When U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters announced that Americans drove 10 billion fewer miles in May 2008 than in May 2007, she was sounding the alarm that the declining funds from the gas tax could affect the country's infrastructure, which is heavily reliant on this source of funding.
Will this decrease in vehicle miles driven — which is the third-largest monthly drop in 66 years — have auto insurance implications as well? Claims spoke with Kevin Mabe, chief economist at Farmers Insurance, to obtain more details about how rising gas prices and fewer driven miles could affect the auto claim world.
CLAIMS: Gas prices have reached record highs this summer. How does this affect typical driving behaviors?
MABE: We have read press reports that consumers have been paring back their driving and consolidating trips and errands. Ridership on public transportation has increased this year. The sales of hybrid vehicles have increased, while the sales of trucks and large SUVs have decreased.
CLAIMS: If drivers are logging fewer miles, then one might logically conclude that the frequency of auto accidents would decline, as well. Do you agree with this statement?
MABE: Fewer miles do not necessarily lead to a lower accident rate. Fewer cars can also result in higher speeds and more severe accidents as well as more reckless driving. Higher gas prices can cause consumers to revert to smaller cars, which have higher accident frequencies, more advanced unibody and power-train technologies that cost more to repair, and a higher likelihood of a passenger sustaining injury in a collision with a larger vehicle.
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