10 Ways that Safe Driving Saves You Money

Safe Driving reduces collisions, it reduces our stress levels, and it keeps our families safe and happy and alive. Those are great benefits and the best reasons to become a safer driver. But there are financial benefits to safer driving as well. In this article, we'll outline some of the ways that safer driving can help to save you money.

1. As a driver who obeys the speed limits, you get to your destination with only a few minutes extra (compared to speeding) plus you reduce the likelihood of a collision.
2. The more aggressively you drive, the harder you are on your vehicle, cost much more in fuel and in wear-and-tear on tires, brakes, and other systems.
3. In a collision, you might be responsible for your deductible. By driving safely, you save that payment.
4. There are thousands of collisions each year (124,000 injury- or fatality-causing collisions in 2009). Insurance companies pay to repair vehicles, they pay to provide injury rehab, they pay death benefits, they pay disability replacement-income. Collisions are increasing and the amount that insurance companies pay out is increasing. So those insurance companies raise rates regularly to cover their increasing costs. You pay increasingly higher insurance premiums even if you haven't been in a collision because of the cumulative cost of insurance among all policyholders. If we all drive safely, insurance rates won't rise as quickly.
5. In a collision, tax dollars are spent on emergency response, hospital services, and collision clean-up. Those tax dollars come out of your pocket. As collisions increase and costs increase, your tax dollars are impacted. If we all drive safely, tax spending won't rise as quickly.
6. Collisions might result in missed work and lost wages. By driving safely, you show up to work and get paid.
7. Along with damaging your car (replaced through insurance), collisions might damage items in your car (not all of which might be covered by insurance). By driving safely, you don't have to spend money to replace things you already own.
8. Collision repair might require you to rent a vehicle (and pay for rental car insurance). By driving safely, you don't have to rent a car or buy car rental insurance.
9. When you plan your route with the safe-driving skill of trip-planning, you'll reduce your fuel consumption and get to your destination faster. (Gas is expensive!)
10. Safer driving reduces stress and reduced stress leads to a healthier life… and a healthier life costs less to live – you eat less, you are more productive, you have fewer health costly troubles.

We've listed 10 ways that safe driving can save you money. Some of the money saved will be immediately noticed (such as less spent on fuel and less spent on speeding tickets) and some of the money saved will be spread over your lifetime. However it comes to you, money saved is always a good thing! It pays to be a safer driver.