How Distracted Driving Laws Across States Affect Insurance Rates 

As the joke goes, legally you can’t text and drive, but you can write a letter to your grandma while behind the wheel. So what is — and isn’t — distracted driving? What are the various state distracted driving penalties? How do texting and driving laws impact the auto insurance rates you pay? 

These are all good questions worth looking into to get a better feel of distracted driving and insurance rates. 

The State of Distracted Driving in America Today 

It’s an easy violation, especially with your phone so temptingly close at hand. It rings or beeps with a text, and you at least glance at it. Some cars even come with a built-in screen for web surfing or movie watching while you drive. Think that’s not a distraction? But the driving distractions to avoid come in many forms. 

The Most Common Causes of Distracted Driving Accidents 

As you might have guessed, texting while driving is one of the more frequent causes of distracted driver accidents. But the phone isn’t the only villain here. 

Drivers have also crashed while eating, messing with dashboard controls, and when their attention wanders while interacting with passengers. That’s why many states have restrictions on the number of passengers a young driver can have. 

How Phone Use and In-Car Tech Contribute to Distracted Driving 

Your attention might go elsewhere if you’re trying to eat and drive, but you don’t have much to think about beyond how a little hot sauce would have enhanced the taste of your fast-food chicken fingers. 

Cell phone distractions are different. Motorists not only take their eyes off the road while texting, reading emails, or web surfing, but their brains are also otherwise occupied. Their focus is divided because many of these new-tech activities take a certain amount of brainpower. 

It can be the same with interpreting navigation system maps or interacting with today’s in-car technology. It doesn’t just take your eyes off the road. It takes your mind off what you should be doing, too. 

How States Are Responding with Stricter Distracted Driving Laws 

When it comes to distracted driving, many states have enacted hands-free driving laws to prohibit the use of handheld devices — cell phones — while operating a vehicle. 

But where will you get in the most trouble as a motorist occupied with a phone call or the sudden urge to send or read texts? 

In terms of the volume of citations for the offense, New Jersey takes the top spot. Other states where the cops stay active with ticket books for distracted motorists include Ohio, Michigan, and Virginia. 

States With the Toughest Hands-Free Laws 

Currently, some 31 states and several U.S. territories have hands-free driving laws on the books. But which ones have the harshest penalties? 

Make sure you’ve budgeted $1,000 for your texting penalty while driving if you do it in the state of Oregon. While anywhere from $25 to $500 in fines is typical in most states, such an offense in the Beaver State could easily get into four figures. 

Illinois is another state known for its stern hands-free driving laws. Three such moving violations in a year can lead to license suspension. And if driving while texting leads to an accident causing serious injury or death, jail time could be in the penalty mix. 

Wherever you live, you’ll pay the price — literally — if you get caught on a distracted driver charge. At the very least, you’ll pay a fine. You’ll give the authorities cash that could be spent on things you need, or savings, or…well, just about anything would be a better use of your money than payment for this unnecessary moving violation. 

The penalties for additional offenses will multiply. And that’s not even taking into consideration the impact on what you pay for car insurance – or causing someone to lose their life. 

The Impact of Distracted Driving Laws on Auto Insurance Rates 

Can texting and driving laws impact insurance costs? Definitely. State distracted driving penalties are among the more common traffic violations, and insurers take notice. It’s all a matter of risk perception. 

Why Distracted Driving Citations Lead to Higher Insurance Rates 

It’s not just a matter of a distracted driver ticket. Any moving violation can affect your rates. Your insurance underwriter’s perception of the likelihood that they might have to eventually pay out a claim on your account increases every time you’re ticketed for what you do while in the driver’s seat. 

That’s because you become, in the eyes of your insurer, a higher-risk driver when you get tickets. It’s a simple fact that drivers who are careless or reckless are at a higher likelihood of causing road accidents. Since such incidents will cost the insurer money in claims, they’ll make sure your rates reflect that increased likelihood of payout. 

If they even keep you as a policyholder, that is. You might be rejected for additional coverage during your renewal period if the underwriters think the financial risk of coverage is too high. 

How Insurers Assess Distracted Driving Violations 

So, here’s how distracted driving affects insurance premiums. 

Your auto insurance company has access to your Motor Vehicle Report (MVR). What that means is that when you receive a moving violation and it is time to renew or purchase a new policy, your insurer learns about it quickly. Their next step is to reassess what you should pay in premiums — or whether you should be covered at any price. 

As with any moving violations, a single offense won’t necessarily impact your rates significantly — but it will leave a mark. The premium increase depends on the insurance company, your overall driving record, and other factors, but you could easily get a rate increase of between 9% and 51%, even for a single violation. 

One estimate is that the average rate jump is about 28% after such a violation, though the figure varies widely from state to state and insurer to insurer. 

Avoid the Financial Pain with Hands-Free Technology and Attention to Your Responsibility Behind the Wheel 

Distracted driving causes accidents and puts yourself, your passengers, and others at risk of injury or death. If you keep that in mind at all times, it will help you maintain your focus on the most important job you have every time you get behind the wheel. 

Do you need your phone to even be on while you’re driving? You can avoid the temptation of distraction if it never rings or bleeps a text while you’re on a road trip. 

And just like today’s technology has contributed to the problem, there are also high-tech solutions to help keep you safer. Bluetooth devices allow you to receive phone calls and communicate with your hands planted firmly on the wheel. 

Voice-activated navigation systems help you get where you’re going without taking your eyes off the road to stare at a small screen. Your car can also do its part to alert you to various risks that might occur due to distracted driving. For instance, navigation systems keep you from drifting out of your lane, reversing into trouble, and closing in too fast on vehicles ahead of you. 

But none of these are perfect solutions. Your attention can wander with a phone call or voice-activated text message, even with your hands firmly planted on the wheel. The result could be serious injuries to yourself, your own passengers, or strangers in your way — and a potentially hefty price in legal costs, insurance rate increases and an emotional toll. 

Stay Focused, Stay Safe, and Keep Your Rates Low With Acceptance Insurance 

At Acceptance, our agents are independent brokers. That means they don’t just represent the product line of one insurer. Instead, they’ve established contractual relationships with multiple brands you know and trust. 

With that arsenal, your Acceptance Insurance agent can find out exactly what you need in the form of auto insurance and what you want to spend, then go shopping for coverage on your behalf. Your agent can also show you easy ways to whittle down your cost of coverage, such as by bundling your auto and homeowners policies. 

Call us at (877) 405-7102, or get a quick online quote. You can also find an Acceptance Insurance office near you. 

Call today. But not from your car. Keep your road distractions to a minimum.