5 Hidden Benefits of Safe Driving
Automobile technology has come a long way since the invention of the internal combustion engine. Cars as accessible as the Toyota RAV4 come with an amazing suite of standard safety features that wouldn’t have been possible 10-20 years ago, while luxury brands like BMW are constantly innovating with cutting edge camera and sensor technology for increased safety and luxury.
In fact, we’ve come so far that you can ditch the aforementioned internal combustion engine in favor of a fully-electric Tesla.
Despite these technological advancements, the reality of driving hasn’t changed: you’re operating a multi-ton metal machine at high speeds whenever you’re on the road. Unsafe driving can have terrible consequences in the form of costly, tragic accidents.
But accident avoidance isn’t the only reason you should drive safely. There are several other hidden benefits of safe driving, all of which can save you money - money that can buy you that Tesla you want.
With that in mind, here are 5 hidden benefits of safe driving:
Save Money on Tickets
Tickets are issued by the police when they find you to be violating a driving law. Some of the most common types of tickets issued are distracted driving (such as texting while driving) and speeding. The former costs about $116 on average, while the latter is even higher at $150 (including court fees).
Driving laws are designed to prioritize safety on the road. By driving in a safe manner, you’ll naturally end up following the law, eliminating the chance you receive an expensive traffic ticket.
Less Vehicle Wear and Tear
Aggressive driving isn’t healthy for your vehicle. Hard acceleration increases the wear on your car’s engine and transmission. It’s hard to give an exact servicing cost for either your engine or transmission as they each have several different parts, but know that nearly any servicing will be expensive.
When you’re accelerating hard, you’ll likely end up braking hard more often to stop at traffic lights/signs or avoid collisions. Most brakes last between 25,000 to 65,000 miles, but this hard braking wears down your brakes pads and rotors, forcing you to get them changed near the lower end of that range.
New brakes aren’t cheap; brake pads alone can cost $100 - $300 per axle. That’s before considering the need for new calipers and/or new rotors; adding these in could cost you up to $1,000.
If you’re driving a luxury brand such as Mercedes-Benz or BMW, those costs can get even higher; these cars tempt you to drive faster and thus wear down your car, not to mention that parts and labor for these luxury brands are more expensive.
On top of all that, your car won’t last as long, meaning you may have to buy a new car sooner than you’d like.
If you’re unsure about whether or not your acceleration and braking habits are optimal, Wavyn monitors your driving habits and alerts you when you floor it or slam on the brakes.
Save on Gas
Hard acceleration doesn’t just wear down your engine and transmission; it also burns through your gas much faster because opening up the throttle brings a lot more fuel into the engine than slowly accelerating.
In fact, you can lose anywhere from 15-30% fuel efficiency on the highway and 10-40% in city driving; seeing as the average new car owner spends about $1,500 per year fueling their car following normal driving habits, your pedal-to-the-metal habit could cost you nearly $600 more per year!
This is another are where Wavyn’s acceleration monitoring can save you money. With Wavyn’s help, you may eventually develop a habit of gradual acceleration without even having to think about it.
Safe Driver Discounts on Auto Insurance
How does saving on car insurance sound? If you’ve never been in an accident, your insurer sees you as less risky and may extend to you a safe driving discount.
For example, Geico customers that have been accident-free for at least 5 years can save up to 26% on their premiums with Geico’s good driver discount.
Accident Forgiveness Through Insurance
Did you know that if you’re a safe driver, there’s a chance that you could have your first at-fault accident completely forgiven? In terms of insurance, of course.
Many insurance companies will forgive a driver’s first at-fault accident if they’ve had an otherwise clean driving record, preventing the said accident from increasing the driver’s insurance premiums. Accidents after the first are never forgiven, though, so this is not something to be abused.
If you’re driving safely, the chances of you getting in an at-fault accident are extremely low anyway, so it works out well. Wavyn will actually award you points for your safe driving habits, helping you avoid at-fault accidents, track your progress towards being a safer driver, and ultimately save you tons of cash on the road.