New Study Shows Poverty, Not Age, the Key Factor in Teen Crashes

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Japher
I have all my insurance through one company. I like it that way. I only have to deal with one person for all of it, and I only have to write one check.

Cheque? My money's withdrawn electronically, you primitive.

[rah]

Our company actually tried a phone survey of insured asking rating questions to try to catch those that where coached by their agents. Or you might get the wife that would answer truefully. Originally it made money as policies were rerated but in the long haul it wasn't profitable because it pissed people off and they change companies or the agent would go back in and change it back after the customer complained. We even tried tracking when an agent would change it back, but that just pissed the agents off.

[Dinner]

This is stupid. I bet if we did a study of height we could get spurius results showing short people crash more then tall people (or vis versa) or maybe we should break it down by hair color. Maybe we could chart the relationship between the phases of the moon and auto crashes.

This is an excellent example of crap science. You take almost anything you can dream up and "prove" that some sort of corrolation. Real science is sorting out these junk correlations into true cause and effect situations.

[Japher]

Our company actually tried a phone survey of insured asking rating questions to try to catch those that where coached by their agents. Or you might get the wife that would answer truefully. Originally it made money as policies were rerated but in the long haul it wasn't profitable because it pissed people off and they change companies or the agent would go back in and change it back after the customer complained. We even tried tracking when an agent would change it back, but that just pissed the agents off.

My agent told me to refer them to him if anyone began asking about my coverage... I don't use the guy anymore. His ways made me mad. Still, being in Cincinnati now my insurance is a lot less than it was in Cali.

[rah]

Yeah about a year into the program most of the agents had properly coached their clients to say that. Further decreasing the profitablility of the program.

[The Emperor Fabulous]

I wasn't a stupid driver, but I did do stupid things while driving. Like slowly backing my parent's van into a tree without knowing it was there. And driving into the front of the house, breaking the porch stairs. And driving over a curb, getting a huge chunk lodged in my tire. And getting a $250 ticket by driving 90 in a 65. And playing strip paddidle and not keeping my eyes on the road, almost killing all five of us.

Lately...uh...well, I haven't really hit anything or whatever. I drive rather nicely and don't take stupid chances.

I'm sure that's probably more to do with people being willing to give me better resources than the fact that I have more driving experience than I did back then.

[The Emperor Fabulous]

My first bolding! I OTB0T!

[Sava]

why is Ozzy unable to accept the fact that teens are inexperienced drivers, naturally immature, more likely to be driving with friends (and hence, to be distracted), and as a result of these and other factors... more likely to be involved in accidents?

not to mention the fact that teenage brains have been proven (by recent studies) to be more prone to unstable behavior... not to mention the hormones that affect their brain chemistry...

all of these factors, combined with INEXPERIENCE... make it MORE LIKELY that teenagers will be involved in accidents...

are you completely blind to reality Ozzy?

but if you want to believe poverty causes accidents... whatever

[Arrian]

The insurance company I work for recently re-did our rating for auto policies. I'm told that instead of having only 4 or 5 rating groupings, we now have like 15. Whatever they did, the difference is huge. I'm now 29. The last time I checked out auto from my own company (when IIRC I was 27 or 28) the rate was awful. It was something like $2000/year for my wife and I. So instead, I bought a Lib. Mutual policy for about $1500/year. That's a 25% difference. This year, we checked again b/c we heard about the changes and low & behold our employer now comes in around $1200/year (whereas Lib Mutual had climbed up to about $1600, due to the fact that we exchanged one older vehicle for a newer one). Yet again, a 25% difference. Go figure.

-Arrian

[OzzyKP]

Originally posted by Sava
why is Ozzy unable to accept the fact that teens are inexperienced drivers, naturally immature, more likely to be driving with friends (and hence, to be distracted), and as a result of these and other factors... more likely to be involved in accidents?

not to mention the fact that teenage brains have been proven (by recent studies) to be more prone to unstable behavior... not to mention the hormones that affect their brain chemistry...

all of these factors, combined with INEXPERIENCE... make it MORE LIKELY that teenagers will be involved in accidents...

are you completely blind to reality Ozzy?

but if you want to believe poverty causes accidents... whatever

Then how do you explain poor adults with higher crash rates than wealthy adults of the exact same age?

Also inexperience is different than age. If you cared to read my OP you'll see that this study has addressed that directly. The more driving time an individual has the better they become at driving. So yes, more experience does produce better drivers.

But if you mock me and this study, what course of action are you proposing? Taking away the licenses from teens (or other restrictions on their driving) that do nothing but deny them experience and make them less safe drivers?

Inexperience causes accidents, but how are teens going to get that experience if you take away their driver's licenses?

[Kontiki]

Why does there need to be any course of action?

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by OzzyKP

Inexperience causes accidents, but how are teens going to get that experience if you take away their driver's licenses?

then why not give licenses to 8 year olds? Obviously inexperience is a factor, but theres some age thats optimal to get that experience. Your study is ONE, repeat ONE, entry into the discourse on when that age should be. There are many other studies, and the statistical limits of all of them should be weighed.


You cant just expect everyone to shut up and agree with you cause you post one study put out by your group. And then you attack a poster like myself for not critiquing a AAA study that i hadnt even seen. Frankly, your reactions on this thread are NOT making a case for the maturity of teens.

[Arrian]

The only course of action I can think of is to invest in better driver training.

That could be another reason that poor people crash more... not only do many drive old beat up cars, I'd wager that many don't go through formal drivers education classes, because of the expense.

-Arrian

[Sava]

Ozzy:

My position is simple.

Let teens get licenses at 16. With restrictions... like not being able to have more than 2 friends in the car, or things like that... but have it be a graduated program. Less restrictions at 17. Complete "freedom" at 18. Reward good, responsible drivers.

That's all.

I don't see why you have to get your panties in a bunch about this.

[rah]

That's what it is like in Illinois which I assume you are aware, Limited number of non-adults in the car when they're 16. I can't remember exactly when that limit is removed.