When Mary Oliver puts one foot in front of the other at today's Dallas Running Club Half Marathon, she will be finishing the final stage of a yearlong journey.She will complete the 13.1 miles long after most runners. And she'll walk much of the course, only occasionally breaking into a short, downhill jog. But it will be a remarkable feat just the same.
One year ago, an uninsured and unlicensed motorist struck Oliver and two other runners as they walked to their cars after the race. The trio was left with major injuries and has spent the last 12 months rebuilding – both physically and emotionally.
Oliver, a single mother from Rowlett, suffered two broken legs, a broken arm and a fractured pelvis. She was immobilized for weeks and spent a couple of months in a wheelchair.
"I thought I would never run again," Oliver said.
But the months of pain and rehab have made her stronger, she said, and her explanation is a simple one.
The healing continues for Dallas Morning News editor Eric Nelson, 39, and Fort Worth attorney Jay Newton, 29. Both have titanium rods in their legs. Both have been cleared to ride their bikes and do low-impact cardio, but running on hard surfaces is still too painful.
"I feel the survivor syndrome," said Oliver, a Dallas Independent School District seventh-grade science teacher. "They're not at that point yet. I hope I give them encouragement. I may never do it again. This woman didn't destroy me."
Oliver's recovery has fueled Nelson.
"This is a great victory lap for Mary," he said. "Knowing that she is going to run makes me want to keep pushing forward and get to that starting line again."
Source
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Police Will Tow Cars If You Drive With No Insurance
Those who are driving in El Paso without insurance may not be cruising for long. Starting Nov. 1, El Paso police will be able to tow and impound someone’s car if they do not have insurance.
El Paso City Council members passed the ordinance in July and for the past few months, drivers were given time to get educated about the law.
“I think it’s a good thing, because you know a lot of people that don’t have insurance and they get into a car accident or something, we’ll you’re pretty screwed if they don’t have insurance, “ said George Chacon.
Police officers will have the ability to verify auto insurance, if drivers don’t have their cards present and their car will not be towed or impounded.
In July, El Paso City Council member Steve Ortega told KFOX the city cites about 50,000 people a year because they don’t have auto insurance.
Some El Pasoans said if people don’t have insurance, they should find an alternative way of getting around.
“Take the bus,” said Jaime Ruiz. “Honestly, I know it’s a little messed, a little harsh, but it’s the truth,” said Ruiz.
Source
El Paso City Council members passed the ordinance in July and for the past few months, drivers were given time to get educated about the law.
“I think it’s a good thing, because you know a lot of people that don’t have insurance and they get into a car accident or something, we’ll you’re pretty screwed if they don’t have insurance, “ said George Chacon.
Police officers will have the ability to verify auto insurance, if drivers don’t have their cards present and their car will not be towed or impounded.
In July, El Paso City Council member Steve Ortega told KFOX the city cites about 50,000 people a year because they don’t have auto insurance.
Some El Pasoans said if people don’t have insurance, they should find an alternative way of getting around.
“Take the bus,” said Jaime Ruiz. “Honestly, I know it’s a little messed, a little harsh, but it’s the truth,” said Ruiz.
Source
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Area Auto Insurance Rates: Some See Decrease, But More Face Increases
Gary Easterling only has to travel about half a mile to get to work at Chapel Hill Pharmacy, which he has owned for the past six years off Texas Highway 64 just east of Tyler.
Not only does Easterling save money on gas, he also lives in a zip code that enjoys the Tyler area’s lowest average automobile insurance rates, according to a recent Texas Department of Insurance report.
In addition, his carrier, State Farm, has dropped his rates the past two years, the report shows.
“That’s nice to know,” Easterling, 50, said Monday from behind his pharmacy’s counter. “You just assume everything goes up.”
But while some carriers such as State Farm and Progressive have posted premium decreases the past two years, most have raised rates, with the average percentage increase of about 7.3 percent the past year.
Of the 37 providers that the Texas Department of Insurance lists for the Tyler-area market, 21 of them, more than half, raised rates the past year, according to www.helpinsure.com, a site run through state insurance department and Office of Public Insurance Counsel.
Some insurers’ rates increased by double-digit percentages the past year alone. Five insurers had no rate changes.
Industry representatives attributed the increases to a variety of possible factors, from auto crimes to medical costs to simple supply, demand and market competition.
A look at nine Tyler-area zip codes showed rates ranging from $522.73 for the 75707 zip code just east of the city to $529.67 for 75704 to the northwest. USAA County Mutual Insurance Co. posted the area’s lowest rate at $282, while Esurance Insurance Co. carried the highest at $1,012.
The rates were based on basic coverage for a married male between ages 25 and 65 with average credit and no traffic violations who uses a car to get between home and work.
Jerry Hagins, Texas Department of Insurance assistant director, said auto rates statewide went up about 5.5 percent the past year.
Hagins said average rates for the state were not immediately available.
Jerry Johns, president of Southwestern Insurance Information Service, an industry trade association, attributed rising auto insurance rates partly to an increase in medical costs.
“Various medical services play a huge role in determining automobile insurance rates,” Johns said.
He said auto thefts and burglaries also are factors.
Tyler, for example, saw 213 auto thefts in 2008, the highest in five years and a 43 percent increase from the 149 the previous year, according to Tyler Police Department figures.
Mitch Denson of Hilliard Box Insurance said that while some rates have gone up, overall it hasn’t been exorbitant.
“There’s always going to be adjustments, but they’re based on the number of claims filed,” Denson said. “What’s the most difficult thing to estimate is the number of bodily-injury claims.
“There will always be market adjustments from time to time.”
Hagins said the auto-rate increase also could be part of the industry’s natural cycle.
“We get hundreds of rate filings every year,” he said. “The majority are revenue neutral. There’s going to be movement up and down.
“In the auto insurance area, we’ve had some upward movement in the last year or two related to business cycles, not related to any particular event. The business cycle is prices go up, they even out and they go down again. Texas has had either low or decreasing rates for the past 10 years.”
He added that the increasing cost of auto repairs also could be a factor.
Hagins said fierce industry competition in Texas keeps prices in check.
“It’s an extremely competitive business in Texas,” he said. “A lot of that has to do with insurance reform passed two legislative sessions ago.”
As for why one company would charge as little as $282 and another more than $1,000, Hagins said coverage variables and clientele can be part of that.
“They all have their own business models, and they determine rates on what they feel would be projected losses,” he said.
Source
Not only does Easterling save money on gas, he also lives in a zip code that enjoys the Tyler area’s lowest average automobile insurance rates, according to a recent Texas Department of Insurance report.
In addition, his carrier, State Farm, has dropped his rates the past two years, the report shows.
“That’s nice to know,” Easterling, 50, said Monday from behind his pharmacy’s counter. “You just assume everything goes up.”
But while some carriers such as State Farm and Progressive have posted premium decreases the past two years, most have raised rates, with the average percentage increase of about 7.3 percent the past year.
Of the 37 providers that the Texas Department of Insurance lists for the Tyler-area market, 21 of them, more than half, raised rates the past year, according to www.helpinsure.com, a site run through state insurance department and Office of Public Insurance Counsel.
Some insurers’ rates increased by double-digit percentages the past year alone. Five insurers had no rate changes.
Industry representatives attributed the increases to a variety of possible factors, from auto crimes to medical costs to simple supply, demand and market competition.
A look at nine Tyler-area zip codes showed rates ranging from $522.73 for the 75707 zip code just east of the city to $529.67 for 75704 to the northwest. USAA County Mutual Insurance Co. posted the area’s lowest rate at $282, while Esurance Insurance Co. carried the highest at $1,012.
The rates were based on basic coverage for a married male between ages 25 and 65 with average credit and no traffic violations who uses a car to get between home and work.
Jerry Hagins, Texas Department of Insurance assistant director, said auto rates statewide went up about 5.5 percent the past year.
Hagins said average rates for the state were not immediately available.
Jerry Johns, president of Southwestern Insurance Information Service, an industry trade association, attributed rising auto insurance rates partly to an increase in medical costs.
“Various medical services play a huge role in determining automobile insurance rates,” Johns said.
He said auto thefts and burglaries also are factors.
Tyler, for example, saw 213 auto thefts in 2008, the highest in five years and a 43 percent increase from the 149 the previous year, according to Tyler Police Department figures.
Mitch Denson of Hilliard Box Insurance said that while some rates have gone up, overall it hasn’t been exorbitant.
“There’s always going to be adjustments, but they’re based on the number of claims filed,” Denson said. “What’s the most difficult thing to estimate is the number of bodily-injury claims.
“There will always be market adjustments from time to time.”
Hagins said the auto-rate increase also could be part of the industry’s natural cycle.
“We get hundreds of rate filings every year,” he said. “The majority are revenue neutral. There’s going to be movement up and down.
“In the auto insurance area, we’ve had some upward movement in the last year or two related to business cycles, not related to any particular event. The business cycle is prices go up, they even out and they go down again. Texas has had either low or decreasing rates for the past 10 years.”
He added that the increasing cost of auto repairs also could be a factor.
Hagins said fierce industry competition in Texas keeps prices in check.
“It’s an extremely competitive business in Texas,” he said. “A lot of that has to do with insurance reform passed two legislative sessions ago.”
As for why one company would charge as little as $282 and another more than $1,000, Hagins said coverage variables and clientele can be part of that.
“They all have their own business models, and they determine rates on what they feel would be projected losses,” he said.
Source
Nevada Drivers Could Save Big Bucks Based on How They Drive with New, One-of-a-Kind Car Insurance Program from Progressive
Are you the poster child for safe driving, always leaving plenty of space between you and the car ahead? Or a business traveler who parks your car at the airport several days a week? Or maybe you have a car that you only take out for a spin on warm summer days. If so, your car is probably less likely to be involved in a crash, so shouldn’t you pay less for car insurance?
Progressive thinks so, and that’s why it’s introducing an optional car insurance program that offers lower rates on vehicles that are driven in less risky ways. The behavior-based insurance program, called MyRate, gives drivers a customized rate based on how, how much, and when their car is driven. It is now available to Nevada drivers who purchase policies directly from Progressive online or by phone.
“MyRate is designed for safe drivers,” said Richard Hutchinson, Progressive’s MyRate general manager. “It’s for people who drive fewer miles than average, at low-risk times of day and keep alert for others on the road. They don’t make fast lane changes or follow too closely behind other drivers so they don’t have to over-react or slam on the brakes.”
MyRate uses Progressive’s patented technology to put consumers in control of their auto insurance rates. Drivers who choose to sign up for MyRate receive a device that plugs into a port in their car and measures how, how much and when the car is being driven. Cars driven less often, in less risky ways, and at less risky times of day can receive a lower premium.
Drivers with more than one car can select which, if any, of their vehicles to enroll in MyRate. For example, a person with a second car that isn’t driven that often may enroll that car in MyRate but may decline to enroll their other vehicle if it is driven much more frequently or during higher-risk times of day.
New Nevada customers get an immediate first-term discount of up to 10 percent when they sign up for MyRate and, to cover the cost of the device and data transmission, a $30 technology expense is added to their premium for each policy term that they’re enrolled in the program. When they renew their policy, they could save as much as 25 percent or more, or be charged up to 9 percent more, based on their driving habits.
Drivers will be able to see whether they’re on track for a discount by reviewing their driving data anytime by logging in to their policy on progressive.com. They can see how their driving habits are affecting their rate, and, if they choose, make behavioral changes that could lead to savings.
Progressive has been an industry pioneer in understanding that how you drive should affect what you pay. Its initial foray into usage-based insurance started in 1999 with a program in Texas called Autograph. It then piloted its next generation of usage-based insurance, TripSense®, in Minnesota, Michigan and Oregon beginning in 2004. The new program, MyRate, will continue to be rolled out to more states in 2009, pending state regulatory approval.
Source
Progressive thinks so, and that’s why it’s introducing an optional car insurance program that offers lower rates on vehicles that are driven in less risky ways. The behavior-based insurance program, called MyRate, gives drivers a customized rate based on how, how much, and when their car is driven. It is now available to Nevada drivers who purchase policies directly from Progressive online or by phone.
“MyRate is designed for safe drivers,” said Richard Hutchinson, Progressive’s MyRate general manager. “It’s for people who drive fewer miles than average, at low-risk times of day and keep alert for others on the road. They don’t make fast lane changes or follow too closely behind other drivers so they don’t have to over-react or slam on the brakes.”
MyRate uses Progressive’s patented technology to put consumers in control of their auto insurance rates. Drivers who choose to sign up for MyRate receive a device that plugs into a port in their car and measures how, how much and when the car is being driven. Cars driven less often, in less risky ways, and at less risky times of day can receive a lower premium.
Drivers with more than one car can select which, if any, of their vehicles to enroll in MyRate. For example, a person with a second car that isn’t driven that often may enroll that car in MyRate but may decline to enroll their other vehicle if it is driven much more frequently or during higher-risk times of day.
New Nevada customers get an immediate first-term discount of up to 10 percent when they sign up for MyRate and, to cover the cost of the device and data transmission, a $30 technology expense is added to their premium for each policy term that they’re enrolled in the program. When they renew their policy, they could save as much as 25 percent or more, or be charged up to 9 percent more, based on their driving habits.
Drivers will be able to see whether they’re on track for a discount by reviewing their driving data anytime by logging in to their policy on progressive.com. They can see how their driving habits are affecting their rate, and, if they choose, make behavioral changes that could lead to savings.
Progressive has been an industry pioneer in understanding that how you drive should affect what you pay. Its initial foray into usage-based insurance started in 1999 with a program in Texas called Autograph. It then piloted its next generation of usage-based insurance, TripSense®, in Minnesota, Michigan and Oregon beginning in 2004. The new program, MyRate, will continue to be rolled out to more states in 2009, pending state regulatory approval.
Source
Sunday, November 15, 2009
A Health Insurance Mandate That Works Like Auto Insurance? Think Again
In building the case for mandatory health insurance, President Obama and congressional Democrats are comparing a proposed requirement to buy health coverage to the need for all car owners to buy auto insurance.
"Unless everybody does their part, many of the insurance reforms we seek, especially requiring insurance companies to cover preexisting conditions, just can't be achieved," Obama said in his address last week to Congress. "That's why under my plan, individuals will be required to carry basic health insurance -- just as most states require you to carry auto insurance."
But this analogy is becoming a liability, so to speak.
It's true that most states require drivers to carry auto insurance. And it's equally true that the administration wants a federal law that will require individuals and employers to buy health insurance.
But the similarities end there.
Now critics are starting to urge the administration to use a different, more representative comparison to justify a virtually unprecedented federal mandate.
"It doesn't make sense," Robert Gordon, senior vice president for policy development and research at The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, said of the analogy, noting several inconsistencies in the comparison.
First, the auto insurance mandate is easily avoidable. If you don't want to pay, don't drive a car.
Don't want to pay for health insurance? Drop dead.
"You can avoid the auto insurance mandate by divesting yourself of a car. The only way to avoid a health insurance mandate is by divesting yourself of a body," said Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute.
Second, auto insurance is mandated in large part so that drivers carry liability insurance to cover other people and other cars they may damage. Covering damage to their own cars is of secondary importance.
Many drivers can go without collision insurance if they like. If a hood is dented on the car of someone without the coverage, that person can drive around with a dented hood. But the only kind of health insurance Obama is talking about is collision insurance. If someone's body is a jalopy, he or she still has to get covered.
Former Department of Health and Human Services officials Peter Urbanowicz and Dennis Smith noted this difference in a paper examining the constitutional implications of an individual mandate for The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies.
"The primary purpose of the auto insurance mandate was to provide financial protection for people that a driver may harm, and not necessarily for the driver himself," they wrote. They also noted that the auto insurance mandate acts as a "quid pro quo" for the states to issue a driver's license.
Nevermind that Obama explicitly opposed such a provision during the Democratic presidential primaries. It was one of the few policy differences between him and then-Sen. Hillary Clinton.
"My belief is, the reason that people don't have it is not because they don't want it but because they can't afford it. And so I emphasize reducing costs," Obama explained at a February 2008 debate in Austin, Texas.
Fast forward to last week, before a joint session of Congress, when the president wholeheartedly embraced the concept.
Obama does want to ease the burden by offering some kind of alternative to private insurance, possibly a government-run option, and providing for exemptions. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus' plan includes tax credits for those who might have trouble affording coverage. But it also imposes hefty fines on those who don't comply.
Auto insurance mandates have not eliminated the problem, though.
Donald Griffin, also with The Property Casualty Insurers Association, said anywhere from 8 to 14 percent of motorists are uninsured in most states despite the requirement.
"Still, we have this problem, so those requirements don't seem to do much to solve the uninsured motorist problem," he said.
There are, of course, other differences between health care reform as Obama proposes it and the auto insurance industry. The kind of payout caps Obama wants to restrict and other limitations on coverage are standard practice in the auto insurance industry. Plus, the regulation of that industry is decided at the state level. Not the federal level.
The truth is, there is not really a comparison out there.
The Congressional Budget Office said as much in 1994 when it issued a paper on the Clinton-era call for a health insurance mandate.
"A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action," the CBO said.
Interestingly, the closest thing the CBO could find to mandatory health insurance was the draft.
"Federal mandates that apply to individuals as members of society are extremely rare. One example is the requirement that draft-age men register with the Selective Service System. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is not aware of any others imposed by current federal law," the report said.
In light of the 1994 report, Cannon amended his earlier comment. There is one way to avoid a health insurance mandate, he said: "Fleeing to Canada."
Source
"Unless everybody does their part, many of the insurance reforms we seek, especially requiring insurance companies to cover preexisting conditions, just can't be achieved," Obama said in his address last week to Congress. "That's why under my plan, individuals will be required to carry basic health insurance -- just as most states require you to carry auto insurance."
But this analogy is becoming a liability, so to speak.
It's true that most states require drivers to carry auto insurance. And it's equally true that the administration wants a federal law that will require individuals and employers to buy health insurance.
But the similarities end there.
Now critics are starting to urge the administration to use a different, more representative comparison to justify a virtually unprecedented federal mandate.
"It doesn't make sense," Robert Gordon, senior vice president for policy development and research at The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, said of the analogy, noting several inconsistencies in the comparison.
First, the auto insurance mandate is easily avoidable. If you don't want to pay, don't drive a car.
Don't want to pay for health insurance? Drop dead.
"You can avoid the auto insurance mandate by divesting yourself of a car. The only way to avoid a health insurance mandate is by divesting yourself of a body," said Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute.
Second, auto insurance is mandated in large part so that drivers carry liability insurance to cover other people and other cars they may damage. Covering damage to their own cars is of secondary importance.
Many drivers can go without collision insurance if they like. If a hood is dented on the car of someone without the coverage, that person can drive around with a dented hood. But the only kind of health insurance Obama is talking about is collision insurance. If someone's body is a jalopy, he or she still has to get covered.
Former Department of Health and Human Services officials Peter Urbanowicz and Dennis Smith noted this difference in a paper examining the constitutional implications of an individual mandate for The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies.
"The primary purpose of the auto insurance mandate was to provide financial protection for people that a driver may harm, and not necessarily for the driver himself," they wrote. They also noted that the auto insurance mandate acts as a "quid pro quo" for the states to issue a driver's license.
Nevermind that Obama explicitly opposed such a provision during the Democratic presidential primaries. It was one of the few policy differences between him and then-Sen. Hillary Clinton.
"My belief is, the reason that people don't have it is not because they don't want it but because they can't afford it. And so I emphasize reducing costs," Obama explained at a February 2008 debate in Austin, Texas.
Fast forward to last week, before a joint session of Congress, when the president wholeheartedly embraced the concept.
Obama does want to ease the burden by offering some kind of alternative to private insurance, possibly a government-run option, and providing for exemptions. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus' plan includes tax credits for those who might have trouble affording coverage. But it also imposes hefty fines on those who don't comply.
Auto insurance mandates have not eliminated the problem, though.
Donald Griffin, also with The Property Casualty Insurers Association, said anywhere from 8 to 14 percent of motorists are uninsured in most states despite the requirement.
"Still, we have this problem, so those requirements don't seem to do much to solve the uninsured motorist problem," he said.
There are, of course, other differences between health care reform as Obama proposes it and the auto insurance industry. The kind of payout caps Obama wants to restrict and other limitations on coverage are standard practice in the auto insurance industry. Plus, the regulation of that industry is decided at the state level. Not the federal level.
The truth is, there is not really a comparison out there.
The Congressional Budget Office said as much in 1994 when it issued a paper on the Clinton-era call for a health insurance mandate.
"A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action," the CBO said.
Interestingly, the closest thing the CBO could find to mandatory health insurance was the draft.
"Federal mandates that apply to individuals as members of society are extremely rare. One example is the requirement that draft-age men register with the Selective Service System. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is not aware of any others imposed by current federal law," the report said.
In light of the 1994 report, Cannon amended his earlier comment. There is one way to avoid a health insurance mandate, he said: "Fleeing to Canada."
Source
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Texas teens are getting better behind the wheel, report finds
Texas teenagers are getting a bit better at the most dangerous thing they do: driving.
Photos by VERNON BRYANT/DMN
Ivie Oghakpor, 15, of Sachse practiced driving with an instructor in Garland on Monday. A Texas Transportation Institute study shows that the number of Texas teen drivers involved in fatal crashes dropped for five years in a row.
A new report by the Texas Transportation Institute found that the state's rate of fatal teen crashes is dropping faster here than anywhere. Researchers looked at 37 states that put restrictions on teen drivers' licenses and found Texas is alone in seeing the number of teen drivers involved in fatal crashes drop for five consecutive years.
"Texas is doing a better job than any of the other states," said Texas Transportation Institute researcher Bernie Fette, co-author of the 46-page report released Monday. Fette credited not just the license restrictions but also programs in high schools to get kids focused on safe road behavior.
Since 2002, when 625 teen drivers were involved in fatal crashes, Texas' numbers have come down each year. In 2007, 419 fatal crashes involved teen drivers.
That's still a lot of lost lives, and it's still keeping some parents on edge over the prospect of turning over the keys. Just ask Gracie Mendez, who turns 16 in two months, but won't be doing any driving soon.
In March, Gracie's friend Miriam Ramirez, 16, left school with two friends and died a few minutes later, when she lost control of her Taurus and smashed into a sport utility vehicle.
"That's the reason my mom is not going to let me drive till maybe I am 18," said Mendez, who will be a sophomore at Adamson High School in Oak Cliff. "That's the conversation we are having. I am hoping to change her mind, but she says even if I am being safe, it's the people around me she is worried about. Somebody next to me might be driving drunk or something."
Her mother, Maria Guerrero, said it's about more than just the risk of other drivers. A license requires responsibility – and she's not sure her daughter has it yet.
"If she gets her license now, and then gets some tickets, well, when she is 18 she is going to have to pay for herself," Guerrero said. "And I don't want her insurance to be sky high by then."
Teen restrictions
Teen driving risks have been on the minds of lawmakers in Texas at least since 2002, when new rules for young drivers known as graduated driver's licenses took effect.
Since then, new Texas teen drivers have had to spend six months with a learner's permit before getting a license. After that, they must spend another six months with other restrictions, including a prohibition against driving between midnight and 5 a.m.
This year, lawmakers extended those probationary periods to 12 months each, and outlawed the use of cellphones by young drivers.
But Fette said his research suggests that tougher laws are only part of the reason for Texas' success in making fatal crashes involving teen drivers less frequent.
After all, Texas' laws have not been as strong as those in many other states. And some states with graduated driver's license laws actually saw their fatal crash rate go up, Fette said.
In Texas, he said, 300 school districts are implementing a first-in-the-country program called Teens in the Driver Seat, an initiative that gets teens talking to their peers about the risks of driving. Preliminary research says the program, begun in 2003, has worked.
"The [graduated-license] law is a necessary foundation," Fette said. "But that law can be reinforced or made stronger through a peer influence program like Teens in the Driver Seat. If you have a combination of the two, as Texas does, what you have is a really good one-two punch."
To test how effective the program is, researchers observed teen drivers in Garland, where the program has been in place since 2006 in seven high schools, and in Mesquite, where no school has implemented the program.
Since the program began, teen drivers in Garland were 14 percent more likely to wear their seat belts, and observers reported a 30 percent decline in cellphone use behind the wheel. In the four years previous in the city, 12 people died in crashes involving teen drivers; only one has since.
Maybe the most telling example, though, was in how many back-seat passengers buckled up. In Garland, where teens have been talking about the need for everyone to wear belts, 49 percent of those in back seats were strapped in. In Mesquite that number was just 27 percent.
Fette said education plays a big role. Surveys show that most teens say alcohol, speeding or cellphones are the biggest risk factors for crashes. Instead, he said, driving at night is the biggest risk.
"But just 3 percent of teens could even name that as a danger at all," Fette said. "So we have a risk that is at the top of the danger list, but at the bottom of their awareness."
Source
Photos by VERNON BRYANT/DMN
Ivie Oghakpor, 15, of Sachse practiced driving with an instructor in Garland on Monday. A Texas Transportation Institute study shows that the number of Texas teen drivers involved in fatal crashes dropped for five years in a row.
A new report by the Texas Transportation Institute found that the state's rate of fatal teen crashes is dropping faster here than anywhere. Researchers looked at 37 states that put restrictions on teen drivers' licenses and found Texas is alone in seeing the number of teen drivers involved in fatal crashes drop for five consecutive years.
"Texas is doing a better job than any of the other states," said Texas Transportation Institute researcher Bernie Fette, co-author of the 46-page report released Monday. Fette credited not just the license restrictions but also programs in high schools to get kids focused on safe road behavior.
Since 2002, when 625 teen drivers were involved in fatal crashes, Texas' numbers have come down each year. In 2007, 419 fatal crashes involved teen drivers.
That's still a lot of lost lives, and it's still keeping some parents on edge over the prospect of turning over the keys. Just ask Gracie Mendez, who turns 16 in two months, but won't be doing any driving soon.
In March, Gracie's friend Miriam Ramirez, 16, left school with two friends and died a few minutes later, when she lost control of her Taurus and smashed into a sport utility vehicle.
"That's the reason my mom is not going to let me drive till maybe I am 18," said Mendez, who will be a sophomore at Adamson High School in Oak Cliff. "That's the conversation we are having. I am hoping to change her mind, but she says even if I am being safe, it's the people around me she is worried about. Somebody next to me might be driving drunk or something."
Her mother, Maria Guerrero, said it's about more than just the risk of other drivers. A license requires responsibility – and she's not sure her daughter has it yet.
"If she gets her license now, and then gets some tickets, well, when she is 18 she is going to have to pay for herself," Guerrero said. "And I don't want her insurance to be sky high by then."
Teen restrictions
Teen driving risks have been on the minds of lawmakers in Texas at least since 2002, when new rules for young drivers known as graduated driver's licenses took effect.
Since then, new Texas teen drivers have had to spend six months with a learner's permit before getting a license. After that, they must spend another six months with other restrictions, including a prohibition against driving between midnight and 5 a.m.
This year, lawmakers extended those probationary periods to 12 months each, and outlawed the use of cellphones by young drivers.
But Fette said his research suggests that tougher laws are only part of the reason for Texas' success in making fatal crashes involving teen drivers less frequent.
After all, Texas' laws have not been as strong as those in many other states. And some states with graduated driver's license laws actually saw their fatal crash rate go up, Fette said.
In Texas, he said, 300 school districts are implementing a first-in-the-country program called Teens in the Driver Seat, an initiative that gets teens talking to their peers about the risks of driving. Preliminary research says the program, begun in 2003, has worked.
"The [graduated-license] law is a necessary foundation," Fette said. "But that law can be reinforced or made stronger through a peer influence program like Teens in the Driver Seat. If you have a combination of the two, as Texas does, what you have is a really good one-two punch."
To test how effective the program is, researchers observed teen drivers in Garland, where the program has been in place since 2006 in seven high schools, and in Mesquite, where no school has implemented the program.
Since the program began, teen drivers in Garland were 14 percent more likely to wear their seat belts, and observers reported a 30 percent decline in cellphone use behind the wheel. In the four years previous in the city, 12 people died in crashes involving teen drivers; only one has since.
Maybe the most telling example, though, was in how many back-seat passengers buckled up. In Garland, where teens have been talking about the need for everyone to wear belts, 49 percent of those in back seats were strapped in. In Mesquite that number was just 27 percent.
Fette said education plays a big role. Surveys show that most teens say alcohol, speeding or cellphones are the biggest risk factors for crashes. Instead, he said, driving at night is the biggest risk.
"But just 3 percent of teens could even name that as a danger at all," Fette said. "So we have a risk that is at the top of the danger list, but at the bottom of their awareness."
Source
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Device uses driving habits to set insurance rate
A new type of car insurance that sets rates using a device installed in a vehicle to measure individual driving habits is being rolled out in Texas.
MyRateSM, offered by Progressive, has already been introduced in other parts of the country as part of a national rollout, depending on state regulatory approval.
Cars driven less often, in less risky ways and at less risky times of day could receive a lower premium using the device.
As an enticement, the company is offering Texas customers a first-term discount of as much as 10 percent when they sign up for MyRate and install the unit. When they renew their policy, they could save as much as 25 percent or more — or see their rates hiked by up to 9 percent — based on driving habits.
The company charges $30 per policy period for the use of the device.
Source
MyRateSM, offered by Progressive, has already been introduced in other parts of the country as part of a national rollout, depending on state regulatory approval.
Cars driven less often, in less risky ways and at less risky times of day could receive a lower premium using the device.
As an enticement, the company is offering Texas customers a first-term discount of as much as 10 percent when they sign up for MyRate and install the unit. When they renew their policy, they could save as much as 25 percent or more — or see their rates hiked by up to 9 percent — based on driving habits.
The company charges $30 per policy period for the use of the device.
Source
Monday, September 28, 2009
More Bay State residents are buckling up
More Massachusetts residents are wearing their seat belts this year, state officials said today.
The number of people wearing seat belts rose from 67 percent in 2008 to 74 percent this year in a survey funded by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
"We moved up seven points. That's significant," said Sheila Burgess, director of highway safety for the executive office.
She credited enforcement efforts by police, and education and media campaigns trying to encourage seat belt use. She also said that, following the lead of State Police, more than 100 local police departments have adopted zero-tolerance laws on seat belt violations. That means that if you're stopped for another infraction and an officer sees you don't have your seat belt on, you will get a ticket.
Current Massachusetts law allows police to issue seat belt citations only when they have stopped a vehicle for some other reason – which is known as a secondary seat belt law. Police can flag down a seat belt scofflaw only if they see a child under 12 is not strapped in. Some lawmakers are pushing for a tougher law that would allow officers to stop cars when they see anyone isn't using a seat belt.
Source
The number of people wearing seat belts rose from 67 percent in 2008 to 74 percent this year in a survey funded by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
"We moved up seven points. That's significant," said Sheila Burgess, director of highway safety for the executive office.
She credited enforcement efforts by police, and education and media campaigns trying to encourage seat belt use. She also said that, following the lead of State Police, more than 100 local police departments have adopted zero-tolerance laws on seat belt violations. That means that if you're stopped for another infraction and an officer sees you don't have your seat belt on, you will get a ticket.
Current Massachusetts law allows police to issue seat belt citations only when they have stopped a vehicle for some other reason – which is known as a secondary seat belt law. Police can flag down a seat belt scofflaw only if they see a child under 12 is not strapped in. Some lawmakers are pushing for a tougher law that would allow officers to stop cars when they see anyone isn't using a seat belt.
Source
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
No insurance? No problem! Thousands of repeat offenders share Houston's roads
HOUSTON -- On the road right now in Houston are people driving with no car insurance and thousands of them have the tickets to prove it. But as statistics obtained by 11 News suggest, many could care less. The attitude seems to be: no insurance, no problem.
11 News Video
Drivers without insurance
August 6, 2009
View larger E-mail Clip More Video
An estimated 15 percent of Texas drivers go uninsured. That's above the national average and is predicted to go up as the economy goes down. And the fewer insured drivers there are, the more insurance companies then have to charge the rest of us.
11 News investigated and obtained records on thousands of drivers ticketed for “no insurance” in the city of Houston. Turns out, many of them kept on driving with no insurance and were cited again and again.
In 2007, police cited the same 15,529 drivers more than once for no insurance. That rose to 16,381 repeat offenders last year. Of those, 107 were cited more than five times.
But drilling down further, 11 News found one driver who took top honors. Records show he was ticketed in 2007 for no insurance in July, then again in August and again in October. Then in 2008, police cited him in March, April, May, June and again in August. In all, he had been cited 15 times in the last two and half years.
Contacted by phone, the 21-year-old downtown Houston resident said times are tough. He had other bills and often couldn't afford car insurance. As of last week, he was still on the road.
“I don't understand," said the Presiding Judge of Municipal Court Berta Mejia. "There are warrants for failure to pay his fine."
Judge Mejia said the courts try to work with people to pay-off fines, but a case like this guy's perplexed her.
"I want them to get insurance. I want them to resolve their cases,” said Mejia.
The fines can be severe. They can potentially be over a $1,000 in city and state penalties.
If writing tickets doesn't seem to work, what might? 11 News found one new approach being tried not in the big city but in the small town of Richmond in Fort Bend County.
Richmond had a big problem with uninsured drivers. They were ticketing over a thousand of them a year. But in 2006, Richmond Police started an aggressive new tactic: impounding cars of uninsured drivers.
In the first year, they were towing at least a car a day. But three years later?
"So far this year, we have only towed 130 vehicles," said Sgt. Lowell Neinast.
That works out to about a hundred less compared to the rate in 2006.
The city of Pasadena is doing the same thing. They too are impounding the cars of the uninsured.
But critics say it’s unfair to the poor. It adds hundreds of dollars in towing and legal expenses when what low income drivers really need is more affordable insurance. Police say it's making a difference when tickets alone failed.
(The data used by 11 News was from public municipal court records which does not reflect the income level of the drivers. There is no determination of how many of those caught driving without insurance were poor.)
Source
11 News Video
Drivers without insurance
August 6, 2009
View larger E-mail Clip More Video
An estimated 15 percent of Texas drivers go uninsured. That's above the national average and is predicted to go up as the economy goes down. And the fewer insured drivers there are, the more insurance companies then have to charge the rest of us.
11 News investigated and obtained records on thousands of drivers ticketed for “no insurance” in the city of Houston. Turns out, many of them kept on driving with no insurance and were cited again and again.
In 2007, police cited the same 15,529 drivers more than once for no insurance. That rose to 16,381 repeat offenders last year. Of those, 107 were cited more than five times.
But drilling down further, 11 News found one driver who took top honors. Records show he was ticketed in 2007 for no insurance in July, then again in August and again in October. Then in 2008, police cited him in March, April, May, June and again in August. In all, he had been cited 15 times in the last two and half years.
Contacted by phone, the 21-year-old downtown Houston resident said times are tough. He had other bills and often couldn't afford car insurance. As of last week, he was still on the road.
“I don't understand," said the Presiding Judge of Municipal Court Berta Mejia. "There are warrants for failure to pay his fine."
Judge Mejia said the courts try to work with people to pay-off fines, but a case like this guy's perplexed her.
"I want them to get insurance. I want them to resolve their cases,” said Mejia.
The fines can be severe. They can potentially be over a $1,000 in city and state penalties.
If writing tickets doesn't seem to work, what might? 11 News found one new approach being tried not in the big city but in the small town of Richmond in Fort Bend County.
Richmond had a big problem with uninsured drivers. They were ticketing over a thousand of them a year. But in 2006, Richmond Police started an aggressive new tactic: impounding cars of uninsured drivers.
In the first year, they were towing at least a car a day. But three years later?
"So far this year, we have only towed 130 vehicles," said Sgt. Lowell Neinast.
That works out to about a hundred less compared to the rate in 2006.
The city of Pasadena is doing the same thing. They too are impounding the cars of the uninsured.
But critics say it’s unfair to the poor. It adds hundreds of dollars in towing and legal expenses when what low income drivers really need is more affordable insurance. Police say it's making a difference when tickets alone failed.
(The data used by 11 News was from public municipal court records which does not reflect the income level of the drivers. There is no determination of how many of those caught driving without insurance were poor.)
Source
Friday, August 28, 2009
Want better car insurance rates?
AMARILLO TEXAS -- Here's a ''Progressive" way to get better rates on car insurance, but it's all on you.
A new device called My-Rate tracks the driving habits of your family which could drive up, or down what your policy will cost.
Alice Brooks Insurance in Wolflin Village is selling a new feature in car insurance policies. Progressive Insurance inserts a wireless device that can track a variety of things including time and date of travel, mileage, and how smoothly the driver starts and stops.
Good drivers get discounts, others may have their rate increased.
Source
A new device called My-Rate tracks the driving habits of your family which could drive up, or down what your policy will cost.
Alice Brooks Insurance in Wolflin Village is selling a new feature in car insurance policies. Progressive Insurance inserts a wireless device that can track a variety of things including time and date of travel, mileage, and how smoothly the driver starts and stops.
Good drivers get discounts, others may have their rate increased.
Source
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