Safe driving habits boosted by insurance plans that reward safe driving
Popular insurance programs offering discounts for driving safely can reduce risky behaviors like speeding and hard braking, Penn Medicine researchers show.
2 min. read
Drivers whose car insurance rates are based on data of their driving habits and who then also get tips about improving them are less likely to speed, brake hard, or rapidly accelerate than those who don’t participate in the program, according to a recent test by a team from the Perelman School of Medicine. Their work is published in Accident Analysis & Prevention.
Speeding declined by up to 13%, and hard braking and rapid acceleration declined by up to 25%. In addition, drivers continued their improved habits after the incentives ended.
“Insurance companies are happy to give discounts to customers who drive safer because it means they will have fewer crash claims later on,” says lead author Jeffrey Ebert, director of Behavioral Science in the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit.
In a nation with more than 6 million vehicle crashes leading to 2 million injuries each year, Ebert says that if everyone were to enroll in a program like what they tested, there could be 300,000 fewer crashes and 100,000 fewer injuries.
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