Today’s tip –
Don’t let a driving infraction increase your cost of driving
Car maintenance, gas, parking and insurance are vehicle-related costs that add up. While you can’t avoid those costs, you can avoid the $128 to $2,000 that a driving infraction could cost you. Aside from the legal, health and safety issues involved with careless or dangerous driving, traffic infractions mean money out of your pocket.
Typical costs for driving infractions in Minnesota:
$128 fine - failing to yield at yield sign
$145 fine - driving at an unsafe speed
$178 fine - driving carelessly
$228 fine - failing to take instruction from a work zone flagger
$1,000 – $2,000+ - driving while under the influence
You can avoid these costs by:
- Staying within the speed limit. Speeding is one of the most likely causes of a motor vehicle crash.
- Not getting behind the wheel when sleepy. Driving when tired is as dangerous as driving when under the influence.
- Avoiding distracted driving. Everyone thinks they can safely multitask, but distracted driving is as dangerous as driving drunk. Prime culprits: eating, texting or talking on the phone while driving.
- Not driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In addition to the costs of the fine, driving under the influence can lead to loss of a driver’s license, jail time and higher insurance costs.
Be a role model for your soon-to-be-driving kids
If you have children, be sure to model behaviors you want your soon-to-be-driving teens to develop.
A study conducted by Ford Motor Company found that eight out of 10 teens and tweens have seen their parents speeding, texting or engaging in other risky behaviors behind the wheel. Many of those children — 78 percent of tweens and 66 percent of teens — also describe their mothers and fathers as potential role models for how they will behave on the road.
And more than half of parents (51 percent) had been urged by their children to slow down, stop texting or refrain from other risky behaviors.
Source: Hennepin County Health@Work
Published Mar. 14, 2012