Filed under: Gadgets, Trends, Etc.
No night driving equals pounds in the wallet
Well, here's either a novel idea that may save money or put a crimp on one's social life. British insurance More Th>n (yes, that's spelled correctly) is now offering an insurance policy called 'Time Drive'. Aimed at younger drivers, Time Drive provides less expensive coverage for those willing not to drive between 11 PM through 6 AM. A GPS device is installed in the driver's vehicle to verify they're complying with the policy.
More Th>n started the program based on data showing younger drivers have a greater chance of accidents in the evening. What do you think about the policy?
[Source: All Headlines News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Erie 7:18PM (8/11/2006)
It means that young guys must walk from late parties on their own
Reply
Riker 7:23PM (8/11/2006)
Hmm,
I like that this is an offer, not some legislation being pushed. Take it or leave it.
Another thought - it's aimed at young drivers, but could anyone, young or old, choose to have this coverage option? No matter how old you are, if you spend less time driving you're less likely to get into an accident, and therefore you're a better risk.
Reply
david 7:41PM (8/11/2006)
What are the penalties for driving between those hours? is there an allowed amount of time that they are allowed. say if they need to make a run to the store late at night, or an emergency, or picking a friend up b/c they are drunk, or if you have leave late from work or go in early? Do they make some exceptions or leniency to the program as long as its not outright broken all the time?!
Reply
Rohan 7:47PM (8/11/2006)
I think it's a fantastic idea.
Reply
J Harris 10:48PM (8/11/2006)
How long do you think it will take before a discount becomes a penalty for driving too fast or venturing into a high risk area?
Reply
Jim 12:16AM (8/12/2006)
i feel more alert at night. i dont know what it is but if i have an accident i think it will be during the day.
Reply
David 8:46AM (8/12/2006)
#5, you hit the nail on the head.
It's a great idea, so long as it's an OPTION, if it were a requirement by the company, then there's issues. The other problem with insurance is that it needs to follow the DRIVER and not the car (however, can't go sticking a GPS device under your skin, haha). What happens if a "buddy" borrows your car, or the kids decide to sneak out? It's happened to me before.
Reply
charlie 9:02AM (8/12/2006)
Its a great idea that will empower more people to be able to afford car insurance. Although I do think that they should have a set fee for venturing out during those hours, because sometimes you just have to get in your car to run an errand or something. It could be something super exhorbitant, like $10/hour driven from 11PM to 6AM, but if I really had to go run that half hour errand, I would pay the $5.
Reply
flash 9:10AM (8/12/2006)
I wonder, would it ever be possible to provied real time insurance?
With the GPS installed it should be easy to calculate accleration, speed, when I drive, how long I drive, or whether or not a parked my new car in the worst neighborhood in town. Hey, why not provide a small fee for vehicle tracking in case it's stolen?
Here's a thought. Charge me based on what I do with the car, not what someone else my age/sex does with the same vehicle! Kind of like a prepaid cell phone.
Better yet, let me access the data on the internet. If you think junior may be hot rodding your car, now you'll know.
Reply
Bradley Kanian 10:59AM (8/12/2006)
Great!But GPS,NO WAY!
Reply
b p mccullough 11:42AM (8/12/2006)
i had a gps tracking device on my company van...somehow all of us randomly removed the power (the device therefore has no way of remembering how long or where its been)and the system :)starts pinging for the devise @35cents a minute,during "business hours". and after hours of being unplugged, the bill was enormous...actually it is for insurance and building a data base for risk avoidance,not billing for time spent. FOR SEARS their system ($millions spent) up links and down links. but with newer laptops and a phone card, and gps enabled laptops, better communication is available at 1/10th the price.and normal e'mail, spread sheets etc. can be sent . ALL info can be tracked...think about it most cell phones have gps, and most nextel bosses can find the data. if your phone is off no data is stored...long lunch? turn your phone off....
Reply
b p mccullough 11:50AM (8/12/2006)
real time insurance is available ask a crane operator driving a crane? if the accident happens after "hours" its your dime
crane operators buy insurance for a block of time, about 1/2 of the job cost...
if car insurance people decide that....humm saturday's late will be off limits....
and sunday morning are hang-over hours humm surcharge here too?
mondays are work days likely to be in a hurry.....humm surcharge...
fridays are likely to stop by for a happy hour special...hummm surcharge..
WOW more reason to charge more for insurance
Reply
Steve 2:40PM (8/12/2006)
#9: I like the way you think. Belonging to a "high-risk" demographic, I'm VERY tired of seeing a-holes flying by me and weaving through traffic, either getting in to accidents or causing them. Just this morning I was almost side swiped TWICE on the freeway by these guys trying to come into my lane. I'M paying exorbitant rates because of HIS stupidity? I'm sick of it. Keeping track of how you drive (but not when or where you drive - that shouldn't matter) would make sure that he would pay even higher rates to discourage the way he drives, and that I would pay lower rates because of the way I drive. Of course, if this makes more good drivers, insurance companies would lose profits, and they'd never do that!
Reply
Smoove D 3:58PM (8/12/2006)
Too Big Brother for my tastes. I think the current system works fine - get in an accident and rates go up. Don't want your rates to go up? Don't drive during the highest risk times, like at night. No need for a GPS. I think number 12 nailed it - this is an insurance company getting their foot in the door before rolling out a more intrusive scheme. Although spun as a consumer savings program, this is really the first step in a revenue enhancement program for the insurance industry.
Reply
Geoff 5:07AM (8/13/2006)
This may be too big brother for some people but I'm surprised nobody has stated this important point. The reason an insurance company can offer a young motorist a discount if they opt to drive only before 11pm and after 6am is because the insurance company can predict with a resonable amount of confidence that such young motorists will be involved in less accidents. Accidents are bad, less accidents are good. Young people dieing and being killed on roads is a tradgedy. When I got my drivers licence in New Zealand 18 or so years ago I was one of the very first people to have to go through a graduated license system where a driving curfew similar to the one in the article was imposed on young motorists. Australian authorities are also currently addressing issue of the unacceptable high proportion young people represented in the road fatality statistics in that country and are considering just such a curfew system, but it seems unlikely to be adopted in Australia at this time.
Sure, maybe it was inconvienient, but it was for a good cause.
Sure, this may be big brother, and the undesirable big brotherish implications of such a system should examined very closely, but I for one are fully supportive of any development that promotes responsible road use in young people and can potentialy decrease accident rates for young people.
Reply
Mr. Wankel 6:30AM (8/13/2006)
This has been offered for some years by some insurance companies in Spain. I think it is pretty stupid, if you never drive at night you never learn to drive at night, at the end the accident you didn't have the first year you end having it later because you've the same experience (zero) in night driving.
Reply
Mike 2:28PM (8/16/2006)
I like the idea that it's a possibility for those who don't drive at night but I can't see ever actually getting this because i'd feel like i'm a prisoner not being able to come and go as i like.
Reply