Many of us love to enjoy extensive driving and sometimes to hang out in foreign country. Mexico and Canada are two hotspots for many tourists and travelers who prefer to drive to those countries by car. So, if you have such a plan, surely you are doing up things like filling the gas, checking the tire and etc for the venture. But, the most important of all here is to ensure that your car insurance policy provides proper coverage in those cities where you are up for the drive. Consulting your insurance agency would be wise to know that it does exactly what you need. Remember that Mexico is a country where chances of theft and damage are higher. So, it is always better to be safe than sorry. If any bit of bad luck falls on you, it will not only mar the charm of your trip but also turn out to be a very frustrating experience. Therefore, get your car insured and enjoy a happy trip keeping all worries at bay.
If you are not sure about the terms and conditions of your car insurance policy regarding international cross border coverage, call your agent directly and ask him about it. You can add a 24 hour road side assistance to your policy.
In case, you wish to travel in Europe, you need to take your car at rental from auto rental agency. However, many times rental agencies may include the cost of your insurance into their total auto rental costs. In that case you do not need to take up additional rental insurance. During your stay in that country if you cross the border by driving away with your hired car, you may have to bear a hefty charge for that. So, you need to get assured that your rental insurance policy accepts any kind of cross border trip at affordable rate.
While checking all these aspects of your auto insurance benefits, make sure that you will get the most out of it. If you are military personnel, the terms of your policy could be a bit different from civilians. Most insurance companies would allow military personnel to cancel their policy while they stay out-stationed. But, sometimes additional charge is levied on the premium once the person gets back to his place. In some cases, insurance companies may also keep your house in auto storage and reduce the proportion of insurance. So, you should clarify all these aspects before kick the tires for the journey.

DUI when you travel.
You need to ensure that you do not indulge in a dui when you travel. Here are the considerations :
1) You do not know the regulations and would end up behind the bars.
2) Your driving license could be suspended, and getting it in order would be difficult since you are in a foreign place.
3) You would need legal help and this would be difficult to get.

Here is the official website NHSTA- dui insurance and regulations – which will let you know the regulations for dui for different countries.

Would your dui in a foreign country affect your car insurance?
When you fill in your application for auto insurance the next renewal, you will have to declare the dui incident in the foreign country. Remember that if you misrepresent anything on your auto insurance application, your auto insurance would be void. Hence its better to pay the dui insurance rate. Get your affordable dui insurance here.

Oprah Winfrey declares National No Phone Zone Day April 30 Stop texting while driving (VIDEO)

Oprah Winfrey has declared April 30, 2010 “National No Phone Zone Day.” No text messaging while driving, no making cell phone calls while behind the wheel.

Is distracted driving leading to sr22 insurance?

Distracted driving leads to high risk auto insurance and being labelled as high risk drivers who need sr22 car insurance quotes.

This is surely going to have a huge impact for distracted driving which is high risk auto insurance. High risk drivers are the one’s who get into accidents and thus SR22 car insurance is imposed on them.

Distracted driving leads to high auto insurance risk which can lead to sr22 insurance

Unfortunately the advances in technology are not making life easier but more difficult and cell phone talking and text messaging are becoming a bigger and graver issue than even drunk driving or dui or dui insurance requirements. More and more distracted drivers are being imposed the requirement of SR22 insurance since their driving licenses are suspended.

Here are some facts on distracted driving :

*A recent survey showed that 71 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 49 admit they text or talk on the phone while they drive. Currently only 23 states and Washington, D.C. have texting laws.

*Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent. (Source: Carnegie Mellon)

*Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted driver, and more than half a million were injured. (NHTSA)

*Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

*Using a cell phone use while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (Source: University of Utah)

Distracted driving is one of the biggest danger. We have banned the cellphones and text messaging. Soon it would be time when we will have to ban the use of i-pods since i-pods are being used for social media and other purposes and this could be dangers.

Getting cheap sr22 insurance will be easy but getting the life back is not possible.

Be careful and be responsible when you drive.

Thanks.
Have a great weekend.

John Calton: Florida : Would a high risk driver for DUI or aggressive driving who requires FLFR44 car insurance or Sr22 as it is called in other states, be eligible for some safety features discount like air bags?

Response : John, in Florida you require FLFR44 insurance which is similar to SR22 car insurance but has higher limits. Most of the insurance companies would consider a discount for the safety features of a vehicle when they are rating the insurance. However, honestly more than the discount given by the insurance company the safety feature is more an added feature that acts as a life saver for you. Let me give you some statistics given by the NHTSA:
“Airbags are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal crashes. NHTSA estimates that by 2006, more than 177 million passenger vehicles were equipped with airbags, including 162 million with dual airbags. NHTSA says that frontal airbags saved 2,788 lives in 2007. From 1987 to 2006, 22,466 lives were saved by the devices. Airbags, combined with seatbelts, are the most effective safety protection available for passenger vehicles. Seatbelts alone reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent. The fatality-reducing effectiveness for air bags is 14 percent when no seatbelt is used and 11 percent when a seatbelt is used in conjunction with air bags. Side airbags that protect the head, chest and abdomen reduce driver deaths by an estimated 37 percent, according to the IIHS. Side airbags without head protection, which protect only the chest and abdomen, are less effective but still reduce deaths by about 26 percent, according to a 2006 study. Head-protecting side airbags reduce driver deaths when cars are struck by SUVs and light trucks, probably because when cars are struck in the side by these higher riding vehicles, heads are more vulnerable.”

Thus in case of drivers who are in the habit of alcohol consumption or are aggressive dirvers who speed, these safety features are certainly life savers.
Be safe and drive safe.
Thanks.

Ben : What is SR22? Can fatigue driving be considered high risk driving?

Response : Ben, Let me tell you that SR22 is a form which shows that the person has isn’t a type of insurance, but rather proof that you have certain types of insurance. This is based upon the financial responsibility laws that are prevailing in the state where the person lives. Secondly SR22 car insurance is required financial responsibility when you are involved in a car accident and have insufficient limits as per the state requirement or you are convicted for drunk driving.

Fatigue driving is done by most of us virtually at some time or the other. To discourage the fatigue driving, usually fleet drivers have to maintain a log and show that they have not done a stressful driving. When a person is involved in a car accident repeatedly to fatigue driving, the insurance companies would qualify them as high risk drivers or high risk as per their insurance. Once you face such a situation than it would be best to go and take a quote from the specialty insurers.

NHTSA statistics show that at least 100,000 crashes and 1,500 deaths each year are the result of drivers falling asleep at the wheel. The National Sleep foundation also conducted a survey which should that 100 million drivers, close to half of American adult drivers, drive while drowsy and nearly two out of ten admitted to having fallen asleep at the wheel. This survey was conducted in 2002. New Jersey has taken very strict measures for this and has passed a law in 2003 that equates falling asleep at the wheel with reckless driving. In this state if a driver falls asleep and kills someone in a crash, he or she can be charged with vehicular homicide and serve up to ten years in jail and pay fines. Four other states have considered this legislation but have not passed such laws.
Thanks.
Kamlesh

Martin : Why is it considered alcohol impaired driving if one has a BAC of 0.08, would it really matter for  auto insurance? Why is it considered high risk insurance?

Response : Martin, a lot of questions but relevant ones. Alcohol impaired driving or DUI driving under influence or driving under intoxication is when one has BAC levels of 0.08 and beyond. This figure has not been arrived just from the thin air but based on research, statistics and scientific data all combined. Even if you consider the recent statistics gathered by the NHTSA National Center for Statistic and Analysis than the data for the past ten years bespeaks of the fact that BAC levels of 0.08 or higher have been found in cases of  motor vehicle accidents and fatal losses.

What is more disturbing is the fact that the incident of alcohol impaired driving  at these BAC levels have lead to fatal accidents in children. Below are some statistical data from the NHTSA.

Children

In 2008, a total of 1,347 children age 14 and younger were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of those 1,347 fatalities, 216 (16%) occurred in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes. Out of those 216 deaths, 99 (46%) were occupants of a vehicle with a driver who had a BAC level of .08 or higher. Another 34 children age 14 and younger who were killed in traffic crashes in 2008 were pedestrians or pedal cyclists who were struck by drivers with a BAC of .08 or higher.

The national rate of alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities in motor vehicle crashes in 2008 was 0.40 per 100 million vehicle miles of travel.

The above would make it very clear to you that this would make the claim ratios very high for the insurance companies and naturally they would than classify this as high risk and charge a premium or DUI car insurance based on the nature of the risk which is obviously very high. The Government and the traffic department would also insist that such DUI offenders should carry a SR22 form and take SR22 car insurance which is given by the specialty insurers, who underwrite these risks.

DUI car insurance or high risk drivers are also served in the market since this is their need and with the keen competition cheap sr22 insurance or affordable DUI car insurance can be obtained.

Thanks.