Encompassing more than features on your vehicle, car safety starts with the attitude you take while driving. You can drive a car that comes with the highest passenger safety rating and incorporates all sorts of life-saving technology, but if you practice unsafe driving habits, it’s all for nothing. Aside from potentially saving your own or another’s life, increasing car safety can ultimately save you money.
Car insurance is one of the fixed expenses all drivers must contend with if they are to drive legally. There are numerous factors that determine your car insurance rate, from age to gender to driving history. The business of car insurance is all about risk assessment. If an insurance company determines that you pose an excessive risk, at worst it will not insure you. At best, you’ll be required to pay a higher rate for coverage.
Being a safe driver will lead to better insurance premiums. When you drive attentively and safely, you’ll receive fewer traffic tickets. You’ll get into fewer accidents. Both of these factors will lead to fewer DMV points which adversely affect your insurance rates. Low insurance rates are one of the benefits of practicing car safety.
Another benefit to driving safely is that you won’t rack up a lot of mechanic bills. Unsafe drivers get into more accidents than those who drive safely. By being a safe driver you will not have to deal with the back-breaking expenses of body repair or an overstressed engine due to driving at excessive speeds. Having fewer or no repairs to your vehicle will directly improve your insurance rates, too, so it pays in more ways than one.
Some people may argue this point, but it’s true: there is a direct correlation between speed and fuel consumption. In other words, the faster you go, the more fuel your car burns and the more money you must spend on its purchase. Part of being a safe driver is not speeding, not peeling out from a stop and not driving constantly with high RPMs. A safe driver spends less on gasoline.
Car safety is not merely theoretical knowledge invented in a classroom. It has practical applications, and not only can it save your life and the life of others riding with you, it can save you money as well. Safe drivers pay lower insurance rates, have fewer repairs done to their cars and spend less on gas. If you have to drive but are looking for ways to save money, consider changing your driving habits. It might surprise you just how worthwhile driving safely can be.