When interviewing our car insurance company for an article, I was shocked to learn there is a flat rate for auto insurance here. No breaks for good drivers, no penalties for multiple offenders.
Finally, there was the smart move in that direction, but there seems to be ‘opposition’.
I am flabbergasted that there would be any reason not to charge bad drivers more for their insurance.
Am I missing something here? An important detail? Some cultural cue? Some tradition that went under my radar?
Traffic violators cause trouble for everyone on the roads. They should have to pay for it.
But of course, I guess we wouldn’t want anyone having to own responsibility for their own bad behaviour, it might be shameful.
Happy weekend, everyone!
You wont like their proposal if you go into details, Insurance companies count any accident as accident regardless you were the causer according to the accident report or not.
I never had any traffic ticket nor caused any accident but when a big fat man with his big fat GMC crashed my car the insurance company threatened me to cancel my contract although it was clearly stated that I’m not the causer in the accident report.
I would love to see the traffic violators paying more but we shouldn’t accept insurance companies proposal blindly
that’s a very good point kinzi, I actually never paid attention to it
Funny just last night Abu Tulip commented to me how loopy drivers seem to be lately. We can’t drive around Jabal Amman one day without seeing at least one driver going the wrong way down a one-way street. He wondered if police would start ticketing these drivers, the ones that do dangerous u-turns and double park, blocking traffic, it would make driving so much safer.
I guess this goes along the same lines as health insurance companies here not giving non-smokers a reduced rate. The insurance company representative was absolutely flabbergasted when we suggested the idea at a meeting at work a few weeks ago. As none of our employees smoke, it seemed reasonable to me!
Jad, you are absolutely right. Now I am even more boggled, that the VICTIM of the crash would pay the price, literally, for the foolish actions of another.
Blink.
Really, that is just SO unbelievable! I am beginning to think MommaBean (and all the lady bloggers) and I should open a consulting business to serve the government. Mish ma3uul.
Hareega, yes, you know how much bad drivers pay in higher premiums, and if there are enough of them in a certain sample of the population (say teenage boys) then the whole group is penalized.
Jad, now I am going to have a driving phobia of fat men in fat SUVs.
I agree i think even the traffic schools fees should be raised as a further detterant.
Abby, welcome to my blog. That’s a thought, except it would penalize all rather than just the offenders. Sometimes the poor folks make better drivers.
Really good article!
Keep up the good work…
Yes, I would like to consult the government! Give me a call! Ha. Dubai seems to be doing things right for traffic. I often watch the English Dubai news and mashAllah they even have taxis (pink) for women and new pink buses as well. That is a great step in the right direction. They were also discussing traffic issues and they really seem to be on a logical path over there. Maybe we should all pick up and move!!!
Maybe an overwhelming majority of drivers are bad drivers there. ?
Um O, I must’ve spaced my comments that day! Sorry! I love the idea of pink taxis and buses, do they have femaledrivers? Let’s bring the best of Dubai here to Jordan.
MtM, well, there is this theory that until there are three generations of drivers in a family on the road, the streets will be chaos. Many women my age had non-driving parents, so it may take another ten-20 years. Hopefully! BUT, that said, we have this interesting tendency in the Arab world, men’s egos are VERY firmly attached to being first, fast and find a ‘cleverness’ in getting away with breaking the rules, so I don’t know if it will every change.
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