How Road Rage Can Affect Your Auto Insurance Rates

By Sean Denny, www.autoinsuranceplanners.com
"One Stop Shop - Multiple Insurance Rates"

Want to make your auto insurance rates rise? Try getting mad behind the wheel.

There can be a significant connection between the premiums you pay for an auto insurance policy and your blood pressure. It’s known as road rage, and if you are shopping for the best auto insurance rates, or want to keep your car insurance rates low, you’d be wise to recognize and avoid this traffic stressor.

News reports on road rage are as regular as traffic jams:

• Two men in King County, Washington caused a four-car pileup in May 2005 that put the driver of another vehicle into the hospital. Both were charged with vehicular assault.
• Florida’s governor recently vetoed "The Road Rage Reduction Act," a bill passed by the 2005 legislature that would have fined motorists for failing to move out of the left lane to make way for faster moving vehicles.
• In Columbus, Ohio, a man was charged with murder for driving a car in which a passenger allegedly stabbed another driver to death in a road rage incident.

How does this violence affect auto insurance policies and rates? Road rage and its partner, aggressive driving, are often cited as the cause of accidents that result in property damage and injuries, either as part of the accident or in an altercation between drivers.

A bad driving record will raise auto insurance rates faster than accident and injury claims. And if the pattern continues, a person with a series of accidents, tickets and claims can be dropped by their insurance company. When that happens, getting auto insurance coverage becomes more expensive, because you need to find coverage from a carrier that accepts higher-risk customers.

In the auto insurance world, it’s a good policy to avoid becoming labeled a high risk.

Know the Risks

There’s a difference between road rage and aggressive driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and each holds a separate concern. Aggressive driving is defined as committing traffic infractions such as speeding or improper lane changes. Road rage, however, is "an assault with a motor vehicle or other dangerous weapon by the operator or passenger of another motor vehicle."

While aggressive driving will result in a traffic ticket, road rage is a criminal offense.

Why is this important? When you’re in the market for an auto insurance policy, insurance underwriters will look at your driving record. The worse the offense, the less desirable you are as an auto insurance customer. That will translate into more dollars out of your pocket for an auto insurance policy. Also, if you lose your license as the result of a criminal conviction, you will lose your auto insurance, and subsequently getting a new auto insurance policy will be more expensive.

Lead by example

To avoid those expensive traffic tickets and keep your auto insurance rates low, consider whether you are an aggressive driver capable of committing traffic infractions or road rage. Then take steps to change those behaviors.

Most people know that it’s more dangerous to speed, follow another car too close or try to beat a traffic light. But consider these risky driving behaviors too:

• Passing traffic and then slowing to teach the other driver a lesson
• Braking to get others off your bumper
• Cutting between vehicles to change lanes

These types of aggressive behaviors can result from a bad mood or attitude. You might also verbally or mentally curse other drivers who do something you don’t like.

Know what actions or attitudes you’ve seen in other drivers that have triggered a reaction in you in the past, such as tailgating or cell phone use. If you don’t like them when others do them, avoid repeating those actions yourself.

If you can’t control your anger on the road or your need to drive defensively, consider taking a driver safety course. If your insurance company believes strongly in safe driving, it might even offer a discount for completing the class.

Copyright 2005 www.autoinsuranceplanners.com.

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