A Little Holiday Cheer Can Go a Long Way
Remember: Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving
As party-goers celebrate the holidays with friends and family, Erie Insurance and Albion Agencies, Inc. remind everyone to keep the party off the road. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, legal limits do not define a level below which it is safe to drive. Impairment due to alcohol begins at levels well below the legal limit. Buzzed driving is drunk driving.
During the month of December 2009, 753 people were killed in crashes that involved a driver or motorcycle rider (operator) with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher, according to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
NHTSA also said parents should be aware that young males were at particularly high risk, with nearly one-quarter admitting to riding with someone who should not have been behind the wheel in the past year.
NHTSA recommends these simple tips for a safe holiday season:
- Plan a safe way home before the festivities begin;
- Before drinking, designate a sober driver;
- If you’re impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation;
- If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate to contact local law enforcement;
- And remember, friends don’t let friends drive drunk. If you know someone who is about to drive while impaired, or ride with someone who is, take away the driver’s keys and help them make other arrangements to get where they’re going safely.
How insurance works when your friend drives your car
In most states, and unless excluded by your policy, your auto insurance will extend to a friend who drives your car with your permission.
However, that’s not the case with rental vehicles. If you allow a friend to drive a vehicle rented to you, your personal insurance will likely not respond while the friend is driving the rental. You may want to list them as a driver on the rental agreement and purchase the optional insurance coverage through the rental agency. Or, even better, if you’re the one who is renting, be the one to drive.
For questions about how your insurance works in such situations, give us a call. And for more information on the dangers of driving drunk, visit www.StopImpairedDriving.org.
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ERIE® insurance services are provided by one or more of the following insurers: Erie Insurance Exchange, Erie Insurance Company, Erie Insurance Property & Casualty Company, Flagship City Insurance Company and Erie Family Life Insurance Company (home offices: Erie, Pennsylvania) or Erie Insurance Company of New York (home office: Rochester, New York). Not all companies are licensed or operate in all states. Not all products are offered in all states. Go to erieinsurance.com for company licensure and territory information.
Independent agents have access to more companies with a bigger variety of rating and payment plans. Check us out at www.albionagencies.com, or get in touch with me for more information.
The information in this post is general in nature, and geared toward insurance conditions in Western New York. As always, you should speak with an insurance adviser to help you decide your specific insurance needs.
