Distracted Detroit drivers pay a lot more for car insurance

Study shows that drivers in Metro Detroit who violate distracted driving and texting while driving laws could see auto insurance premiums shoot up $2,000

We all know how dangerous distracted driving is.

Now, we know it can lead to some extremely costly auto insurance rates for drivers in Metro Detroit and across Michigan.

In his Forbes article, “Pay Attention: Distracted Driving Could Boost Your Insurance Rates By As Much As 41%,” writer Jim Gorzelany relays that a 2018 Distracted Driving Report from the insurance consumer website, The Zebra, has shown that:

• “The costliest state for distracted drivers is Michigan …”

• The “penalties” in the form of higher auto insurance premiums for distracted driving “approach the $2,000 mark in the Detroit metro area …”

• In Michigan, in general, “annual rates” for drivers ticketed for being distracted and/or texting while driving “will shoot up by an average” of 26% or $681.

Normally, I’m advocating against insurance company practices that jack up premiums and rates for drivers because all too frequently the increases have nothing to do with the drivers proving themselves to be a greater crash risk and everything to do with the insurers just wanting to make more money.

That’s not the case here.

Distracted driving is dangerous and the crash risk is significantly higher than for non-distracted drivers:

• “Text messaging made the risk of crash or near-crash event 23.2 times as high as non-distracted driving,” according to a 2009 study from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

• The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that “dialing a handheld cell phone” while driving made the driver “12 times more likely to crash.”

As such, if drivers are going to put the public, their families and friends and themselves at risk by driving while distracted or while texting, then they should pay more … a lot more.

It will hopefully deter them from engaging in such dangerous behavior in the future and it will hopefully serve as a deterrent to others who don’t wish to see their insurance costs go any higher than they already are.

To learn more, please click here.