Only Insurance.com - Distracted Driving will harm car insurance claims

Car Insurance - Distracted driving will harm car insurance claims

More sources of research are showing that being distracted while you drive,not only changes the way you drive but could also affect your car insurance claims.

Latest findings from the UK’s Department for Transport, Universities in Israel, the RAC and Brunel University here in the UK have suggested that drivers underestimate the effect of not paying full attention to the road.

The UK's Department For Transport discovered in their latest research project that driver unawareness now accounts for 12% of all accidents and 19% of fatal accidents. Car Insurance firms in future might even start taking on board some of the more specific findings of the Ben-Gurion University in Israel for example. They found that drivers who listen to up tempo tunes had double the number of accidents as those listening to slower music. They were also twice as likely to go through a red light and drive too fast.

If the idea of the type of music you listen too comes across as a ludicrous criticism then one thing that drivers cannot deny is the loudness of the music. A Canadian study found that music being played too loudly while driving can seriously impede reaction times and cause accidents. After governing test cases, they established that it took people 20% longer to carry out physical and mental tasks to loud music, a delay that could no doubt be critical when driving. A finding that car insurance companies would find very interesting.

Whether it be loud music, smoking or reading a map, a motoring conviction may not be far round the corner due to the distractions. Such a conviction can see drivers pay more when it comes to taking out a car insurance policy as they are viewed as more of a threat by cover companies.

Brunel University concluded after research that even eating while driving is dangerous-as obvious as that may sound. The university tested 26 experienced drivers in a car simulator who were asked to drive a route twice – the first time paying full attention and the second while trying to eat food while trying to concentrate on the driving.

As obvious as all these findings may seem, it may not be long before car insurance companies start taking drivers to task for exactly what happened at an incident-and if it turns out your stereo was on full blast then expect to cough up more than some small change.