Driving Habits Help New York's High Risk Drivers Fix Their Auto Insurance Rates

New York representatives recently announced that enrollees in the New York Auto Insurance Program were looking at a significant price hike in their auto insurance rates in the coming year. A significant price hike. The kind that comes with double digits and plenty of grumbling from the drivers who are going to have to pay it.

How much of a price hike are we talking about here? Current numbers say 21.4%. That's right. 21.4%. The changes are expected to take place in June, with new enrollees seeing the change immediately. Drivers already on the plan will see the changes as their policies renew.

How Do I Get Out of the High Risk Pool?

Price changes like these leave drivers scrambling to find ways to bring their auto insurance rates down. Personally, I think these drivers are asking the wrong question. The question shouldn't be “How do I make my high risk auto insurance rates cheaper?”

The real question is how you get out of that high risk pool and back onto a regular insurance policy.
Some answers are obvious. Too many tickets for traffic violations will put you in the fast lane to be rejected for insurance. Too many accidents, whether you were ticketed for them or not, will do the same. Conscientious driving is the savvy insurance shoppers best friend.

Aside from the obvious (hug the speed limit like it's your best friend, keep an eye out for road signs, and try not to get on Bambi's bad side) make sure you're following these extremely important and often forgotten rules of the road:

1) Hang up and drive. At some point last fall I was having an argument with a friend regarding driving while talking on a cell phone. Their argument? That talking to someone on the phone while driving is no different than talking to someone in the passenger seat.

I politely pointed out that when someone is on the phone, they don't know when you're stuck in heavy traffic. They don't see when the light changes. They can't alert you to oncoming risks. And they don't know when they need to be quiet so you can pay attention to the road.

I was right. Put away the cell phone, Bluetooth and any other mobile communication device you've got lying around and just drive.

2) Don't drive when you're tired. We've all done it. You stay at a friend's house a little too late. Work's waiting for you in the morning. You really need to get yourself home, but you're so tired you can't see straight.

But you're not going to let a little fatigue stop you, so you get behind the wheel and drive.
Studies have shown that the effects of exhaustion on the brain have a lot in common with the effects that drugs have on your gray matter. Your response time slows waaaaaay down. You lose your ability to prioritize and recognize potential threats. You may develop tunnel vision. Not to mention the ever popular “falling asleep behind the wheel”.

All of these are key triggers for vehicular accidents. Don't risk it. Spend the night on a couch. Pull over and catch a nap. Make sure you leave a little earlier, or just stay home. But don't drive when you're tired.

3) Set your GPS BEFORE you leave your house. My GPS and my smart phone are one and the same, so I've been guilty of this more than once. You get out of the house, start down the road, then realize you have no idea where you're going. Why pull over when you can just type in (or speak) your directions en route?
You're going to lose a lot less time stopping than you are if you're in an accident because your GPS suddenly decides to re-route you to NYC and you're trying to straighten it out.

How's Your Car?

You know you have to clean up your driving habits, but what about your car? Do you have the kind of safety features on there that make the people issuing your auto insurance rates dance with joy? Are you conscientious about making sure your security system is set, your doors are locked, you have seat belts and anti-lock brakes and replace your brake lights on a regular basis?

Remember, the best thing you can do for your auto insurance rates is to get out of the high risk pool entirely. Good luck to you.

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