Keeping Your Eyes on the Road

This morning, there was an interesting article in the news about the increasing cost of car insurance. Auto insurance costs, accidents and traffic fatalities have all increased since the end of the pandemic. Naturally, insurance rates go up, but there are some things you can do.

But you might not like the solutions.

First, don’t buy new or even nearly new cars. Not only are they expensive to repair, something insurance companies consider when they set your premium, but they more easily set you up for tickets, accidents and costly repairs. Sensors are everywhere, and it takes only a tap on the bumper of another car to cause thousands of dollars of computer repairs.

New cars have all sorts of fantastic gadgets: a backup camera, GPS interfaces, built-in stands for your cell phone so you can look at it while driving, great sound systems with all sorts of adjustments to play with, and steering wheels with integrated cell phone controls.

All these things are distractions. They take your attention off the task of diligently attending to driving. The comfort of newer vehicles insulates you from messages coming from the road, and it’s easy to lose track of how fast you are going.

Instead, buy an older car. Not only are they cheaper to purchase, but they are also cheaper to insure and less costly to maintain. Best of all, they don’t have the built-in distractions inherent in newer cars.