10 Facts Employers Must Know About Motor Vehicle Crashes

For Any Organization with

Employees on the Roadway

1. In 2005, 43,443 people were killed and 2,699,000 were injured in 6,159,000 police-reported motor vehicle crashes. Daily that represents 17,000 reported crashes and 119 deaths.
2. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for all age groups from 3 to 33 years of age. Crashes are the 3rd leading cause of years of potential life lost for all ages combined.
3. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of occupational fatalities in the U.S.
4. A typical driver in the U.S. travels 12,000 to 15,000 miles annually and has a one in 15 chance of being involved in a motor vehicle collision each year. With most fleet drivers traveling 20,000 to 25,000 miles or more each year, they have a greater crash exposure.
5. The most dangerous part of the day for any employee is the time they spend in their vehicle with a crash occurring every 5 seconds, property damage occurring every 7 seconds, an injury occurring every 10 seconds, and a motor vehicle fatality occurring every 12 minutes.
6. Forty-one percent of the average vehicle miles traveled per household are from commuting to and from work (27%) and driving on work-related business (14%).
7. In 2000, the economic cost of crashes to employers was $60 billion resulting in 3 million lost workdays. Two-thirds of the cost ($40 billion) was from on-the-job crashes while one-third ($20 billion) was from off-the-job crashes for employees and their benefit-eligible dependents.
8. The average on-the-job crash costs an employer about $16,500 or just under $0.16 per mile driven. Crashes involving injuries cost substantially more — $504,408 for a fatal injury and $73,750 for a nonfatal injury.
9. With over 90 percent of motor vehicle crashes caused by human error, employers with high roadway exposure are at risk for a serious crash resulting in a lawsuit against their organization. Damages awarded to plaintiff’s making negligence claims against companies are at an all time high, settlements of $1 million or more are not unusual.
10. The development, implementation, enforcement, and monitoring of a strong driver safety program can protect an organization’s human and financial resources. Such a program allows an organization to be proactive in controlling crash risks and is the first line of defense against the potentially staggering costs from motor vehicle crashes involving employees.

NETS: 10 Facts Employers Must Know PDF Format

Drive Safely Work Week (October 3-7, 2011)

Getting There Safely is

Everyone's Business

Network of Employers for Traffic Safety

In partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation, we are grateful for your efforts to help combat the epidemic of distracted driving through your participation in this year’s campaign.

Whether we’re the driver, a passenger, a pedestrian or cyclist, there are things we can do in each role to help prevent distracted driving-related incidents. And for anyone willing to set the right example, the opportunities to be safe-driving role models for family and community members are limitless. That’s the premise of this year’s campaign materials and we’re confident you’ll find them to be informative, practical and useful.

The 2011 campaign is focused on the dangers of distracted driving— but not just from the position of the driver. The new materials also help consider the roles and responsibilities of being a safe passenger, pedestrian and cyclist in preventing distracted driving-related incidents. Download 2011 materials for free

Minnesota commuters spent 45 hours stuck in traffic in 2010

Fox 9 News
By Tim Blotz
September 27, 2011

If it seems like you are spending hours stuck in traffic -- it's because you are. A new nation-wide traffic congestion study conducted by the Texas Traffic Institute has found the traffic in Minnesota is among the worst in the nation.

The study raises the red flag on metros, such as the Twin Cities, and it comes with a warning: Do something now, or congestion will only skyrocket when the economy recovers and people go back to work.

Researchers collected vehicle speed data from GPS units and mobile devices across the nation and crowd-sourced the data. Using those tools, they determined that Minnesota commuters spent 45 hours stuck in traffic in 2010.

That number ranks the Twin Cities as the 10th worst metropolitan area in the country for traffic, though the metro is tied with Dallass-Fort Worth.

The study also found that congestion in Minnesota causes drivers to burn an extra 20 gallons of gas each year, which puts Minnesota at the 12th worst in the nation, according to the study.

Perhaps the bleakest number the study found is that the extra traffic time taps the pocketbook to the tune of $913 each year.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation was not surprised by those numbers and said -- in some ways -- they are encouraging because it mirrors their own data that shows congestion has dropped, especially in the past five years.

Still, there are not big enough budgets to build more lanes and more roads, so MnDOT is tackling the problem by making better use of the roads we already have. Continue Reading

 

The 2011 Urban Mobility Report, published by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University, illustrates congested conditions in 2010 on a number of levels:

• The amount of delay endured by the average commuter was 34 hours, up from 14 hours in 1982.
• The cost of congestion is more than $100 billion, nearly $750 for every commuter in the U.S.
• “Rush hour” is six hours of not rushing anywhere.
• Congestion is becoming a bigger problem outside of “rush hour,” with about 40 percent of the delay occurring in the mid-day and overnight hours, creating an increasingly serious problem for businesses that rely on efficient production and deliveries.

The economic recession has only provided a temporary respite from the growing congestion problem. When the economic growth returns, the average commuter is estimated to see an additional 3 hours of delay by 2015 and 7 hours by 2020. By 2015, the cost of gridlock will rise from $101 billion to $133 billion – more than $900 for every commuter, and the amount of wasted fuel will jump from 1.9 billion gallons to 2.5 billion gallons – enough to fill more than 275,000 gasoline tanker trucks.

Kudos to Nevada: Banning Cell Phone Use While Driving

Studies also show that driving while talking

on the phone causes the same impairment as someone

who is legally intoxicated....

RGJ.com
By Jaclyn O'Malley
September 26, 2011

While local cops say the upcoming cellphone ban that begins Jan. 1 will save lives and prevent serious injuries caused by distracted driving, they also worry that the state-imposed cramp in many drivers' style could lead to more accidents if they try to sneak calls on their laps or do email checks on handheld phones hidden on passenger seats.

But Sgt. Jim Stegmaier of the Reno police traffic unit said he is hoping the $50 price tag for first offenders, which rises to $250 for the third -- especially in this economy -- will keep motorists from discreetly trying to use their handheld phones.

"Without a doubt, cellphone usage is the No. 1 biggest factor in distracted driving. It's crazy," Stegmaier said. "It's impossible not to see motorists with their phones up to their ears or texting when they're driving down the street.

"We've seen vehicles leave their lane of travel multiple times just driving a block, which is of high concern for us," he said.

"It's going to be a hard habit to break for most people, especially the younger generation who has been texting and talking on their cellphones before they got a driver's license," Allen said. "Law enforcement also has a fear factor that drivers will try to become more stealthy in trying to read their emails or creating texts. They may try to keep their phones out of our sights by keeping them on their laps or on the center console in an effort to sneak a text. This could make the distraction more severe."

Nevada became the 34th state to ban cellphone use while driving because distracted driving deaths across the country were on the rise, said Nevada Department of Transportation spokeswoman Meg Ragonese. Continue Reading

Cell Phone and Texting Laws By State

Milwaukee and D.C. Taxi Drivers Seeking Their Day in Court

JSOnline
By Bruce Vielmetti
September 26, 2011

Three Milwaukee cab drivers, backed by a public interest law firm, say Milwaukee's limit on the number of taxicabs allowed in the city is arbitrary, anti-competitive and unconstitutional.

In a lawsuit expected to be filed Tuesday, they claim the 321 taxicab permits, capped in 1992, have consequently risen in value to nearly $150,000 on the secondary market, in effect pricing many would-be taxi entrepreneurs out of the market.

The Institute for Justice Minnesota Chapter, which represents the drivers, claims the numbers work out to one taxicab per 1,850 city residents, far fewer than many comparable cities. It cites ratios of one cab per 935 residents in Seattle, one per 550 in Minneapolis and one per 480 residents in Denver, where the institute successfully challenged limits on taxicab fleet size.
"Milwaukee's taxi permit cap presents a classic case of regulatory capture," the institute says in a news release. "The benefits of the system are concentrated in a few permit holders while the costs are diffused among consumers, drivers and would-be owners."

One of the biggest permit holders is Michael Sanfelippo, who controls 162 permits. He says that when Milwaukee had more permits, no one could make a decent living and the quality of cabs and service suffered.

"This is not a cab town," he said. Sanfelippo, who also operates American United, a dispatching service for cabs, scoffed at the notion that the permits would command $150,000.

"I think the last couple I bought were maybe $80,000," he said.

The lawsuit, which the institute intends to file in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, asks that a judge block the city from denying new taxicab permits, and award nominal damages of $1, plus the plaintiffs' attorney fees.

"In addition to the harm plaintiffs suffer, the artificial scarcity of cabs harms Milwaukee citizens and visitors through limiting competition in the taxicab industry and creating inferior customer service - including longer wait times for cabs and a lack of available cabs in modest and minority neighborhoods," the lawsuit asserts. Continue Reading


The Hoya
By Laura Zhang
September 27, 2011

Two D.C. taxi driver associations accused city officials of instituting unfair regulatory policies in a lawsuit filed last Tuesday.

In their complaint, the D.C. Professional Taxicab Drivers Association and the Dominion of Cab Drivers said that Mayor Vincent Gray's policies have caused arbitrary taxi rates, misrepresentation for drivers on the commission and unreasonable working hours.

They also alleged that Gray and D.C. Taxi Commission Chair Ron Linton denied their representatives a seat on the commission.

"The Mayor has refused to allow the commission to function, usurping its authority to set rates properly and instead setting them at levels that are completely arbitrary, contrary to law and deeply harmful to the men and women who operate taxicabs," the official complaint stated.
The mayor's office has expressed their disappointment with the lawsuit.

"The lawsuit … is disappointing and misguided. It ignores the commitment my administration has made to address the reasonable concerns of the taxicab industry while ensuring residents and visitors to our city get the first-class service they deserve," Gray said in press release last Friday.

The release also cited actions taken by the Gray administration to improve conditions for taxi drivers, including the institution of a fuel surcharge to help with higher gas prices.

Nathan Price, chairman and spokesperson of the DCPTDA, said that a legal battle with the D.C. government was inevitable, however.

"After several failed attempts to meet with the mayor in the last nine months, there was no other option but to file a lawsuit to remedy their economic hardship," Price said in an interview with The Hoya.

The taxi drivers' unions conflict with the D.C. government traces back to January 2006, when the unions were refused a pay increase. Continue Reading

Press Release: Atlas Announces Launch of New Claim Reporting Technology

CHICAGO, Sept. 27, 2011 /CNW/ - Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc. ("Atlas" or the "Company"; TSXV: AFH) announces the launch of a mobile enabled technology for claim reporting. This technology allows Atlas' commercial automobile policy holders to submit their first notice of claim to the Company from their taxi, limousine or paratransit vehicle with a variety of commonly used mobile devices. The mobile application utilizes Quick Response ("QR") code technology which allows policyholders to efficiently submit key information and photos from the scene of an accident.

Atlas is the first niche insurer in the Company's specialty commercial auto insurance space to introduce this type of innovative process. This new mobile enabled technology creates value for Atlas' customers through a more streamlined first notice process and simultaneously provides the Company with a greater level of information to facilitate Atlas' commitment to delivering timely and appropriate claim adjudication. The real time nature of this process also allows Atlas to provide its policyholders with guidance to assist them in the event of an accident while they are still on the scene.

About Atlas:

The primary business of Atlas is commercial automobile insurance in the United States, with a niche market orientation and focus on insurance for the "light" commercial automobile sector including taxi cabs, non-emergency paratransit, limousine/livery and business auto. The business of Atlas is carried on through its operating insurance subsidiaries American Country Insurance Company and American Service Insurance Company, Inc. Atlas' operating insurance subsidiaries have decades of experience with a commitment to always be an industry leader in these specialized areas of insurance.

Additional information about Atlas, including a copy of the Company's most recent financial statements and MD&A, can be accessed on the Canadian Securities Administrators' website at www.sedar.com or through the Company's website at www.atlas-fin.com.

WI Politicians Place 13,000 Transit Dependent Citizens in Harms Way

13,553 WI jobs could be thrown under the bus as the result

of recent transportation budget cuts. Maybe the WI "representatives"

with their $49,943 salary and $88 per diem will offer to car pool in

order for thousands of their constituents to get to work.

Journal Sentinel
By Larry Sandler
September 25, 2011

More than 13,000 jobs would be out of reach for Milwaukee County residents without cars, if county officials adopt recommended cuts in bus service, a new report warns.

If County Executive Chris Abele and the County Board slice the bus routes targeted in the Milwaukee County Transit System's 2012 budget request, at least 13,553 jobs would be inaccessible by public transit, according to an analysis of the service cuts by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Center for Economic Development.

"One likely consequence of implementing the proposed service reductions for 2012 would be to make it difficult or impossible for transit-dependent workers and job-seekers in Milwaukee to reach many job locations in suburban Milwaukee County," wrote the study's author, Joel Rast, director of the center. "Given Milwaukee's already high poverty and jobless rates, especially for African-Americans, this scenario is particularly troublesome."

The study, released last week, drew concern from two county supervisors. The supervisors and Abele blamed Madison for the bus system's plight.

Following the recommendation of Gov. Scott Walker, the Legislature cut aid to transit systems statewide by 10% in the 2011-'13 state budget. That will be a $6.8 million cut for Milwaukee County next year, partly offset by $1.45 million in new aid for the Transit Plus service for disabled and elderly riders. Together with other revenue shortfalls and rising expenses, the transit system is facing a $15 million budget hole for 2012. Continue Reading

Automakers Dramatize Risks of Distracted Driving...while installing distracting gadgets

The next wave of challanges facing the professional

transportation drivers.

Tucson Sentinel
By Myron Levin
Spetember 22, 2011

Saying it is "passionate" about the safety of young drivers, Ford Motor Co. is sponsoring clinics at U.S. high schools to urge teens to heed traffic laws and avoid distractions behind the wheel. The auto giant, as part of its "Driving Skills for Life" program, also recently awarded $25,000 to students who created the best music video about the hazards of distracted driving.

Likewise, BMW has launched 'Don't Text and Drive,' a series of ads to dramatize the risks of distracted driving. And the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an industry trade group, is teaming with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in a similar campaign.

Through efforts like these, automakers are positioning themselves as leaders in the fight against distracted driving, which federal authorities estimate caused 5,474 deaths in 2009, including 995 from using cellphones.

But even as they tell drivers to act responsibly and pay attention to the road, the companies are seeking to pump up sales by packing their new models with cutting-edge infotainmentsystems that encourage multi-tasking behind the wheel.

Ford's SYNC system, for example, enables drivers to use voice commands and touch screens to make and receive calls, listen to their text messages, and choose from a menu of replies.



BMW's ConnectedDrive provides calling, e-mail and text read-backs, and displays headlines of the messages on a screen.

General Motors strutted its stuffwith a Super Bowl ad of a young Chevy Cruze owner whose face lights up as he drives away and plays back the Facebook message: "Best first date ever…''

Auto executives are counting heavily on arresting, high-tech features to boost sales, especially to younger buyers.David Mondragon, president of Ford Canada, put it bluntly: "The biggest turnoff to a twentysomething consumer is to put their life on hold when they sit in a car," he said in a speech to the Canadian Marketing Assn., according to an account in The Globe and Mail.

Dear Twentysomething Consumer...

This is Your Life On Hold or Sadly,

Some 6 Year Old's Life on Hold

"And what does it mean to put their life on hold? To get disconnected when they get in the car, to have a system that will not allow you to sit there and e-mail, read your BlackBerry, talk on the phone. So you have to have a seamless transition from your home to your transportation device, to your workspace. Or to your play space." (Mondragon, through a spokeswoman, declined to be interviewed.)

Safety officials are worried about the trend. "I'm not in the business of helping people Tweet better," groused David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, in a speech at a national conference in June.

Critics say that in highlighting distracted driving, automakers are hoping to inoculate themselves against tough scrutiny of their built-in systems. "The best defense is a good offense," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety in Washington, D.C. "One has to watch what auto companies do, versus what they say. While they say distracted driving is unsafe, they are making hundreds of millions of dollars by selling distracted driving technology." Continue Reading

Vigilant Transport's Recommended

Distraction Free Dashboard

First ADA Designed Vehicle

Fox News

September 21, 2011

It’s not every day that a new American automaker is born, but it is happening more often than it used to.

After years of market dominance by The Big 3, startups like Tesla, Fisker and Coda Automotive are hitting the scene, hoping to fill niches with their high-tech battery-powered cars before the big guys can.

But today they were joined by another U.S. company going after a very different segment of customers with something a bit more old-fashioned: a van.

Not just any van, the MV-1 is billed as the first vehicle designed from the ground up with the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines in mind. Featuring a sliding door, built-in ramp and a wheelchair restraint system, it can accommodate passengers using wheelchairs and other assistance devices without requiring an aftermarket conversion. The name stands for Mobility Vehicle One.

The company behind the MV-1, Miami-based Vehicle Production Group, has contracted AM General to produce the minivan-sized vehicle at its Mishawaka, Indiana facility where it once built Hummers.

At a press conference marking the official launch of the MV-1, AM General's President of Commercial Business, Rick Smith, hailed the effort as an innovative example of creating jobs for Americans, adding that “everyone at AM General is proud to be a part of the MV-1 story.”

Development of the MV-1 began in 2007 when it was known as the Standard Taxi, before being redesigned as a retail vehicle. It survived the collapse of the U.S. automotive industry with backing from Perseus, a Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm.

Along with private individuals, VPG is still targeting the MV-1 at municipal paratransit systems and the taxi market. New York City will decide next month whether or not to approve it for use in the city’s yellow cab fleet.

According to VPG CEO Dave Schembri there are 10 million people in the United States that need an ambulatory aid, including 4 million who use wheelchairs. With 1.5 million adapted vehicles currently on the road, VPG’s goal is to sell 12,000 in 2012 and up to 30,000 per year after that.

Sales of the MV-1 began today online and at 41 dealers across the nation, and deliveries are set to begin this month. The base price is $39,950, which VPG says is $10,000 less than a typical conversion van.

The first production MV-1 was given to Mark Buoniconti, a former college football player who suffered a paralyzing injury during a game and now works as an advocate for the disabled and the MV-1.

Link to Complete Article

FMCSA Launches Surprise Safety Inspections

TheTrucker.com
By The Trucker News Service
September 22, 2011

WASHINGTON — Federal, state and local police began conducting thousands of surprise safety inspections of motorcoaches, tour buses, school buses and other passenger vehicles across the country Friday as the national Motorcoach Safety Summit, sponsored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), kicked off here.

"This summit is about preventing needless tragedies and saving lives," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. "We've seen the horrific consequences when motorcoach companies do not make safety a top priority. With everyone at the table, we can achieve our shared goal of raising the safety bar for the motorcoach industry."
 
The strike force, launched in coordination with today's summit, is part of FMCSA's nationwide Passenger Carrier Strike Force. The two-week inspection sweep will continue through Oct. 7, 2011.
 
FMCSA also announced that it will release a new smartphone application that will empower consumers with quick and easy access to a motorcoach company's safety record before booking a trip.
 
The smartphone application, which will be released in November, will also allow the public to submit any safety violation to FMCSA's National Consumer Compliant Database.
 
During the day-long Motorcoach Safety Summit, safety leaders will discuss DOT's intermodal approach to strengthening motorcoach safety, followed by a panel highlighting the perspectives of individuals responsible for the day-to-day safety of motorcoach passengers, vehicles and drivers.
 
In the afternoon, summit participants will focus on tough safety issues such as how to develop and train professional bus drivers, Hours of Service requirements for passenger buses and effective public outreach tools that encourage consumers to choose a safe motorcoach company, every trip, every time.
 
"Today, we are sending a clear message that safety must be the driving force within the motorcoach industry," said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. "With the robust feedback, ideas and partnerships developed at this summit, we will be better equipped to raise the safety bar and safety culture within the motorcoach industry. The public deserves no less."  Link to Complete Article

Save Lives, Money and Down Time: Setting Up a Program for Investigating Accidents

Accident Preventability Evaluations

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Objective: To reduce motor carrier fleet accident rates by establishing a company standard for safe driving.

Description: A preventable accident is one which occurs because the driver fails to act in a reasonably expected manner to prevent it. In judging whether the driver's actions were reasonable, one seeks to determine whether the driver drove defensively and demonstrated an acceptable level of skill and knowledge.

The judgment of what is reasonable can be based on a company-adopted definition, thus establishing a goal for its safety management programs.

Note that the above definition of preventable accident is focused on the actions of the driver. It is the commonly used definition in evaluating driver performance. A broader definition, which can be used to evaluate the driver's and the motor carrier's actions, is given by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations as follows: Preventable accident on the part of a motor carrier means an accident (1) that involved a commercial motor vehicle, and (2) that could have been averted but for an act, or failure to act, by the motor carrier, or the driver.

The concept of a preventable accident is a fleet safety management tool which achieves the following goals:

• It helps establish a safe driving standard for the driver.
• It provides a criterion for evaluating individual drivers.
• It provides an objective for accident investigations and evaluations.
• It provides a means for evaluating the safety performance of individual drivers and the fleet as a whole.
• It provides a means for monitoring the effectiveness of fleet safety programs.
• It assists in dealing with driver safety infractions.
• It assists in the implementation of safe driving recognition programs.

Questions for Management:

1. Does the company have a program for investigating accidents ?
2. Is there a company accident review committee ?
3. Has the company defined a standard for the safe driving performance of its drivers ?
4. Is the carrier's standard for safe driving performance sufficiently challenging such that it would serve to highlight areas for fleet safety improvement ?
5. Are the drivers instructed as to what the company standard for safe driving is ?
6. Are the drivers instructed about company procedure for evaluating the preventability of accidents?

Insurance for Transportation Market In Transition???

Property Casualty 360
National Underwriter
By Chad Hemenway
September 22, 2011

Is the specialty-transportation market hard, flat or soft? It depends on whom you ask as opinions vary widely—generally a sure sign of a line whose pricing is in a time of transition.
In a recent survey, 28.6 percent of respondents say the overall specialty-transportation market is hard or hardening, while 32.65 percent say it is flat.

And 38.8 percent say the market is soft or softer (see charts), according to those taking part in the Transportation Insurance Pricing Survey (TIPS) for the 2011 second quarter, conducted by specialized business-insurance and risk-management intermediary NIP Group of Woodbridge, N.J.

For its part, NIP interprets this split in opinion as a sign that, overall, pricing has probably begun to find a point of equilibrium.

“There appears to be stabilization in rates—a lot of flat rate,” says Richard Augustyn, CEO of NIP Group. “Whether this positive trend continues—we’ll have to wait and see.”

The TIPS survey is issued to brokers, wholesalers and underwriters, which represent thousands of account placements, says NIP.

It measures premium changes across the following segments: trucking operations, messenger/courier services, school-bus contractors, airport ground transportation, specialized carriers and riggers, intermodal carriers, ambulance/paratransit, bulk transportation, charter/tour bus, and limousines.

UPWARD BOUND, SLOWLY

In the view of Michael S. Oliver, senior vice president of 5Star Specialty Programs, a managing general agent offering insurance underwriting expertise in transportation and other lines (and a division of Crump Insurance Services): “We’re bumping along the bottom. Rates are not going down. Over the long term, rate levels will increase to support profitability.”

But the pendulum swing to a harder specialty-transportation insurance market, if that is indeed what is occurring, has been a “very slow process,” adds Rebecca McNabb, transportation underwriting manager for independent wholesale broker and underwriting manager Burns and Wilcox.

More than 53 percent of those taking part in the TIPS second-quarter survey say there is either no change or premiums are up only 1-10 percent for small accounts.

Upward premium movement decreases as the size of the account increases. About 36.5 percent say premiums are flat to up 10 percent for medium accounts and about 35 percent say the same for large accounts.

And it’s important to note that premiums may be up not because of rate pressure, but due to improvement in the economy, offers Oliver.

“The exposure base is up, not necessarily the rates,” he says, especially for segments like trucking and public auto. “There’s more activity.”

TIGHTER UNDERWRITING PUSHING RISK INTO SPECIALTY MARKET

Underwriting guidelines of non-specialty carriers have tightened across the transportation-insurance segment, pushing some more risk out into the specialty marketplace, says McNabb.
“Carriers are now holding on pricing whereas before they might have reached for premium,” says McNabb. “They’ve looked at the results and seen losses—pushing these risks back into the specialty realm.”

For instance, two years ago carriers may have thrown in GAP (guaranteed automobile protection) coverage or waived certain deductibles for physical-damage insurance.
But carriers have now seen deterioration in physical-damage loss history, leading them to “go back to the drawing board,” McNabb says.

CHARTER BUSES: RISING RATES & REINSURANCE

One of the segments within transportation seeing the most upward premium movement is charter buses. About 30.8 percent in the NIP Group survey say premiums are up 1-10 percent and another 30.8 percent say premiums are up 10-20 percent.

Augustyn says some headline accidents have likely contributed to this increase, while McNabb wonders if reinsurance is playing a role in the rise.

The charter-bus segment has a limited number of players due to a limit of $5 million, which leads to dealing with the reinsurance market to spread the risk.

“You have to wonder how catastrophe losses in the reinsurance market have trickled down to accounts with higher limits,” McNabb says. “We know the types of losses they’ve had and how soft the [reinsurance] market was to begin with. There has to be a connection.”

Meanwhile, in the non-emergency medical-transportation segment, underwriters are getting stricter on risks, which leads to creative underwriting, says Steve Shepard, a transportation underwriter with Burn and Wilcox.

“Carriers will find ways to use different classifications to get more premium exposure,” he says. In the case of the risk above, carriers will attempt to write the risk as a taxi exposure, since the exposure is close to a taxi.

FEWER PACKAGE DEALS

McNabb says there are fewer packaged accounts in the specialty markets today. Whereas five years ago it may have been possible to package auto-liability, general-liability and physical-damage coverage for a fleet of trucks, “there are so many different places to go for coverage now,” she says. “Pieces go everywhere, especially with the large fleets.

“So if I can’t write it all, you have to look at where I can be successful—where is the profit? What is the loss ratio?” McNabb says. “You have to stay diversified and constantly reinvent who and what you are.” Complete Article and Charts

52 Percent of Drivers Feel Less Safe than One Year Ago...Driver Distractions

The leading reason cited by American

drivers was distracted driving, with

88 percent of motorists rating drivers

who text and email as a very serious

threat to their safety.



Edmunds Auto Observer

By Auto Observer Staff
September 19, 2011

More than half of drivers said driving feels less safe now than it did five years ago, according to a survey for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety: 2010 Traffic Safety Culture Index. The 52 percent of drivers who said driving feels less safe was an increase of 17 percent over the number of drivers who said so just a year earlier. The reason: concerns about increasing driver distractions, according to Jim Foley, a researcher at Toyota Motor Corp.’s Technical Center in Ann Arbor, MI.

Foley said analysis of driver distraction is a chief priority for Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center, which just announced it will spend $50 million for new safety research projects. One aspect of the research will expand study of the so-called “human-machine interface,” or HMI, and how designs for interacting with onboard systems can affect distraction. Early conclusions from CRSC studies, Foley said, indicate that talking and listening to engage various functions is markedly less distracting than controls that require visual attention. One related study indicated that 78 percent of crashes were related to inattention from the driver.

The study showed that the majority of drivers (62 percent) feel that talking on a cell phone is a very serious threat to safety, but they do not always behave accordingly or believe that others share these views. In fact, nearly 70 percent of those surveyed admitted to talking on their phones and 24 percent said they read or sent text messages or emails while driving in the previous month.

When You Confuse the Two...



1 in 7 Drivers in the USA Are Uninsured

USA Today

By Larry Copeland

September 11, 2011

Despite laws in nearly every state requiring auto insurance, one in seven drivers in the USA goes uncovered.

That's according to an industry group that estimates 13.8% of motorists are uninsured, a number that has climbed during the economic downturn as many financially pressed Americans allowed their insurance to lapse.

"Over the last 20 years, uninsured motorists and the unemployment rate have tracked fairly closely," says David Corum, vice president of the Insurance Research Council (IRC), a non-profit supported by insurers.

Insured drivers pay a hefty price for fellow motorists who have no policies -- $10.8 billion in 2007, according to the most recent data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

"Most of the people that do have insurance have coverage that includes uninsured motorist coverage … to protect them (if) they're injured in an accident caused by another motorist who does not have insurance," Corum says.

Automobile insurance is compulsory in every state except New Hampshire, says Loretta Worters, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute -- but that doesn't deter scofflaws.

"Laws in most states have proven ineffective in reducing the numbers of drivers who are uninsured," Worters says. "Some drivers can't afford insurance, and some drivers with surcharges for accidents or serious traffic violations don't want to pay the high premiums that result from a poor driving record. It is costly to track down violators of compulsory-insurance laws, and unless the odds of getting caught are high and the penalties severe, drivers will continue to flout the law."

The rate of uninsured motorists varies widely -- from 4% in Massachusetts to 28% in Mississippi, according to the IRC.

In Massachusetts, drivers must show proof of insurance before they can register a vehicle. Insurance Commissioner Joseph Murphy attributes his state's low rate of uninsured motorists largely to that requirement. About half the states have a similar requirement, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

Mississippi, however, has no way for police to determine whether a driver has coverage, says Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney. He says he worries about privacy and entrapment if data are misused, and his state doesn't require proof of insurance. "The Legislature has never had the fortitude or the backbone to do it," he says.

Uninsured Motorists in Your State