Popular insurance programs offering discounts for driving safely can reduce risky behaviors like speeding and hard braking, new research has revealed.
The study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, showed drivers whose car insurance rates are based on data of their driving habits and who then also got tips about improving them were less likely to speed, brake hard, or rapidly accelerate than those who didn’t participate in the program.
Speeding declined by up to 13% and hard braking and rapid acceleration declined by up to 25%, the research found. In addition, drivers continued their improved habits after the incentives ended.
“Insurance companies are happy to give discounts to customers who drive safer because it means they will have fewer crash claims later on,” said lead author Jeffrey Ebert, PhD, director of Behavioral Science in the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit.
Ebert added that if everyone were to enroll in a program like what was tested in the study, there could be 300,000 fewer crashes and 100,000 fewer injuries in the US each year.
This research was funded by a grant from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
