GMAC Survey Shows Drivers Unsure of Bus Safety Rules
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), school buses represent one of the safest modes of transportation, nearly eight times safer than passenger vehicles. That’s partly because school bus transportation is subject to both federal and state regulation especially here in the Fairfax / Loudoun County areas.
However, even though the operation of school transportation is closely monitored, school bus drivers cannot control the behavior of other vehicles on the road. According to a 2006 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report, titled Traffic Safety Facts, an average of 20 school-age children die in school transportation-related traffic crashes each year.
In an effort to keep school children safe, GMAC Insurance conducted a survey of 5,524 licensed drivers to find out what misconceptions they had about common laws relating to driving while in the vicinity of school transportation.
According to the survey results, many drivers know they must stop when approaching a school bus from either the front or the rear when the vehicle's red lights are flashing; however, they are unsure about the exact stopping distance. Only 30 percent of the drivers polled knew that the correct stopping distance is 20 feet from a bus.
The survey’s findings also revealed other gaps in many drivers’ knowledge about the proper procedures when driving near a school bus. To help keep students safe, GMAC developed the following five tips for drivers to remember and are helpful here in the South Riding / Chantilly areas:
1. Stay stopped. When a school bus stops and displays its red flashing lights, come to a stop until the ,lights are no longer flashing or until signaled to proceed by the bus driver or police officer.
2. Keep back. Drivers should stop at least 20 feet (or one and a half car lengths) from the back of the bus.
3. Don’t pass. It is illegal to pass on the right side of the bus, where children are loading and unloading. In many places, school bus drivers can report a passing vehicle.
4. Be attentive. Children may run out into the street when heading home or to the playground without realizing that there are drivers nearby.
5. Go slow. Obey the posted speed limits in school zones where children are often walking or playing and pay attention to crossing guards.
For more information please contact Khalid Umerani, NOVA Insurance Group, South Riding, VA
www.south-riding-insurance.comwww.loudoun-insurance.comLabels: 20152, and 20105, Auto Insurance in 20151, Auto Insurance in South Riding / Chantilly, Car Insurance in 20151, School Bus Safety in South Riding / Chantilly areas
Can I Borrow Your Car -- And Your Insurance?
“Bill, can I borrow your truck? I have to pick up a new mattress.” Questions like this are routine here in Virginia (Fairfax & Loudoun Counties). Friends and neighbors borrow and lend their vehicles. College roommates borrow their friends’ cars. Six cars are parked in a driveway at a party and one needs to be moved so another car can pull out. The owner tosses someone the keys and tells him to move it. When situations like these end with an auto accident, whose insurance pays – the owner’s or the borrower’s?
In general, the vehicle owner’s policy is primary and pays first in the event of a loss. If for some reason the owner’s policy does not cover the loss or provide enough insurance to fully cover it, the borrower’s policy will apply. For example, assume that Joe has a policy with an insurance limit of $100,000 for injuries to one person and Bill’s policy has a limit of $250,000. Joe borrows Bill’s car and severely injures a pedestrian, resulting in damages of $300,000. Since Bill owns the car, his policy will pay first. It will pay $250,000 (his limit of insurance,) and Joe’s policy will pay the remaining $50,000. If Bill’s policy does not cover the loss (for example, if he had let the policy lapse,) Joe’s policy would pay all of its $100,000, but Bill and Joe might be individually responsible for paying the balance.
The owner’s insurance will also be primary for damage to the car itself. However, the borrower’s insurance can make up for a difference in deductible. Suppose Joe has a $500 collision deductible on his car and Bill’s collision deductible is $1,000. Joe totals Bill’s $5,000 car in an accident. Bill’s insurance will pay $4,000 for the car ($5,000 minus the $1,000 deductible,) and Joe’s insurance will pay $500 (Bill’s deductible minus Joe’s $500 deductible.) If Bill’s insurance is uncollectible because he didn’t buy collision coverage, Joe’s policy will pay $4,500 ($5,000 minus the $500 deductible.)
A person must have the car owner’s permission to borrow before the owner’s insurance will cover him. The insurance company will consider the person to have permission if he had a reasonable belief that he could use the car. For example, if Bill at one time said to Joe, “Take the car whenever you need to; the keys are on my desk,” and Joe had in fact borrowed it several times with no objection from Bill, it would appear that Joe had a reasonable belief that he could use it. On the other hand, if Bill never said anything to Joe about using the car, and Joe had to search Bill’s home to find the keys, Joe’s belief that he could use it might not appear to be so reasonable. In this case, Bill’s policy might not cover Joe’s liability for injuries or damages. Worse, Joe’s policy might not cover him, either.
Permission must come from the vehicle’s owner, not from a member of the owner’s family. Joe will not have coverage if Bill didn’t give him permission but Bill’s teenage daughter told him to use it. However, the daughter has coverage if she borrows the car, with or without permission. A member of the owner’s family has coverage without having to prove they had permission. To be considered a family member, such a person must be related to the owner by blood, marriage or adoption.
Before borrowing someone else’s car, we advise people to do the following here in Virginia (South Riding & Chantilly areas zips incl. 20151, 20152 and 20105):
-Make certain you have the owner’s permission.
-Make certain the owner has insurance in-force on the car.
-Check your own insurance to see if it will cover damages the owner’s policy doesn’t cover.
Insurance Agent, Khalid Umerani, can assist you with the third item. Ask the questions ahead of time to avoid unpleasant surprises later. For more information on Auto coverage, contact Khalid Umerani at NOVA Insurance Group, here in Chantilly / South Riding, VA 20151
www.south-riding-insurance.comwww.loudoun-insurance.comLabels: Allstate South Riding, Auto Insurance in South Riding / Chantilly, Auto Liability Coverage, Fairfax Auto Insurance, Khalid Umerani, loudoun auto insurance, NOVA Insurance Group
Beyond the Law: Setting Stricter Limits for Your Teen Driver
Research shows motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of teen deaths. Tragically, 3,490 teenage drivers (between the ages of 15-20) died in car accidents in 2006 alone, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
The IIHS, along with other driving safety groups, has spent decades studying teen vehicle fatalities to determine what specific behaviors put teenage drivers in the danger zone. Their research reveals that driving at night, driving with passengers, receiving a learner’s permit before the age of 16 and getting a full license before the age of 18 put teens at a much higher risk of having an accident. Chantilly and South Riding are NO different.
Unfortunately, state laws have failed to keep pace with the latest research. Many critics say states simply aren't doing enough to protect teens on the road. That’s why the IIHS is imploring parents to step up and set stricter driving limits for their teen drivers.
If you want to keep your teenager safe on the road here in Fairfax & Loudoun Counties in Virginia, consider the following advice the IIHS has to offer:
Make them wait
According to the IIHS, 16-year-olds have the highest rate of car crashes than drivers of any age. Sadly, many of these accidents prove to be fatal. This is why the institute strongly encourages parents to wait until their child turns 16 before allowing them to get a learner’s permit and until 17 to get a driver’s license.
Once the teen receives their learner’s permit, the IIHS says parents should put their teen through a learner stage that lasts at least six months. Parents should supervise a minimum of 30-50 hours of their teen’s driving before allowing them to get a full license. Many places in Loudoun County (South Riding, Aldie, Kirkpatrick Farms, Stone Ridge, Chantilly, etc.) offer places to practice safe driving techniques.
After the teen earns their driver’s license, the institute says parents should restrict their teen’s driving until he or she is at least 18 years old. Specifically, teens should not drive at night and be limited to just one or no non-adult passengers.
Restrict night driving
Once your teen has earned his license, it’s crucial to restrict him from driving at night until he is at least 18. A 2003 IIHS report shows that driving between the hours of 9 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. triples a 16-year-old’s risk of having a fatal car crash.
Not only is it harder to drive in the dark because of low visibility, but teens are typically more tired at night. Driver fatigue is a major contributing factor when it comes to night-time teen crashes. Of course, the chance of teenagers consuming alcohol also increases as soon as the sun sets. According to the NHTSA, 31 percent of teen drivers killed in 2006 had been drinking.
Limit teen passengers
More than half of all deaths in crashes of 16 and 17-year old drivers occur when passengers under the age of 20 are in the car with no adult supervision. When a teen driver has a teen passenger in the car, they are twice as likely to have a fatal crash, according to IIHS. When a teen has three or more teenage passengers, their risk of a fatal crash is three times higher than if they had no passengers.
Of course, it’s no surprise why this is the case: passengers often cause distractions for teen drivers. However, researchers also believe that teens often “show off” for their teenage passengers by speeding and making riskier choices on the road.
Don’t let state laws dictate the driving limits for your teenager here in the South Riding / Chantilly VA. areas. The research shows that state legislation is simply too lenient for most teenagers. As soon as your child is old enough to understand, start preparing him or her for your unique household driving rules. If you make the idea of “no driver’s license until you’re 17” a family mantra, your teen will be prepared for it when the time comes.
Of course, if you tell your 15-year-old she’ll have to wait until she’s 17 to get a full driver’s license, you’ll probably meet some serious resistance. You’ll also have to listen to endless complaints when you tell your teen he can’t drive at night and is not allowed to have passengers. While it’s never fun to play the “bad guy” or upset your teen, it will be well worth it in the long run. Stick to your guns—after all, it could save your child’s life. Also, a discussion about car insurance premiums, and the "Good Student Discounts", for a 3.0 B average, is often helpful.
For more information on teen driving safety, visit
http://www.iihs.org/,
http://www.south-riding-insurance.com/ or
http://www.loudoun-insurance.com/. For information on auto insurance and valuable discounts for young drivers contact Khalid Umerani, NOVA Insurance Group, here in Chantilly / South Riding, VA 20151.
Labels: Auto Insurance in South Riding / Chantilly, Loudoun / Fairfax Auto Insurance, Teen Driving Auto Insurance Discounts, Teen Driving Safety
Ten Safety Tips for Driving in the Rain
Ten Safety Tips for Driving in the Rain
With the dawning of Spring often comes a deluge of rain showers and thunderstorms. While a soft Spring rain may seem innocent enough from the safety of your home, even a gentle shower can cause major problems here in Virginia (Fairfax & Loudoun Counties) on the road. Thousands of car accidents each year are caused by rain and wet roads—and motorists who don’t know how to drive on them.
During and after a rainstorm, a film of water quickly forms on asphalt roads especially in the South Riding / Chantilly areas. This sheath of water causes tires to lose traction, which means drivers can easily lose control. However, slippery roads are not the only danger to driving in the rain. Drivers also lose visibility during a rainstorm. Heavy rain can be absolutely blinding, fogging up the windows and even blocking your headlights. These things all add to an extremely dangerous situation.
If you find yourself on the road during a rainstorm, follow these safety tips to ensure you arrive alive:
Be especially careful when the rain first starts. When the roads are dry for a long period of time, engine oil and grease builds up on roads and highways. As soon as the first drops of rain start to fall, the water mixes with this build-up making the roads incredibly slick. This is why the first few hours of a rainstorm can be the most hazardous for drivers. If the rain continues to fall for a few more hours, the water will eventually wash away the greasy build-up.
Slow down. You should always drive at a slower speed when the roads are wet. The faster you drive in a rainstorm, the more likely you are to have an accident. Leave the house earlier than usual to give yourself additional travel time so you won’t feel the urge to rush.
Brake earlier and slower. When you need to slow down or stop on wet roads, ease on the brakes earlier and with less force than you would normally. This decreases your risk of hydroplaning and keeps a safe distance between you and the car in front of you. It also alerts any drivers behind you to slow down. If you stop too suddenly in a rainstorm, you could get rear-ended.
Turn off cruise control. When you have cruise control turned on during a rainstorm, your car could actually speed up if you hydroplane. Plus, when you use cruise control, you’re probably not paying as much attention to the road. Turn off the cruise control and stay alert at all times when driving in the rain so you can react quickly if necessary.
Avoid big “puddles.” If you spot a huge puddle in the road up ahead, drive around it or take a different route. Sometimes seemingly shallow puddles can actually be 5 or 6 feet deep—and that amount of water can cause serious problems for your car’s electrical system. Depending on how deep the water is, it could even float your car. If you aren’t sure just how deep a puddle is, steer clear of it altogether.
Turn on your headlights. Even if just a few raindrops are falling, turn on your headlights. Not only will this help you see the road, but it will help other drivers see you. However, don’t use your high beams in the rain. This can actually reduce your visibility and blind other drivers.
Turn on your defroster. Your windshield can fog up quickly during a rainstorm, which can cause you to lose sight of the road. Turn on your front and rear defrosters and the A/C to defog your windows.
Keep an eye out for pedestrians. In a rainstorm, a pedestrian’s view of the road could be obscured by their rain slicker hood or umbrella—which means they may accidentally step into the road at the wrong time. If you are driving in a city or another area with pedestrians, keep a close eye out for people in the road.
Pull over when things get bad. If the rain is falling so hard that you can barely see the car in front of you, pull over and wait for the rain to slow down or stop. After all, it’s much better for you to make it to your destination a little late than not at all.
Don’t brake if you hydroplane. If you feel your car starting to hydroplane, don’t brake suddenly or turn the steering wheel. This could send you into a skid. Instead, ease off the gas pedal slowly and steer straight until you feel your tires regain traction. If you have to brake and don’t have anti-lock brakes, tap the brake pedal lightly. If you do have anti-lock brakes, you can brake normally.
For more information, contact Khalild Umerani, Agent, at NOVA Insurance Group, here in Chantilly / South Riding, VA 20151.
www.south-riding-insurance.comwww.loudoun-insurance.comLabels: Auto Insurance in South Riding / Chantilly, Driving Safety Tips, Khalid Umerani, Loudoun / Fairfax Auto Insurance, NOVA Insurance Group
Practice Safe Winter Driving Techniques
Practice Safe Winter Driving Techniques
Winter is finally on its way out of here in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties. Not long ago, winter brought us ice, snow, slippery roads, and poor visibility. Winter driving is necessary and nothing can be done to avoid it.
While the best advice is to not drive at all, that's not an option for most of us here in Virginia (South Riding & Chantilly area zips incl. 20151, 20152 and 20105). If you must drive, here are some simple precautions you can take to minimize the risk of accidents and injuries:
- Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.
- Brake gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake.
- Turn on your lights to increase your visibility to other motorists.
- Keep your lights and windshield clean.
- Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.
- Don't use cruise control or overdrive on icy roads.
- Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.
- Don't pass snow plows and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you're likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.
- Don't assume your vehicle can handle all conditions. Even four-wheel and front-wheel drive vehicles can encounter trouble on winter roads.
If you should lose traction:
- Take your foot off the accelerator.
- Steer in the direction you want the front wheels to go. If your rear wheels are sliding left, steer left. If they're sliding right, steer right.
- If your rear wheels start sliding the other way as you recover, ease the steering wheel toward that side. You might have to steer left and right a few times to get your vehicle completely under control.
- If you have standard brakes, pump them gently.
- If you have anti-lock brakes (ABS), do not pump the brakes. Apply steady pressure to the brakes. You will feel the brakes pulse — this is normal.
If you should get stuck:
- Do not spin your wheels. This will only dig you in deeper.
- Turn your wheels from side to side a few times to push snow out of the way.
- Use a light touch on the gas, to ease your car out.
- Use a shovel to clear snow away from the wheels and the underside of the car.
- Pour sand, kitty litter, gravel or salt in the path of the wheels, to help get traction.
- Try rocking the vehicle by shifting from forward to reverse, and back again. Each time you're in gear, give a light touch on the gas until the vehicle gets going.
For more information contact Khalid Umerani, NOVA Insurance Group, here in Chantilly / South Riding, Va. 20151 at http://www.south-riding-insurance.com or http://www.loudoun-insurance.com
Labels: Auto Insurance in South Riding / Chantilly, Fairfax Auto Insurance, loudoun auto insurance, Safe Winter Driving in South Riding / Chantilly
Save Premiums by Raising Policy Deductibles
Save Premiums by Raising Policy DeductiblesAs money gets increasingly tight, consumers are trying to save wherever possible, especially here in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties in Virginia. Insurance policies are one place that people typically look to cut costs. But, are there ways you can save when it comes to insurance without jeopardizing your coverage?
Many insureds believe so. One method of cutting back on your insurance premium costs is to reduce the dwelling or liability limits on your homeowner's policy here in Virginia (Fairfax & Loudoun County Zips incl. 20151, 20152 and 20105). Similarly, you could also request a reduction in the liability limits on your auto insurance policy.
However, not only do these methods fail to save you money in the long run, they also make you increasingly vulnerable to risk. Consider how much you could lose if a judge decided against you in a liability suit, or someone was hurt in your home (especially in the South Riding / Chantilly areas!).
A wiser course of action is to increase your policy deductibles. On a homeowner's policy, raising your deductible from $250 to a $500 could realize a premium savings of 10 to 15 percent. You could also consider raising the deductibles on the physical damage section of your auto insurance to save money on the premium. Having a $500 deductible on both comprehensive and collision can save you as much as 30 percent. A $1,000 deductible may result in even more savings. (Contact us at
www.south-riding-insurance.com or
www.loudoun-insurance.com for more details)
Many insureds argue that if they do need to file a claim, they won’t have $500 to cover the newly increased deductible. While $500 may sound like a large amount of money to get together, it is actually only $250 more than you would have needed if you still had the original $250 deductible. Keep in mind that with the savings benefit you will get from a higher deductible, you should be able to save that extra $250 in less than 2 years.
For those larger savings, consider a graduated approach. If you are not financially able to go from paying a $250 deductible to paying $1,000 deductible, raise your deductible to $500 now, and put the money you save into a dedicated savings account for the purpose of accumulating money to increase your deductible again. When you have saved enough in the account, increase the deductible to $1,000.
Raising your deductible will definitely save you money over the long-term. More importantly, it will not put you at an increased financial risk. For more information contact Khalid Umerani, NOVA Insurance Group, here in Chantilly / South Riding, Va. 20151.
Labels: Auto Insurance in South Riding / Chantilly, Fairfax Home Insurance, Home Insurance in South Riding / Chantilly, Insurance Policy Deductibles, Insurance Premium Savings, loudoun auto insurance
