Summer means BBQs, camping trips, vacations, and unfortunately an increase in auto accidents.

Young drivers need to be the most cautious while driving during the summer.

Statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation show that your chances of getting into an auto accident are higher in the summer than at any other time of the year. Even the experience of law enforcement agencies and their reaction with more summer patrols confirm this. For one particular driving group though, the chances of getting into an accident in the summer are triple that of everyone else.

Summer Holiday Auto Accident Statistics

Of the 6 major holiday weekends during the year, the U.S. Department of Transportation has gathered statistics (from 2009) showing that the holidays in the summer are the deadliest.

1. 473 deaths on Memorial Day weekend (summer)
2. 410 deaths over 4th of July weekend (summer)
3. 360 deaths over Labor Day weekend (summer)
4. 262 deaths over a 3-day Christmas weekend (winter)

The remaining two weekends were actually four days long instead of three like the ones above:

1. 468 deaths over New Year’s weekend (winter)
2. 411 deaths over Thanksgiving weekend (fall)

As you can see, even with New Year’s being a 4-day weekend, it still had less fatalities as compared to the 3-day Memorial Day weekend. The same can be said of Thanksgiving weekend, it only had one more fatality than 4th of July weekend and there was an extra day included in the Thanksgiving weekend.

Who is Most at Risk for a Summer Auto Accident?

The drivers with the highest risk for having a summer auto accident are those between the ages of 15 and 20, by far. They have less experience on the road, are easier to distract, and drive more during the summer because school is out. Per statistic from the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration, drivers in this age group are three times more likely to get into a fatal accident as compared to other older drivers.

To keep your young driver from being one of these statistics, set ground rules for when they drive:

• Do not let them drive with friends in the car.
• Emphasize no cell phone use while driving.
• Don’t let new drivers drive at night until they get more experience.
• Use a tracking device on the vehicle where you can get information about where they drive and how fast they drive.

Summer Premium Increases not Auto Accident Related

With summer auto accidents, come insurance premium increases. Insurance companies don’t like when they have to pay out on a claim and they will increase your premium to not only recoup what they lost in the claim, but also to get ready for another claim from you.

Aside from auto accidents though, there are other situations that arise in the summer that can also increase your insurance premium:

• College Students coming home from school for the summer.
• New cars having to be added to your insurance policy that were given as graduation gifts.
• Another semester of driver’s education ending and a new wave of young drivers with new licenses having to be added to insurance policies.
• Summer delivery jobs

As you can see, most of the summer increases still come from young drivers. While these situations will increase your premium, it is still better to have these types rather than increases that come from a young driver having an auto accident.

Even the lawmaking center of our nation requires residents to carry Washington, D.C. car insurance.

You only have to carry Washington, D.C. car insurance if you register your car there or apply for a reciprocity sticker.

Washington, D.C. car insurance requirements include both liability coverages and uninsured motorist coverages. The first coverages are to protect other drivers in the District of Columbia. The second coverages are to protect you from other drivers that don’t carry insurance.

Liability Required for Washington, D.C. Car Insurance

Liability coverage requirements for Washington, D.C. car insurance start with $10,000 in coverage for damages that you may cause to property that you don’t own. This includes property owned by private citizens as well as property owned by the government (city, county, federal, etc.).

In addition to the liability coverage for property damage, Washington, D.C. also requires liability coverage to cover the medical expenses for other people. This coverage is for the people that you injure with your vehicle that are not in your vehicle at the time of the accident.

The minimum coverage allowed for this liability coverage is $25,000 to cover the medical expenses for a single person that you injure. The second half of this coverage requires $50,000 minimum coverage as required by Washington, D.C. insurance laws. The second half of this coverage is in the event that you injure more than one person in an accident. This $50,000 is the most that your insurance company would pay for all medical expenses that resulted from the accident.

If the medical expenses for one person go over $25,000, or $50,000 for all the people injured, you will be personally responsible to pay for the remaining amount.

Uninsured Motorist Required for Washington, D.C. Car Insurance

Uninsured motorist coverage provides protection for you, in the event that a person without insurance hits you. Washington, D.C. car insurance laws require that you have this coverage in place because of the increase of drivers on the road that are driving illegally without insurance.

The bodily injury part of the uninsured motorist coverage has the same minimum limits required as the bodily injury liability coverage at $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. The coverage limits also work the same way as the bodily injury liability coverage. The only difference is that this coverage is to pay for your medical expenses and the medical expenses of those that were in your vehicle at the time of the accident.

Many other states only require uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage; in Washington, D.C. they also require uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD). This coverage pays for the damages done to your vehicle, similar to the comprehensive and collision coverage that you would carry. However, UMPD will only pay up to a certain amount for the damage done to your vehicle by an uninsured driver.

Washington, D.C. car insurance laws require that you carry no less than $5000 for UMPD. You can also have no less than a $200 deductible to accompany this coverage.

Penalties for no Washington, D.C. Car Insurance

If you allow your Washington, D.C. car insurance to lapse, you will find your vehicle registration (and reciprocity sticker) suspended. In addition, you will also be automatically fined $150. If you are still without Washington, D.C. car insurance after 30 days, additional fines of $7 a day will be added until you get insurance or hit the $2500 maximum fine imposed.

Using texting lingo, State Farm offers young drivers a line to send to their friends before they drive.

Summary

Commercial opens with a young adult getting a text message as she is finishing lunch.

Text #1: Hey, girl. Seven still good for you tonight?

Reply: Perfect, thanks. What should I wear?

Text #2: Ryan and I are going to Spencer’s place after the show tonight, want to join?

Reply: Can’t, plans with J. You guys have fun.

As the commercial progresses, all of the people she is texting join her as she is walking. In other words, they are texting each other to converse rather than actually talking.

Text #3: Sup, Mol. You have notes from Lit class?

Reply: Yo, M. Notes at home meet you tomorrow a.m. @ cc’s?

Text #4: Hey, Mol. J ok? He didn’t call back.

Text #5: Did you borrow my vest?

Young woman gets into her car.

Spoken Reply: Alright you guys, not now I’m driving.

Text Reply: NNID (not now I’m driving)

Young woman puts her cell phone away and drives off, leaving the group of friends standing together on the curb. Once the friends realize that she isn’t going to be replying back, they disperse.

Screen changes to read “Park the phone. Drive.”

Point of Commercial

I know that this commercial isn’t selling insurance. It is more of a public service announcement that was put together by State Farm Insurance, but it still is an advertisement for them .

The point of the commercial is that texting is okay in certain situation and driving is not one of them.

What They Want you to Do

State Farm Insurance wants people to stop texting while they drive. Texting not only takes your mind off the road, it also takes your eyes off the road to look at your cell phone. You can’t text and still be able to drive in ideal situations, let alone react to a situation.

This particular distraction increases your chance of having an accident, which in turn is paid for by the insurance company.

My Opinion

I know State Farm Insurance’s intentions were good when they created this commercial, but I question the message.

If a young driver were to text NNID (Not Now I’m Driving) to a friend that texted them while they were driving, wouldn’t this defeat the purpose of telling people not to text?

Overall, the intention of the commercial was good. I just feel that it sends a confusing message and doesn’t really address why people shouldn’t text while driving.

I give this State Farm Insurance commercial a thumbs up and a thumbs down.

Drivers in Louisiana may have a new reason to make sure they keep their insurance coverage current.

Having the required insurance coverage on your car keeps the tow truck away.

Each state in the nation has their own set of required insurance laws and also different penalties for those that chose to drive without insurance. There are some state penalties that are nothing more than a slap on the hand, while other states will go so far as to throw you in jail.

Currently in the state of Louisiana, a new bill (HB 1053) has been proposed to make the penalty for having no insurance much stiffer than it already is there. If passed, it may have repercussions across the nation if it works to cut down the number of uninsured drivers.

How HB 1053 Affects Required Insurance Laws?

In the state of Louisiana, bill HB 1053 will change the current penalties for people that are caught driving without the required insurance.

Currently, police officers are only allowed to have a vehicle towed after a person has been caught two or more times without the required insurance. HB 1053 allows police officers to tow a vehicle the first time a driver is caught without insurance now.

So, if you are a driver in Louisiana, I would recommend that you get the minimum required insurance on your vehicle. Because if this passes and is put into law, you won’t only have to pay towing and recovery fees on top of all the other fines you will have for driving with no insurance, you will also be walking home.

For drivers in other states, I would watch this one carefully. If this works like the Louisiana State Police thinks it will and it cuts down on the number of uninsured motorists, I wouldn’t be surprise if other states tried to pass the same type of law.

Anyone needing the required insurance in their state, but doesn’t have any at the moment; can always find quick insurance quotes here at Car Insurance Guidebook. It will cost you less money in the long run to just purchase the required insurance. If you get caught without it, not only are you going to have to pay fines now, you will also have to get the insurance anyway.

Where is HB 1053 Now?

The bill HB 1053 has already been passed through the Louisiana House of Representatives with a vote of 82-7. It had the same success in the middle of May in the Louisiana Senate, with a vote of 28-3.

At the time of writing this, the bill is just awaiting for the final approval from Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

Does HB 1053 Mean Everyone Will be Towed?

No, not everyone will be towed if HB 1053 is made into a law. Police officers will be allowed to grant exceptions in the case of children 13 and under being in the car, if there is an “imminent danger to the public present” (if the vehicle were to be towed) or if there are elderly passengers in the vehicle.

Also, a second bill is working its way through both the Louisiana House and Senate that would spare people that really do have insurance, but just don’t have their proof of insurance card with them. This same bill would allow police to accept electronic forms of required insurance proof (from cell phones, iPads, etc.) at the time of the traffic stop.

Avoiding a red car color when buying a new car doesn’t mean you will save on your insurance rates.

The color of your vehicle isn't a rating factor when it comes to your insurance premium.

Red is the color of anger, stop and attention. Is it also the color of higher insurance rates?

Not necessarily.

Now, owners of red cars may pay higher insurance rates; but that is due to other factors. When it actually comes to the color of your car and your insurance rates -insurance companies are colorblind.

The Myth Surrounding Red Car Color and Insurance Rates

For decades people have believed that buying a red car automatically meant that their insurance rates would increase. This has become one of those urban legends that people like to keep passing down, but never take the time to really confirm.

Honestly though, who could blame them? How many of you out there want to spend your Saturday evening reading insurance statistics as to whether or not insurance rates are higher with a red car color?

This myth could have started when two people with the same car, but different colors compared insurance rates and found that the red car was higher. It could have also been a parent trying to talk their young adult child out of a red sports car by telling them that they would pay more for insurance.

Wherever the myth started it has never died, but now you will be that much smarter than your friends after you have read this.

Red Car Color Affects Drivers

There is something about getting into a red sports car that changes a person. It makes them want to drive faster, act free and have fun; all of which lead to dangerous driving. People that are usually careful drivers find themselves acting different behind the wheels of a red car (I can personally attest to this).

In a good number of cases, drivers that buy red cars already have the type of personality that lends itself to dangerous driving and they gravitate to this red car color. These types of drivers already have a higher chance of getting a traffic ticket or into a car accident, so they would have higher insurance rates no matter what color of car they drive. It is because they prefer the red cars that it gives the illusion that red cars automatically have a higher insurance rate.

The Type of Vehicle Available in a Red Car Color

Close your eyes and think about all the red cars that you see on the road. What types of cars are they?

Are they older model sedans? Minivans? Station Wagons?

No, they are sportier than that, aren’t they? They are the sports versions of vehicles and sports cars; cars that have the capability to go faster and are more expensive to fix if they were in a car accident. Both of these factors will raise your base insurance premium higher than what it would be with other vehicles.

So, in this case it’s not the red car color that causes the higher premium, but the car that the color is found on.