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The Two Most Common Vehicle Accidents

If we take a lesson from well documented fleet vehicle accidents you'll find that the two most frequent vehicle accidents for fleets are:

1. Getting Hit While Parked and
2. The Rear End Collision.

For fleet vehicles in 2006, being hit while parked constituted 23.5% of the reported claims and getting rear ended accounted for 11.3%. This was sourced from Business Fleet, October - 2007.

So, do you think the accident statistics for the average consumer are any different? I doubt it. Fleet vehicles drive millions of miles each year and, with well documented logs, it probably holds true for all drivers on the highway today.

So what do we know about being hit while parked? Here's a few statistics the experts at superbumper.com have compiled about getting hit while parked; 14% of all claims for auto damage involve parking lot collisions; 80% of bumper scratches occur during parking * usually by the *other guy* and an estimated 30% of drivers feel it's OK to *love tap* your bumper when parallel parking - and those love taps can cost you $400 or more. Keep in mind that half of all collision claims for new model cars are $1,500 or less. *Repair costs for these minor incidents are a major factor in overall collision coverage insurance costs* according to the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety.

And there's lots of information about the rear end collision. It is the most frequent accident on the highway * 29.7% of all accidents are rear end collisions. 94% of all rear end collisions occur on straight roads, most are direct hits and 75% are less than 10 mph. Rear end collisions account for 38% of all the dollars paid for automobile claims. Every 17 seconds a *reported* rear end collision occurs and every 8.5 seconds there is an *unreported* rear end collision.

Did you ever wonder why there are twice as many unreported accidents as reported ones? Well, one of the factors is that 14.7% of the drivers in the United States are *uninsured*. In states like California, Alabama, New Mexico and Arizona it's over 22%! Another factor in unreported accidents is that the typical insurance premium will increase 40% if a claim is made. You can*t afford to make a claim anymore.

80% of all rear end collisions are caused by following too close (tailgaters), inattentive drivers, distracted drivers (using cell phones, eating, text messaging, fiddling with the radio or CD player, kids, etc.) and drivers with poor judgment (mostly teenagers and seniors). And nearly 15% of them are uninsured. They won*t pay for your damage at all! There's only one thing you can do * protect yourself.

Jeff Mohr from Mohr Manufacturing says *there are a few products on the market today that will help protect your vehicle from damage caused by getting hit while parked and the rear end collision. Don*t let these drivers ruin your day, wreck your vehicle, cripple your family, steal your deductible, lower the resale value of your car or truck or jeopardize your insurance. Check to see what's out there and, if it's less than the cost of your deductible, it's something you definitely should consider.*