Online Auto Insurance: Survey Reveals Disturbing Distracted-Driving Trend

Manhattan -- Free-Press-Release.com-- Dec 15, 2011 -- A new State Farm Insurance report that shows that drivers are increasingly doing more than just text-messaging on their mobile devices while behind the wheel underscores the prevalence of a dangerous habit practiced most frequently by the country’s younger drivers, according to Online Auto Insurance (OAI).

Everyone knows that drivers who get caught using a wireless device in a state that outlaws that practice face a long list of penalties, including fines and the increased likelihood of getting into a crash that could make it more difficult to find affordable vehicle coverage from top rated car insurance companies.

Now research from State Farm shows that motorists are going online while behind the wheel in increasing numbers. According to a State Farm study, the number of drivers—especially young drivers—accessing the Internet while behind the wheel increased overall from 13 percent in 2009 to 18 percent this year.

For drivers ages 18 to 29, the proportion that reported accessing the Internet while driving jumped from 29 percent in 2009 to 43 percent in 2011.

That is an alarming development, not least because of the safety record of that demographic group. On a per-mile basis, teen motorists are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers, federal safety officials say.

Source: http://www.nhtsa.gov/Teen-Drivers

Road safety experts say teen drivers are more dangerous than their older counterparts due to a mix of immaturity and a lack of driving experience.

That blend makes teens more likely to engage in dangerous driving behaviors such as speeding, text messaging and otherwise not concentrating on the road.

In 2009, the latest year for which complete statistics were available, nearly 5,500 people were killed and 450,000 more were injured in crashes involving distracted driving, which includes texting and talking on cell phones, applying makeup and other unsafe behaviors.

To learn more about this and other safety and car insurance issues, readers can go to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/companies/ratings/ where they will find informative resource pages and a helpful rate-comparison generator.

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Online Auto Insurance
Gregor McGavin
http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/