If you spend any time behind the wheel, you know that the sight of a car being pulled over by law enforcement isn’t the only indicator that there are unsafe drivers on the road. You see it in the cars that speed past you, the cars that brake suddenly in front of you, and the driver in the next lane who’s texting on a phone.
Under California law, enacted by Proposition 103, driver safety is one of three primary factors used to determine auto insurance rates, along with driving experience and miles driven. The problem is that California insurers are largely limited to traffic tickets, accidents or other encounters with law enforcement to assess driving behavior, rather than actual day-to-day safe driving behavior.
There is a better way – one that can both improve highway safety and give good drivers some relief from rising insurance premiums.
California legislators should pass Assembly Bill 311, which would allow insurers to offer voluntary safe driver discounts through telematics-based programs.
Telematics is the use of cell phone apps or other devices to provide real-time feedback on driving behavior such as speeding, hard braking, or risky cell phone use. These programs help drivers better understand their habits behind the wheel and encourage safer driving. Participation is completely optional. If an insurer offers a program that provides safe-driving discounts based on telematics, consumers can choose whether to opt in or out. Drivers who choose to participate can be rewarded for safe driving with discounts based on their actual driving behavior.
With these devices, California would deliver on one of the promises voters embraced nearly 40 years ago when they approved Proposition 103 – that safe driving should be one of the key factors in determining how much someone pays for auto insurance.
Today, insurance companies can access driving-related criminal convictions such as DUIs, citations for traffic violations and vehicle collision data to assess a driver’s safety rating, but they can’t use a driver’s actual behavior behind the wheel to help determine rates.
The Legislature has a chance to change that this year. Assembly Bill 311 would allow California insurers to offer telematics-based programs. Efforts to implement telematics through regulation have been stymied largely because of privacy concerns, but Assembly Bill 311 addresses those concerns head-on.
It requires insurers to make opting out just as easy as opting in. It also includes the strongest-in-the-nation privacy protections that set strict limits on how data can be collected, used, retained and shared.
In fact, a survey conducted last year showed that consumer acceptance of these programs is growing nationwide across all age groups, and especially among younger drivers. It found that 82 percent of respondents had a positive view of telematics.
Telematics can produce both an individual benefit and a public benefit for all Californians. It rewards safe drivers while helping to make our roads safer for everyone. The fact is that, day in and day out, driving is the most dangerous behavior any of us engage in.
Much of that danger stems from unsafe driving practices. For instance, a UC Berkeley analysis finds that a third of California’s 4,061 highway fatalities in 2023 were the result of speeding-related accidents.
The evidence also shows that providing drivers with feedback can in fact change driving behavior. A study released this year by the University of Pennsylvania Health System found that speeding declined by 13 percent and hard braking and fast acceleration declined by 25 percent among drivers whose insurance rates are based on driving data and who receive tips on how to improve.
Families impacted by traffic violence are the most vocal supporters of AB 311. We know that what has been missing in California is a proven tool that helps change behavior before a crash happens.
Families who have lost loved ones to unsafe driving do not want a system that merely punishes drivers after tragedy strikes. We want tools that help prevent tragedy in the first place.
It’s time for the Legislature to pass AB 311 and give Californians access to this proven tool.
Jennifer Smith is the founder and CEO of StopDistractions.org, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing distracted driving. She launched the organization after her mother was killed by a distracted driver in 2008.