Lower My Premiums

As I received the 6-month renewal for my car insurance, I was not surprised but was extremely annoyed that the rates have gone up. Again. I really didn’t get it because first of all, I haven’t had any violations (moving or otherwise) in well over ten years. My car is six months older and so am I. You’d figure the rates would at least stay the same, right? So I contacted my carrier to get an explanation. Imagine my shock when I found out that my rate is based, not on my car and driving record, but on the cars, ages and driving records of the drivers in my area. Yeah, go figure. I’m being penalized for the idiocy of others. So I came up with a few ideas for local drivers, just throwing them out there for those who care to listen, as a way to lower my insurance.

First of all, slow down. Yes, you will get there a few minutes later but if you need to be there sooner, you should have left home earlier. I should not have to pay extra because you hit the snooze too many times or you needed an extra cup of joe and ended up running a red light, smashing into a little old lady on her way to bingo.

Similarly, when it’s raining buckets and cans and there are two inches of water…or more…on the roads, slow down. You can’t stop as fast as on dry roads and you can’t see what’s coming. Living in a state where, when it rains, it really pours, I constantly see people acting like they are on a Sunday drive…with attitude. But a fair word of warning, if you hit my car or injure one of my passengers, you will seriously know what attitude is. Grow a brain.

Stop trying to get one car ahead. The bumper you are currently riding is fine. You don’t need to ride the bumper of the guy in front of him. I honestly had a driver following me recently, practically in my back seat, for about a mile who whipped his car around mine (nearly sideswiping me) to get off at an exit 500 feet ahead. I just don’t get it. And just for the record, if you are riding MY bumper, count on me driving at least five miles under the speed limit just for spite. I’m like that.

Some advice to the young male drivers. Put the back of your driver’s seat in the front. You do not need to pretend you are in a lounge chair to look cool. Try looking cool while you are at the mall or your girlfriend’s house. When you are in the car, driving 90-to-nothing, put your seat up. Reclining only blocks your view. And it makes you look ridiculous. Show some maturity.

Don’t ride the right turn lane. If you need to turn right, wait until you get to the arrow on the road that says “Now You May Turn Right.” In the two years I’ve worked along a six-lane highway, I have seen quite a few accidents where someone is riding that lane and someone else turns (where they are supposed to) and we hear the screech and smash. We saw one earlier this week as a matter of fact. Just turn where you are supposed to and make sure you look in your mirror for the possibility of an idiot riding the lane before turning.

My last bit of advice is to beware of the wave of death. That happens when you are trying to make a left turn across three lanes of traffic and you get waved over by the guy in the lane nearest you. You really don’t know if the second and third drivers are going to wave you over as well. They’re just as likely to keep going if the line in front of them moves. Or, as in the aforementioned accident, there is a fool riding the right turn lane. In this instance, the lady who received the wave got smacked by the fool, knocking her in to an innocent driver who was waiting at the stop sign. On a related note, I knew a couple with a communication problem…the wife, who was the passenger, did the wave and her husband, the driver, didn’t see her and started moving. Passengers should not do the wave.

Ironically enough, the news this morning had a story about how Baton Rouge has some of the highest insurance rates in the country. They blame having two universities, which adds to younger, more inexperienced drivers on the road. More accidents. They went on to mention poor road conditions and DWI drivers who are still driving even though they have more than one violation and are driving with suspended licenses. I disagree with all these theories. Every city has inexperienced drivers. I’m from Pennsylvania, worst road conditions in the US and drunks drive everywhere in the United States on suspended licenses. I blame greed, not only from the insurance companies but from people who sue others because they had a fender bender, ruined their manicures and had a twinge in the big toe of their left foot. But then again, it’s just my opinion.

The bottom line, I think, is that people are usually in too much of a hurry or too distracted by the text messages to actually pay attention. Others are just bad drivers or don’t really care about their fellow man so accidents will continue to happen and my insurance rates will continue to rise. I’m thinking my only solution is to sell my car and start taking the bus.