze

Chevrolet Volt

Ford Focus 4-door 2012 models

Honda Civic 4-door(except Si) with optional ESC

Honda Civic 4-door 2012 models

Midsize moderately-priced cars

Audi A3

Chevrolet Malibu

Chrysler 200 (only 4-door models)

Dodge Avenger

Ford Fusion 2011-12 models

Midsize luxury/near luxury cars

Audi A4

Lincoln MKZ

Mercedes C class

Volkswagen CC 2011-12 models (except 4-wheel drive models)

Volvo S60 2011-12 models

Large family cars

Buick LaCrosse

Buick Regal

Chrysler 300

Dodge Charger

Ford Taurus

Large luxury cars

BMW 5 series (except 4-wheel drive and V8)

Cadillac CTS (only sedan models)

Hyundai Equus

Hyundai Genesis

Infiniti M37/M56 (except M56x 4-wheel drive)

Small SUVs

Honda Element

Hyundai Tucson

Jeep Patriot with optional side torso airbags

Kia Sportage

Subaru Forester

Midsize SUVs

Chevrolet Equinox

Dodge Durango built after May 2011

Dodge Journey

Ford Edge built after February 2011

Ford Explorer

Midsize luxury SUVs

Audi Q5

Cadillac SRX

Infiniti EX35

Lexus RX

Lincoln MKT

Large SUVs

Buick Enclave built after January 2011

Chevrolet Traverse built after January 2011

GMC Acadia built after January 2011

Volkswagen Touareg

Minivans

Honda Odyssey

Toyota Sienna

Large pickups

Ford F-150 (crew cab models)built after February 2011

Toyota Tundra (crew cab models)

Are You Satisfied With Your Insurance?

A recent international survey done by Accenture Analytics found that most insurer's are generally satisfied, but still want more from their insurance companies. Surveying over 7,000 respondents over 13 countries, the overall conclusion was that though satisfaction was high, performance expectations from insurance companies were low.

The survey showed that about 84 percent of respondents were satisfied, but there was a gap concerning customer service. Providing clear and easy to read policy information was important to 62 percent, but a mere 27 percent said their company satisfied this provision. Other results showed:

More than 78 percent of respondents think insurance products and services are not easy to understand.

Almost the same number (75 percent) believes that insurers generally offer the same products and services.

More than 61 percent said it was very important for their insurer to provide prompt and effective service, or to answer requests in a timely manner, but only 32 percent were very satisfied with their insurers’ ability to deliver such service.

While 53 percent stated that access to needed information whenever they need it is very important to them, only 29 percent felt very satisfied with their insurers’ capacity to provide assistance on a 24-hour, seven days per week basis.

Not surprisingly, the younger members under age 35 were interested in using mobile devices to text insurers, to receive updates on claim requests, or to interact with agents and brokers through smart phones equipped with video capabilities. They were also the most likely to switch insurers to receive the services they want.

About the survey:

Accenture commissioned a survey of 7,010 owners of life and/or property and casualty insurance policies in 13 countries. The online survey was designed by Accenture and conducted by Lightspeed Research during February and March of 2011. Respondents were representative of the population in gender, age and income. The 7,010 respondents included 1,000 from the U.S., 502 each from China, Germany, India, 501 each from Australia, Brazil, France and the UK, and 500 each from Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Spain.

Do You Talk Too Much?

Pilot programs were geared to discourage cell phone talking and texting.

Talking and texting are the number one reason for the rise of distracted driving. Cell phone use - talking and texting - while driving has shown a dramatic increase in claims resulting in driving while distracted for drivers of every age.

Nearly 5,500 fatalities with a half million injuries were reported from crashes involving a distracted driver in 2009. Distraction-related fatalities represent 16 percent of total traffic fatalities.

Two pilot programs performed in Syracuse, N.Y. and Hartford, Conn., showed reductions in distracted driving. Instituted by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, these programs included increased law enforcement along with aggressive public education campaigns and measured the effects.

Supported by $200,000 in federal funds and $100,000 from each state used a media campaign center around the theme “Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other” modeled after the successful "Click It or Ticket" campaign. Increased law enforcement participation yielded 9,587 citations for talking or texting on cell phones while operating a vehicle by Syracuse police and 9,658 tickets for illegal phone use in Hartford.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) observed, conducted surveys, and compiled reports before and after the programs. Results showed that handheld cell phone use and texting behind the wheel declined by one-third in Syracuse and a 57 percent drop in handheld phone use and nearly a three-quarter drop in texting in Hartford (where it initially documented twice the incidence of cell phone use).

What does this mean for you? Currently 34 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam have texting bans. Nine states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands prohibit all hand-held cell phone use while driving.If your state isn't on the list now, chances are that it will be soon. But, note that these bans and prohibitions are for handheld operation of your cell phone - holding your phone up to your ear or trying to text as you attempt to negotiate your vehicle down the road. Hands-free devices continue to be a better alternative allowing for more attentiveness to the road. 

Would You Pass Your Written Driver Test Today?

Believe it or not, a new study shows that 1 in 5 drivers wouldn't pass their written driver tests. The test administered in the 2011 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test shows 36.9 million American drivers, about 18 percent of our population, can't pass the basic requirements to get a driver's license.

Scary? It certainly makes defense driving look much more attractive - and necessary.

Taken from 5,130 licensed drivers between the ages of 16 to 65 across the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the test measured driver knowledge with 20 questions taken from state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) exams.

Calculating gender, age, ethnicity, and state percentage population, the test showed some surprising results and not so surprising results.

The average score for all drivers went up to 77.9 percent this year compared to 76.2 percent in 2010. That still shows a good percentage are not using safe and educated driving habits. Eighty-five percent of all drivers did not know the proper response when approaching a steady yellow traffic light. A mere quarter knew the correct safe following distances.

Older drivers, ages 60 to 65, tested better than their younger counterparts with an average score of 80.3 percent.

Male drivers tested a bit better than female drivers with the difference of 80.2 percent for males versus 74.1 percent for females.

New York and Washington D.C. drivers fared the worst with 1 in 3, or 34 percent, failing the test. Washington D.C. took over the last position. However, New York moved up to 45th place after three years in last place.

Kansas had the highest overall score with an 82.9 percent average. Wyoming had the lowest failure rate with only 4.5 failing the test.

The Northeast scored the lowest with an average of 74.9 percent while the Midwest scored the best with 77.5 percent.

The takeaway is that we need to remember to be alert every second we are on the road, take a new driver rule read every so often to keep our skills and knowledge fresh, and absolutely don't count on the other driver to know what they are doing. What would you score?