>The fact is that medical, legal and administrative costs are
>rising, outweighing any improcvement in vehicle safety.
>Thats why your insurance rates GO UP every year not down.
>Thats why legislation that reduces accidents or the severity of
>accidents will help to keep insurance rates in check.

My rates have gone down two years in a row.  The reason?  State Farm cut its
rates.  (Everything else has remained the same...residence, cars, marriage
status, etc...).

Michael B. Harrnacker
89 Weekender "Nameles"
91 Golf "Miami"
http://ruralinstitute.umt.edu/vwbus
vanagon@rudi.montech.umt.edu

"Never miss a good chance to shut up."

-----Original Message-----
From: David-M <dmcs@CYBURBAN.COM>
To: vanagon@VANAGON.COM <vanagon@VANAGON.COM>
Date: Friday, November 20, 1998 1:19 PM
Subject: Re: Vanagon vs Volvo Crash Photos

>Ari Ollikainen wrote:
>>
>> This message is best viewed in a non-proportional, fixed spacing font.
>>
>> At 9:29 AM 11/20/98, David-M wrote:
>>
>> >Question: Do you like high car insurance rates?
>>
>>        Of course not...but given the accident experience of Vanagons our
>>        insurance rates should be MUCH lower than, say, those of Volvo
>>        owners.
>>
>> >If you dont, then you should be in favour of safety regulation.
>> >The cost of death and injuries in vehicle collisions is astronomical.
>>
>>         According to NHTSA, the safety NUTS (excerpted from
>>         http://www.healthandsafety.org/cars.html#LARGE)
>> <quote>
>>         CONCLUSION
>>
>>         In conclusion, traffic safety has seen significant progress
during
>>         the past 10 years. If the 1985 fatality rate had remained
unchanged,
>>         an additional 18,275 people would have been killed in motor
vehicle
>>         crashes in 1995. This safety progress is due to a variety of
factors,
>>         such as:
>>
>>         =>Increased safety belt and motorcycle helmet use.
>>         =>Anti-drunk driving efforts.
>>         =>A growing fleet of vehicles with air bags and other safety
>>         =>equipment.
>>         =>Stringent federal safety regulations.
>> <unquote>
>>
>>         But of course NHTSA hasn't really offered any proof of this
assertion
>>         and the fatality rates were declining in the decade prior to
1985-
>>         1995, as well.
>>
>>         There are some interesting statistics in this particular report,
>>         such as:
>>
>> TABLE 1
>>
>> MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH FACT SHEET
>>
>> I.Total Motor Vehicle Crashes 1990   1991   1992   1993   1994   1995
>>
>> Number of Fatalities         44,599 41,508 39,252 40,150 40,716 41,798
>> Rate/100million VMT            2.1   1.9     1.8    1.7   1.7     1.7
>> Number injured (x1000)        3,231  3,097  3,070  3,125  3,215  3,386
>>
>> II. Alcohol Involvement
>> Total fatalities             22,084 19,887 17,859 17,473 16,589 17,274
>> % of total fatalities         49.5   47.9   45.5   43.5   40.8   41.3
>> People killed, by
>> highest blood alcohol
>> concentration (BAC) in crash:
>> BAC of .01% to .09%           4,434  3,957  3,625  3,496  3,495  3,710
>> BAC of .10% or higher        17,650 15,930 14,234 13,977 13,094 13,564
>>
>> III. Fatalities by Vehicle Type
>> Passenger Cars
>> Occupant Fatalities          24,092 22,385 21,387 21,566 21,997 22,358
>> Fatality rate/100mill VMT      1.7    1.6    1.5    1.5    N/A    N/A
>> Light Trucks and Vans(1)
>> Occupant Fatalities           8,601  8,391  8,098  8,511  8,904  9,539
>> Fatality rate/100mill VMT      1.6    1.4    1.3    1.3    N/A    N/A
>> Motorcycles
>> Motorcycle Fatalities         3,244  2,806  2,395  2,449  2,320  2,221
>> Fatality rate/100 mill VMT     33.9   30.6   25.1   24.8    N/A    N/A
>> Large Trucks(2)
>> Truck Occupant Fatalities       705    661    585    605    670    644
>> All Fatalities in Large Truck
>> Crashes                       5,272  4,821  4,462  4,856  5,119  4,903
>> Pedestrians
>> Pedestrian Fatalities         6,482  5,801  5,549  5,649  5,489  5,585
>> Bicyclists
>> Bicyclist Fatalities            859    843    723    816    802    830
>>
>> (1) Vans, pickup trucks, and utility vehicles with a gross vehicle weight
>> rating of 10,000 pounds or less.
>> (2) 2 Single-unit trucks and truck tractors with a gross vehicle weight
>> rating of more than 10,000 pounds.
>>
>> Source: Fatalities: Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS), National
>> Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.
>> Injuries: General Estimate System (GES), National Highway Traffic Safety
>> Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.
>>
>> N/A: Data not available at publication.
>>
>There are many illogical statements in your argument. Two of which are:
>First, you assume that your insurance rates are based on the safety of
>your vehicle. NOT SO, they are influenced by the total costs of the
>insurance industry.
>Secondly, you assume that because safety has improved, costs should not
>rise. The fact is that medical, legal and administrative costs are
>rising, outweighing any improcvement in vehicle safety.
>Thats why your insurance rates GO UP every year not down.
>Thats why legislation that reduces accidents or the severity of
>accidents will help to keep insurance rates in check.