May
15
Auto Insurance Claims
Filed Under Uncategorized
Traffic accidents are an expensive, often deadly part of American life, but fortunately they are becoming more rare.
Traffic related deaths on American highways reached a record low last year, as seat belt use continued to climb, the U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today. New state-by-state data shows that Michigan, home of the American car industry, has the highest seat belt use, while Massachusetts registered the lowest. Seat belts are important, because by reducing injuries they drastically lower the amount of auto insurance claims.
Lower fatalities and higher seat belt use are trends we want to see,” said Secretary LaHood. “States like Michigan are raising the bar on seat belt use, making communities safer and keeping families intact.” This also means a reduction in the number of auto insurance claims.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that about 37, 313 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2008. It’s the lowest number of deaths on U.S. roads since 1961, when 36,285 lives were lost. The nation also saw the lowest fatality rate ever recorded in 2008 at 1.28 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from 1.36 in 2007.
The belt use rate in Michigan was 97.2 percent in 2008, while Massachusetts was a low of 66.8 percent.
Enforcement laws matter according to the study. For instance, In Maine belt use increased from 79.8 percent to 83 percent a year after the state enacted a tough primary seat belt law. This is similar to what has happened in every when tougher seat belt laws were passed. In many states a driver’s auto insurance claim can be reduced if they were not wearing their seat belt.
Happily, the study revealed that sixteen states and territories achieved an A grade with rates of seatbelt use of over 90 percent or higher. Those states are Michigan, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Maryland, Iowa, Puerto Rico, New Jersey, Delaware, Indiana, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Illinois and the District of Columbia. Only, three states failed to achieve a C grade. The states with the lowest use rates, Massachusetts, Wyoming and New Hampshire, were all below 70%.
However, if you are in an accident getting your auto insurance claim handled is important to you.
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