First rule of the road: Focus on driving
Hyou noticed that traffic seems to be worse lately? There’s a good reason for that: There are more vehicles on the road than at any time in recent history.
Unemployment is low and gas is affordable, which means more people are driving more miles. And more drivers means an increased risk of getting into a collision, which affects the number of auto insurance claims and, potentially, the cost of insurance premiums.
There is some good news, however, because vehicle technology has advanced significantly in the past decade, with features like backup cameras, active braking and pedestrian detection, which employ radar, cameras, lidar and other sensors to detect and track vehicles, pedestrians or objects around the vehicle. Many of these enhancements are designed to help prevent collisions and make driving safer, but that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down.
When you’re driving, the road should get your full and complete attention, because as great as all of this new technology is, it’s not perfect and collisions can still occur.
“Rear-end collisions are the most common claims we see nationwide. We had nearly 60,000 customers report they were involved in rear-end collisions last year,” said Kevin Quinn, vice president of claims at Mercury Insurance. “People are surprised to find out they’re at fault if they hit the vehicle ahead of them, even if the other driver brakes suddenly.
“This is why active braking technology, which can slow down your vehicle while using cruise control or even stop it completely if someone walks in front of your car or you aren’t able to react quickly enough to hit your brakes, is a great development. But even if you have this technology, you still need to focus on the road to avoid getting into collisions.”
The most common auto collisions to be aware of, according to Mercury Insurance, include:
1. Your vehicle is rear-ended by