Car Insurance

Young drivers have long been made scapegoats when it comes to pinning the blame for motor accidents and driving-related offenses on a particular group.

To narrow it down further, the majority of the blame is placed at the feet of young male drivers under the age of 25 and in particular, those under 21.

In fact drivers in this age group were said to be responsible for 15% of all driving convictions, according to a recent survey. As a result car insurance premiums have risen dramatically in the last few years to match the increasing cost of young drivers for insurers.

The problem, it seems, comes down to irresponsibility on the part of some of the aforementioned drivers - with many magazines and websites encouraging performance modification to vehicles, the situation has become much worse.

Here are some damning statistics:

• One in 3 young male drivers will write off their cars within the first year of driving, compared to half this amount in the case of young female drivers.

• A quarter of “death by dangerous driving” convictions are of drivers under 20 years of age, even though this group accounts for only 3% of all drivers on the road.

• Each year over half of those found guilty of driving without insurance were in the under-25’s age group.

Unfortunately, insurers can only calculate the cost of car insurance premiums based on risk factor. As a result, the high accident rate of this age group means all young drivers are faced with similarly high premiums.

To ensure your policy is as cheap as possible you should look to buy a small car with an equally small engine, such as a Renault Clio, Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa or similar. It is best to avoid older cars with larger engines. They may cheap at the outset but to find young drivers car insurance on these vehicles will prove extremely costly as they are much heavier, less safe and cause more damage to other vehicles.

When looking for insurance online you may want to search for manufacturer specific insurance such as “Ford car insurance” as this may help narrow things down a bit and increase your chances of finding a better deal.

With the Christmas period just behind us adverts discouraging people from drinking and driving were very visible across all media form TV to radio and newspapers. This was mainly because Christmas time unfortunately isn’t just a time of mistletoe and wine, it’s the specific time of year that people are likely to drive after having an alcoholic drink with friends and family.

Apart from the obvious and very serious life threatening risks of this practice there is also the certainty that if you are caught by the police, you’ll lose your license and possibly end up in jail in severe cases. But the woes don’t stop there; people with driving convictions as serious as this can expect a nasty surprise when they get back on the road: Insanely high car insurance premiums.

If you apply for car insurance with a conviction of drink driving or driving without insurance you are removing all doubt in the insurer’s mind of how safe a driver you are. Quite simply you aren’t and they are not going to take any risk with you. Premiums of convicted drivers are normally £1,000 higher than good law abiding folk.

The car insurance industry runs itself on assessing the risk of covering each individual driver. They take all sorts of factors into consideration when determining the amount you’ll pay for car insurance such as the car you’re driving, how old you are and whether you’ve had any accidents in the past.

Obviously one way to increase your risk (and your premiums) is getting points or convictions on your license, even 3 points for speeding or running a red light can stick some unnecessary pounds onto your premium. Suffice to say if you are reckless and dangerous then you can kiss cheap car insurance goodbye!

Accidents caused due to drunken driving are one of the major-concern issues haunting the US in the past few decades. Drunken driving causes more than 16,000 automobile casualties every year, leading to more than a million deaths. Not to mention the millions of drivers that are arrested for drunken driving each passing year.

Several people who party into the wee hours of the night drive with the drink still inside them. Youth that attend rave parties are susceptible to a more serious problem, as they often mix drugs with their drink. All these activities are deemed not only dangerous but also illegal by law. Drunk driving endangers the lives of the drivers and their passengers as well as other people on the road.

Strict methods are employed by traffic authorities to restrict and impound drunk driving. Measures such as breathalyzers are adopted by traffic police to detect whether a driver is drunk or not. A breathalyzer can ascertain the amount of alcohol in the breath of a driver. Another factor to determine the presence of alcohol in the body of a driver is the blood alcohol concentration (BAC). A BAC level of more than 0.15 is considered unsafe for driving. There are other crude means adopted in certain jurisdictions such as making the suspected driver to walk in straight line or making them read out a passage.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is responsible for creating guidelines for safe driving. They have implemented rules under the National Minimum Drinking Age laws to wean drunken drivers off the road. According to their estimates, these laws have met with great success and have been able to prevent more than 20,000 drunken driving deaths in the past year.

Various organizations are dedicated to cause awareness about the problem of drunken driving. Particularly, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) has met with a lot of popularity in this field. Media such as the television and newspapers are used extensively to educate people of the dangers of drunk driving. There are clips showing gruesome drunken driving deaths interspersed with movies and TV serials and true life accounts of victims.

The country has met with success in its fight against drunken driving. The number of fatalities is dwindling off with each passing year. There is a 33% decrease in the number of deaths this year from the past year. However, there is still a lot of work to be done and several organizations are working together to drive the bane of drunken driving into extinction.

Spending a lot of time in a car while commuting or on a road trip can have a negative impact on your health and muscle tone. But not if you use these simple exercises. You can arrive at your destination refreshed and toned. Just be careful and pay attention to your driving and traffic. There are not many health benefits to an auto accident.

Exercises to do while driving

1. Tummy toner – Sit up straight in the seat in a normal driving position. Breathe in deeply into your lower abdomen. Now instead of exhaling, push the air up to your chest, filling your upper lungs. Now slowly exhale. You will feel your posture improve and get a big rush of energy by doing this exercise. Don’t be surprised if you have to readjust your mirrors due to a higher seating position.

2. Tummy toner two – the vacuum- Inhale normally, lean forward a bit, exhale normally but right at the end blow out just a little more very quickly. Then sit up before the next inhale. As an alternate try sitting up while making the extra exhale.

3. Deer exercise. – Most girls are familiar with the benefits of Kegel exercises. Squeeze your pubococcygeus or PC muscles while driving. Do these while driving to arrive toned and energetic. Guys get great benefits form these exercises as well.

4. Steering wheel isometrics. Grasp the wheel firmly in both hands. Push in like you are trying to crush the wheel. Now lean forward and pull out like your are trying to stretch the wheel. Be sure to do this exercise only on a straight section of road or at very low speed. These exercises will help firm the chest and upper arm muscles.

5. Steering wheel curls. Grip the wheel with both hands near the base of the wheel. Pull up and toward you. Don’t pull too hard, as it is easy to damage the steering shaft this way. Just pull enough to flex your biceps and shoulders.

6. Stress reduction – if you are getting tired or stressed, try tapping your head. Use the fingertips of one hand to tap your head just above the hair line while you steer with the other hand. Tap firmly but not painfully. The object is to stimulate the blood flow in the scalp. Tap while saying to your self “I release this stress and I choose to relax and be happy in this moment.” For even more thorough tapping try EFT.

7. Eye exercise – Nothing gets more stress while driving than your eyes. Blink often to keep them wet. Move them around while driving instead of staring straight ahead. Use a pattern like ahead, mirror, ahead, instruments, ahead, left, ahead, right, ahead, mirror, etc. When rubbing the eyes start by placing your index and middle fingers on the bridge of your nose. With firm and steady pressure move outward along the eyebrow and then down the cheekbone. Follow the cheekbone around to the nose and back up to the bridge. Never reverse the circle, as it will cause the tender skin under the eye to get stretched and look baggy.

8. Toe Wiggling – while seated and operating foot controls, fluid stagnates in the feet. Wiggling your toes will help pump the fluid out of your feet and back where it belongs. Pay attention to the position of your toes while driving so that you do not keep your toes curled or extended for any length of time.

While taking a break - exercises:

1. Leg stretch: Stand on one foot and place the heel of the other foot on the bumper of your car. Bend over and touch your toe. Change legs and repeat. This movement helps to relax the calf and thigh muscles that become contracted while operating the foot controls. Lymph stagnates in the legs while driving and this movement helps to get it flowing again. It is best practiced when first stepping out of your car.

2. Twists: Stand with slightly bent knees. Hands at your sides. Relax. Twist your waist back and forth swinging your arms out fully letting them flail along. This seemingly simple movement has many, many benefits. First it helps to realign your back, especially the vertebrae in the lumbar region. These vertebras get compressed while driving. Second, it gives your internal organs a good massage, helping them do a more efficient job. This internal massage leads to improved circulation and better digestion. And you will need improved digestion to handle all that nasty road trip food.

3. Calf Stretch: If you are ever prone to heel spurs (plantar fasciitis) or just want to make sure you don’t, do these simple stretches while pumping gas or anywhere where you may have to stand for a couple of minutes. Find a curb – like the one the gas pump sits on – and place your toes on the curb and your heel on the surface below. Rock your weight forward until you feel a slight stretch in the tendon or your calf. Don’t push too hard just feel it stretch and hold for at least 20 seconds. Repeat with the other leg. If your don’t have a curb handy, use your tire. Place your toe on the tire with your heel on the ground. Lean forward to feel the stretch.
4. Arches: Stand about three feet from the side of your car facing away from it. Reach up with your hands over your head. Arch your back and reach behind you to grab the rain gutter or roof rack. Lean on back trying to touch your head to the window. Hold for at least 30 seconds. This exercise is a great overall stretch. It eliminates most back pain due to driving and is an excellent tummy toner as well. Once you get more advanced, try stretching to the hood or bumper.

5. Fender push-ups: Stand about three feet away from the fender of your car facing it this time. Keep your legs and back straight and lean over and support your weight on the fender. Now, bend your elbows in a push up motion. This will give you a light shoulder tone up and enhance circulation. For move advanced, try using the bumper or door sill.

By practicing these simple exercises you can use the time spent in your car to help improve your body. Just be sure to stop if you feel any pain and to consult a physician if you have any doubt about your ability to perform any of these movements.

For many of us, the car has almost become a second home as more Americans find themselves stuck in traffic over 40 hours a week! Besides doing your best to maintain your mode of transportation, here a few tips in driving safety that should be beneficial:

1. Don’t drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol. These tend to dull your mind and reflexes. Did you know that alcohol is involved in at least half of all fatal crashes?

2. Keep your mind as well as your eyes exclusively on driving. While driving, don’t put on makeup, text message, chat on the cell phone, or eat a meal.

3. Do not get upset when you encounter a hostile driver. There is no doubt you’ll be angry if an obnoxious driver cuts you off, plows through a red light or tailgates. However, dangerous situations are not the time to be competitive or combative.

4. Beware of falling asleep at the wheel. This results in over 200,000 accidents per year alone. Driving between midnight and seven in the morning is particularly bad. If you are heading off on a long trip, get plenty of rest the night before, wear comfortable clothing, listen to the radio and make frequent stops. If you are experiencing drowsiness, stop at a hotel or motel and get some sleep.

5. Don’t be a ‘yellow-light accelerator’ or a ‘green-light anticipator’. Yellow light accelerators speed through an intersection to beat the red light. Green-light anticipators speed up when they think the light is about to change from red to green. A large number of traffic accidents happen at intersections, and many are due to drivers who second-guess signal changes.

6. Steer clear of large vehicles like trucks and trailers. Too often your view is blocked. Carefully work your way around them and stay far away (if possible)

7. Avoid the far left lane except when you need to pass another car. Drivers who like to drive fast usually remain in this lane; insurance company representatives call it the ‘death lane.’

8. Observe all basic driving rules and regulations. Adjust your speed to coincide with weather and traffic conditions.

9. Wear your seatbelts. This cannot be emphasized enough.