Handing over more money
Auto insurance experts say new hands-free law will drive up rates for repeat offenders
Police officers across Massachusetts will begin pulling over drivers today who are caught handling their cellphones while behind the wheel, thanks to the state’s new hands-free driving law.
Drivers who are caught violating the law will be fined $100 on their first offense, $250 on their second offense and $500 on any offenses that follow.
But if the introduction of tickets wasn’t enough to worry about, auto insurance experts say that motorists who have trouble keeping their fingers off their screens will be forced to shoulder even heftier costs, due to state-imposed surcharges and citations increasing their premiums.
“The actual dollar amount is going to vary based on an individual’s particular insurance, but surcharges could range from $100 to $300, or even more depending on other situations that they have,” said Nick Fyntrilakis, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents.
The bill, which passed in November, prohibits drivers from touching an electronic device, even if they are stopped at a light or stuck in traffic, except for a single swipe to activate hands-free mode. Using a phone on speaker is allowed.
Fyntrilakis said that surcharges sparking insurance rate increases will only apply to people who violate the law more than twice, but once they break that barrier, surcharges will remain on their insurance records for five years — and too many offenses can lead to them having their licenses suspended or even revoked.
“Hopefully everyone adheres to the law and folks can learn from the change and move ahead,” Fyntrilakis said.
Mark Friedlander, director of corporate communications for the Insurance Information Institute, cited a study published by Insurance.com in 2018 on how much a texting ticket could impact insurance premiums, saying that Massachusetts drivers can expect similar repercussions under the hands-free law.
“The average rate increase for multiple offenders was 23%,” Friedlander said. “The burden is on the violators. They’re the ones who are going to feel the impact directly.”
In spite of the charges repeat offenders will face, Fyntrilakis said he believes the law will benefit the majority of drivers and lower their insurance rates, since cutting back on distracted driving will theoretically reduce the amount of crashes across the state.
“Clearly having a reduction in distracted driving-related accidents is going to have a positive impact on that overall rate picture,” Fyntrilakis said. “From a public safety standpoint, it really is a positive.”
However, Friedlander said that despite fewer crashes and lower rates being the goal, it will take quite a while before officials see those desired effects.
“It’s not going to be an overnight change, that’s for sure,” he said. “It takes a long time to roll out and a long time to assess the impact. There’s no definitive data that indicates that it will definitely improve rates.”
Motorists will be granted a short buffer period to get acclimated to the new rules. However, transportation officials said that come April 1, police will stop issuing warnings for hands-free violations and start handing out tickets.