INDUSTRY INSIGHT
INSURANCE
SPONSORED CONTENT
Distracted Drivers are
Driving Up Your
Insurance Premiums
Someone else’s cell phone is
costing you a lot of money.
T
he introduction of smartphones has been a boon to personal
entertainment and interconnectivity, but it has a dark side out
on the road. The fact that these devices have become such
a major part of our lives has directly led to a spike in preventable
accidents caused by drivers who refuse to put down their phones
while they drive. The damages caused by distracted drivers ripple
out over insurance pools and make
everyone’s policy more expensive.
It should seem obvious to even a
novice driver that taking your eyes
off the road for long stretches is not
a great idea, but according to the National Highway Traffi c Safety
Administration (NHTSA), about 600,000 drivers are using their cell
phones at any given moment during daylight hours.
Consider this: If you were to take your phone out, unlock it, open a
messaging app and type out even a three-letter message, you’ve been
looking down at your phone for a minimum of two or three seconds.
Especially at higher speeds, that’s an eternity. Conditions change so
quickly on the road that even a fraction of a second for reaction can
mean the diff erence between a near-miss and a major collision.
Of course, distracted drivers aren’t just costing themselves money,
they’re making it more expensive for everyone. According to the
NHTS