Month: September 2013

UFOV Training and Testing: Helping Older Drivers Stay Independent, Mobile, and Safe

Posted on by shasha insurance

The potential for isolation, lower self-esteem, and loss of independence makes not being able to operate a vehicle one of the most dreaded and devastating factors of growing old. Over the last few decades, the safety of older drivers has been a highly researched public health concern. The focus of this research has evolved, bringing with it better understanding and more comprehensive ways to address the issue.

The National Institute on Aging’s Division of Behavioral and Social Research has funded a significant amount of aging and driving research over the years. Research into one concept called useful field of view or UFOV has been particularly instrumental in assisting elderly drivers to regain their safe driving skills. But, current UFOV training and testing has been a long process:

Do Older Drivers Pose A Risk?

In the 1960’s, early driving safety research mainly focused on the effect aging had on driving skills and whether or not elderly drivers posed any public safety risk. Most studies discovered that younger drivers actually had more accidents than their older counterparts. However, the risk of fatal or injury-producing accidents and the risk of accident in proportion to miles driven were both higher among older drivers.

What Factors Impact Driver Performance?

In the 1970s, most research shifted to focus on the specific factors behind driving skill losses. Decreased visual acuity, cognitive function losses, and visual field losses were among the top factors that impacted driver performance. Other factors found to have an impact on driver safety included muscular, joint, ligament, tendon, and nerve disorders; cardiovascular disease; and usage of certain medications. However, researchers still couldn’t show a firm correlation between cognitive or vision function declines in older drivers and their involvement in vehicle accidents. Some researchers now attribute this problem to the separate measures that the researchers were using to singularly test vision and cognitive function impacts on driver safety, which didn’t account for the cognitive and visual performance interactions needed to manage the various driving distractions.

Can Older Drivers Retain Driving Skills?

In the 1980s, researchers not only focused on identifying the possible factors reducing older driver safety, but also started to explore possible interventions to solve the driving skill decline associated with growing older.

Drivers must be able to simultaneously focus on their front field of view; use their peripheral vision to monitor movements and objects beside them; distinguish informational stimuli, such as pedestrian crossings, school and work zones, stop signs, merges, and car signals around them; determine their own speed and estimate the speed of others; and make driving judgment calls, such as distancing, passing, and the timing of traffic lights.

The NIA’s Division of Behavioral and Social Research tackled the above complexities of driving by focusing on UFOV. This is the attention window in which a driver can quickly be alerted to visual stimuli. It measures how well a driver can notice, localize, and identify suprathreshold targets within their environment. Since a suprathreshold target is something that’s in a driver’s peripheral vision field and wouldn’t attract attention unless it’s a hazard, UFOV involves both vision and cognitive processes.

The Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1987, which called for the investigation of the problems affecting the safety and mobility of older drivers and possible solutions, gave UFOV research a huge boost.

The National Academies of Science Transportation Research Board recommended ways to advance UFOV research in a 1989 report and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) established the Human Factors in Aging initiative. University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers were among some of the first to receive UFOV funding. This research showed that while older adults were more apt to have a lesser UFOV than their younger counterparts, UFOV maintenance and loss is very individual. It’s very possible for many older adults to maintain an adequate UFOV into the eighties.

Early UFOV Testing And Training

In the 1990s, the above research had thoroughly documented that impaired mental status and/or visual function can result in UFOV declines. And, by the late 1990s, research showed that older drivers with a UFOV impairment of greater than 40% were almost twice as likely as those without impairments to be involved in an accident within the next few following years. Research also concluded that older drivers with UFOV limitations could improve their UFOV by thirty to sixty percent from participating in speed-of-processing training thirty minutes a day for five days. While the training typically showed improved driving skills for up to eighteen months, some drivers didn’t retain the skill as long and needed booster courses.

UFOV Testing And Training Today

Thanks to the NIA and the many public and private research teams throughout the years, UFOV testing and training is now available to help many older drivers retain their driving skills, retain their mobility, and operate safely:

* Florida, Maryland, and California use UFOV testing.

* Drivers that pass the UFOV test are offered an insurance discount at State Farm Auto Insurance Company.

* As of 2009, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a non-profit AAA affiliate, recommends the DriveSharp program.

* UFOV training programs are offered by TransAnalytics Health and Safety Services.

* Researchers are currently investigating using an in-car method in determining UFOV performance and alerting older drivers of their performance.

* One recent study supported by NIA found that the benefits of UFOV also included a decrease in depression and improvement of health-related quality of life.

In closing, UFOV testing and training programs have been a long time in the making and show great potential to make big differences in age-related restrictions on driving.

Do You Really Need Full Replacement Insurance on Your Current Building?

Posted on by shasha insurance

The owners of a new company found a building on the market for an affordable price, so they bought it. Built in the 1940’s to manufacture aircraft for the war effort, the metal structure had a large open space. The company occupying this space was in the software development business and the building was much larger than it needed, but the price made it seem like a sensible move. However, the owners got a surprise from their insurance agent about property coverage. Insurance companies base limits of insurance on the cost of replacing a building exactly as it was before the loss. The cost of reconstructing this old building was much higher than both its purchase price and that of other suitable properties. The company did not need that much insurance, and paying the higher premium for it would have been wasteful, so the owners asked the agent for alternatives. What if, they asked, we don’t rebuild our building as it was?

After a fire or some other catastrophe destroys a building, its owners may decide not to rebuild or replace with a similar structure for a number of reasons.

  • As was the case with the software company, the current building’s design may be impractical. The company bought the building because of a good price, not because of its large open space. A software developer ordinarily does not need that much space; if it were to rebuild, it would almost certainly choose a smaller building with a different layout. Also, very old buildings often include materials that builders do not commonly use today, such as plaster and lathe. Reconstruction with these materials is expensive and often unnecessary for the continued operation of the business.
  • The company may decide to consolidate the operations of two locations into one. The second location may have the capacity to absorb the first one’s operations, and management may feel that it will gain efficiencies by consolidating.
  • Depending on the building’s age, it may not meet current building codes. The local government may require any new buildings to meet expensive new codes.

The standard business property insurance policy states that the insurance company will pay “actual cash value” — the cost of replacing the property minus an amount for depreciation. However, it offers the option of valuing a loss at replacement cost without deduction for depreciation. A business that chooses this option will need to purchase the amount of insurance equal to the cost of replacing the building “as is.” The company will pay the difference between the actual cash value and the replacement cost only if the property owner actually rebuilds or replaces the property, and then only if he does so as soon as reasonably possible after the loss. The policy also provides a small amount of additional insurance (typically the lesser of five percent of the insurance on the building or $10,000) to cover the increased cost of construction resulting from changes in building codes.

Businesses like the software company, who do not need an exact replacement of their current buildings, should ask their agent about adding a “functional building valuation” endorsement to their policies. It establishes a limit of insurance somewhere between actual cash value and full replacement cost and allows the property owner to replace the building with one that fulfills the same function as the old one at a lesser cost. The discussion with the agent should also include increased “ordinance or law” coverage to provide additional insurance for increased costs from new building codes. With the right attention to detail, a business can get the property insurance it needs without having to waste money on unnecessary coverage.

Research Proves Using Seat Belts Cuts Hospital Bills

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Evidence of the importance of wearing a seat belt while in a moving vehicle is not a recent discovery; many studies have been conducted to compare the hospital costs for victims of crashes that wore seat belts against those who did not wear them.   In 2001, the National Safety Council revealed that the average inpatient costs for crash victims not wearing seat belts were 50% higher than victims who were wearing seat belts during the accident.

In 2002, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that the deaths and injuries that result from not wearing a seat belt cost an estimated $26 billion annually in medical care, lost productivity and other related costs.

Recently, the Minnesota Seat Belt Coalition has been conducting its own research to determine how the use of seat belts impacts the cost of health care. Using Minnesota vehicle crash records from 2002, the group has discovered that hospital costs for unrestrained crash victims were 94% higher than hospital costs for those using seat belts. They estimated that increasing seat belt usage in Minnesota to 94% from the current rate of 84% could reduce the cost of crash-related hospital care an average of $19 million annually over the next 10 years.

Many people might wonder how a simple piece of equipment could be so effective in reducing crash-related hospital costs, and potentially save their life.  To understand how a seatbelt works, one must first examine a basic principle of physics called inertia.

Sir Isaac Newton is credited with refining the concept of inertia in his work entitled Laws of Motion. Newton’s first law stated that, “Every body perseveres in its state of being at rest or of moving uniformly straight ahead, except insofar as it is compelled to change its state by forces impressed.”  Put simply, an object will continue to move in an straight line until something interferes with its path.

Take that basic premise and apply it to a moving vehicle, which contains a driver and passengers. If a vehicle is traveling at 40 miles per hour, inertia should keep it moving forward at this pace, undisturbed. However, other factors like air resistance and friction caused by the interaction of the tires and the road surface are continually slowing it down. The car’s engine is designed to compensate for this energy loss and keep the car in continuous motion.

Separately, everything inside the car has its own inertia. Even though the passengers’ inertia is separate from the car’s inertia, while the car is traveling at 40 miles per hour, the passengers are traveling at 40 miles per hour as well. At this point, both the car and the passengers have the same inertia.

If the car were to suddenly stop because it impacted with another object, the passengers’ inertia and the car’s inertia would be completely independent. The force of the impact would bring the car to an abrupt stop, but the passengers would still be traveling at 40 miles per hour. Without a seat belt, the inhabitants would continue to move forward at 40 miles per hour until their path was obstructed, usually by a steering wheel, dashboard, or windshield. Depending on where and how the passengers landed, they could be killed instantly, injured severely, or walk away from the crash unharmed.

The deciding factor in this equation is the seat belt. A seat belt applies the stopping force to the sturdier parts of the body over a longer period of time. If it is worn correctly, it will apply the major portion of the stopping force to the rib cage and the pelvis, which are better able to handle it than other body parts. The belts extend across a wide section of the body, so the force is not concentrated on a small section of the body and cannot do as much harm as the impact of an object in the car. In addition, the flexible seat belt material stretches to keep the stop from being too sudden.

This simple piece of equipment relies on the properties of physics to save both lives and millions of dollars in health care annually.  It could save you money in taxes and health insurance costs.  The three extra seconds it takes to reach over and fasten the belt seem insignificant when you consider the many benefits of wearing it.  The next time you ride in a car, check to see if all the passengers are belted in; it could be the difference between life and death.

Tips for Older Drivers As Your Reaction Time Slows

Posted on by shasha insurance

The feeling of freedom you get while driving is one you never grow tired of. That feeling keeps people behind the wheel, even when the effects of aging make it more difficult for them to drive safely.

As you age, your ability to react lessens. Taking medications for conditions, such as high blood pressure or cardiac problems, can add to your inability to react quickly. You may experience a feeling of being lost or confused when you find yourself in an unfamiliar environment. Sometimes you may also be overwhelmed by all of the traffic signals, road signs, pedestrians and vehicles that you have to keep track of at intersections. Distances become harder to judge, and you have difficulty in determining whether you have enough room to turn or change lanes. Likewise, knowing when to merge with traffic from the on-ramp of a highway may become difficult to judge. These are all the result of the natural aging process, but you need to take extra precautions to be sure they don’t interfere with your ability to handle your vehicle.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has developed the following guidelines to help older Americans drive more safely:

  • Plan your route. Drive where you are familiar with the road conditions and traffic patterns.
  • Drive during the day and avoid rush hours. Find alternative routes with less traffic.
  • Keep a safe distance between you and the car ahead. Find a marker ahead of you, such as a tree, sign or lamppost. When the car ahead of you passes this marker, count “1001, 1002, 1003, 1004.” Try to leave enough space so that you reach 1004 before your car gets to the marker.
  • When approaching intersections, remind yourself to look to roadsides, as well as directly ahead.
  • Try to make left turns at intersections where green arrow signals provide protected turns. Sometimes you can completely avoid left turns by making a right turn at the next intersection. Two more right turns should put you on the street you need.
  • Scan far down the road continuously so that you can anticipate future problems and plan your actions. A passenger can serve as a “second pair of eyes.” Be careful not to get distracted in conversation.

Many seniors are still very capable of driving, which is why a decision about a person’s ability to drive should never be based solely on age. However, changes in reflexes can put at an older driver at increased risk. If you recognize and accept these changes, you can adjust your driving habits to allow many more years of safe driving.

Buying Insurance with Minimal Stress

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Some might call it an understatement, but most people do not thoroughly enjoy the insurance buying experience.  As your agent, we try our best to instill the peace of mind that should come from the sometimes cumbersome process of insuring your home, auto or business.   These tips should help make your insurance buying experience less stressful:

·Work toward common anniversary dates for your coverages.

Although most people buy insurance when they need the coverage, it is a good idea to shoot for common anniversary dates for all your policies.  Here are three reasons:

  1. You kill several birds with one stone (apologies to ornithologists and the ASPCA).  That leaves the rest of the year to enjoy your freedom from the mundane aspects of applications and check writing (unless you finance your premium). 
  2. You have a designated time of the year to think about insurance, decreasing the likelihood that something will fall between the cracks.  If February 13th is the common anniversary for all your coverages, it becomes less likely that you will forget to renew your policies on time.
  3. Just as it becomes more compartmentalized for you, the same goes for us.  While we are always thinking about your needs, it is easier for us to evaluate your entire portfolio and make suggestions if you are renewing your coverages all at once. 

·Avoid common industry crunch times, like mid-year or year-end anniversary dates that strain the resources of workers in the industry. 

Think about it, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s more people take vacations than just about any other time of the year, no matter what the industry.  The insurance industry is no exception.  You can usually work on changing your expiration date, either by elongation, i.e., exceeding an annual policy term (not all insurers allow this) or by what is called a “cancel/rewrite” whereby your old policy is cancelled midterm and a new policy is issued.

·Reduce the number of payments as much as possible. 

While financing business coverages may have tax benefits that offset some of the interest you will pay, in most cases, both personal and business, it’s beneficial to reduce the number of payments you have to make.  This reduces the likelihood of forgetting to make a payment, or if your payments are made via credit card or check, it reduces the likelihood that there will be a disruption in coverage due to a change on the withdrawal account, i.e., inadvertent cancellation or suspension of the account.

·Renew early.

Do not wait until the last minute to renew your policy.  Depending on your degree of involvement in the process, it is usually best to tackle renewals early.  Often, underwriters request that all information is in their office at least 30 or 60 days in advance of the renewal of the policy.  This ensures that there will be no surprises for you (or for the underwriter).

Generally speaking, it is best if you think ahead, both in the initial purchase and in the renewal of your policy.   While your primary concerns should be purchasing the broadest possible coverage at the most affordable price, consider these tips the next time you are in the market for an insurance policy. 

Don’t Let Your Hard Work Get Washed Away

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Just because you don’t live anywhere near a body of water doesn’t mean you don’t need flood insurance. No one’s home is flood-proof. In fact, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says that 25 percent of all flood insurance claims are paid to homeowners in low or moderate risk areas. That’s because it doesn’t take a body of water, or even a major storm, to cause a flood. Anything from a broken sewer line to a slow moving rainstorm can be a culprit.

Flood damage isn’t covered under your homeowner’s policy, so you must purchase a separate flood insurance policy. FEMA is the only provider of this type of coverage; however, they make it available to the public through insurance companies. That means you can purchase a policy from the same insurance agent that wrote your homeowner’s insurance.

There are two types of coverage:

  • Standard Flood Insurance Policies – If your home is in a high-risk zone, you need this policy. The cost starts at about $500 a year but can run to almost $1,500, depending on a number of factors.
  • Preferred Risk Policies – If your home is in a low or moderate risk zone, your may qualify for a low-cost Preferred Risk Policy. Premiums start at just under $119 a year.

To get specific information about premiums, you can log on to the FEMA web site at https://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/.

Flood insurance policies provide two types of coverage: one for the structure and another for its contents. They can be purchased separately or together, and the FEMA website will show the premiums if you buy them individually or in combination. There is a 30-day waiting period before both of the coverages take effect.

The structural coverage is “replacement cost” coverage, which means the insurer will pay what it costs to replace or repair the structure with materials similar in type and quality to what was originally used when the structure was built, without deducting for depreciation. The maximum amount of structural coverage available for one-to-four family homes is $250,000.

Contents coverage is “actual cash value,” which means the insurer will pay what the item is worth after it has deducted depreciation. The maximum amount of contents coverage is $100,000. Renters can also purchase contents coverage.

In addition to purchasing flood insurance to protect the contents of your home, you can also protect your valuables by taking individual photos of each item, or by taking a video of your home and zooming in on everything of value. This is extremely important if you need to provide your insurer with a detailed list of your possessions.

Keep the photos or video, along with any receipts you may have for the merchandise, in a safe location outside of your home, like a bank safe deposit box. This will ensure that your documentation isn’t lost if a flood or other natural disaster destroys your home.

Proper Maintenance Can Help Businesses Prevent Weather-Related Slips and Falls

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It’s that time of the year when snow, sleet and ice are a fairly common occurrence in many parts of the country. Such weather conditions pose serious problems for business owners because walkways become slippery and increase the chances for employees and customers to fall.

While you can’t control the elements, you can reduce your liability by staying alert and eliminating hazards that cause falls. One such hazard is the accumulation of ice and snow that results because deicing measures were inadequate or not properly applied.

The first step in effectively deicing a walkway is to choose the correct treatment. When selecting chemicals to melt ice, keep the following points in mind:

·   Rock salt is the most common method and the least expensive of the ice-melting chemicals. It is easy to find and can melt snow and ice until the temperature drops below 20є F. Rock salt, however, also releases a large amount of chloride when it dissolves. This chloride can pollute streams, rivers and lakes and kill vegetation. It also causes metal to corrode.

·   Calcium chloride is a deicing agent that is manufactured in small, round, white pellets. It melts snow and ice even when the temperature falls below 0є F. It is much less toxic to plants than rock salt, but it can still damage them if applied too heavily.Calcium chloride can corrode concrete.

·   Potassium chloride is a deicing chemical that doesn’t irritate skin or harm vegetation. However, it only melts ice when temperatures remain above 15є F. It must be combined with other chemicals to melt ice at lower temperatures.

·   Magnesium chloride melts snow and ice until the temperature drops below -13є F. It releases nearly 40 percent less chloride into the environment than either rock salt or calcium chloride. It is also less damaging to concrete surfaces and is less toxic to plants, trees and shrubs.

Once you have selected your deicing agent, follow these tips from the Iowa Transportation Center at Iowa State University to be sure you maintain an ice and snow-free walkway:

·   Apply deicing chemicals before a storm and remove snow/ice during and after the storm. Use plenty of deicing materials. Using too little will leave patches of ice.

·   Aim for evaporation. If the water can drain and there is full sun or even reasonable wind, the ice will evaporate. Dry pavement is a clear indication there is no ice.

·   Use a friction additive. Sand is the most popular because it’s inexpensive. Use enough to ensure that anyone walking on the surface has enough traction.

·   Check and treat surfaces every morning, especially around snow piles where melting may have created new problem areas. Reevaluate during the day and re-treat as needed.

·   Remember that a clean-looking surface is only “safe” if it is dry. A wet surface can quickly become icy in the shade or overnight.

·   Train those responsible for safety procedures how to safely maintain walkway surfaces during icy/snowy weather.

Stop and Think Before Purchasing Insurance Online

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Online shopping has become an American pastime, and can be an exciting adventure. For nearly everyone, it is enjoyable to receive surprising new packages and offers in the mail. But would you want your insurance coverage to be a surprise? You may want to ask yourself some essential questions before making the decision to buy insurance online:

  • What questions should I be asking before making the purchase?
  • Am I certain about exactly what coverages I need?
  • Have I researched the insurance company, and are they legitimate?
  • Will the personal information I provide online be secure?
  • Will there be real savings in both time and money by making an on-line purchase?

When buying insurance, it is important to be confident about exactly what coverages you need. Since insurance varies widely from state to state, it is necessary to have a knowledgeable resource that understands your individual needs. If you need to file a claim, you want to be certain that the insurance you purchase will protect you. If you make the decision to use an online company that does not personally involve themselves with your insurance needs, you run the risk of being left without coverage. Take the time to ask questions. Additionally, an online insurance company should be asking questions of you, to ensure they are recommending the proper coverage.

Buying insurance online could endanger your personal security. You will be required to fill out long forms providing personal information about you and your family, including social security numbers and personal property information. The forms are sent over the Internet where there is a risk that they may fall into the wrong hands, especially if the online company does not take proper security precautions. Furthermore, how will you verify that the insurance company you select is legitimate? Despite the fact that one must have a license to sell insurance, there is no license required to establish a website that is designed to sell insurance online.

After studying insurance information such as your state insurance regulations, coverages you will require, and the security and legitimacy of an online company, you obviously will not be saving much time in making an online purchase. And, there is no guarantee that you will save money either. It may be convenient for the insurance company since they will not have to meet with you, but they will still need to provide you the proper coverage for the dollar amount of protection you need.

An insurance purchase should take place only after careful consideration, and should not include surprises. The decision to shop online may result in uncertainty about what you really get. Selecting a professional agent to prepare a personal insurance policy is a more reasonable choice. When you work with an independent insurance agent, you receive the benefit of their expertise and their industry knowledge. An independent insurance agent will help you get the protection you need based on your individual requirements, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

Driving in Construction Zones – Follow the Signs to Safety

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Each year hundreds of American construction workers are killed in traffic accidents while they are on the job.  So many have been killed that a special work zone safety awareness week has been created.  A mobile memorial containing the names of people killed in construction work zones was unveiled in Washington, D.C. in April 2002 and every year since has been on display in various states during the awareness week.

However, it is not just construction workers who have been maimed or killed.  In 2002, 1,181 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes in work zones and more than 52,000 people were injured.  According to transportation safety officials, four out of five work zone fatalities are drivers and passengers.

The good news is that after years of steadily increasing numbers of accidents and fatalities in construction zones, public awareness is increasing and the numbers are beginning to drop.  In 2003, for the first time in more than five years, the number of fatalities decreased from the previous year to 1,082 deaths.

If you want to avoid becoming a construction zone statistic here are a few tips.  First of all obey all signs, especially the ones advising you to slow down.  Always stay within the posted speed limits.  Always follow the flag person’s direction.  They are your guides to help you navigate safely through the construction zone. 

Secondly, stay alert and watch for moving workers and equipment. Do not tailgate the car in front of you or try to pass a slower moving vehicle.  Ensure that there is a safe distance between your vehicle, and everything else.  Be prepared to stop at any moment and with little notice.

Thirdly, take your time.   If you are traveling through a construction work zone, plan ahead, you may be a little delayed.  But if it’s unexpected, then just relax and go with the flow.

Finally, pay attention.  Now may not be the best time to make phone calls or eat lunch.  You will need all your faculties to watch the road conditions for mud, gravel, rough surfaces, potholes or craters.  Watch out for merging traffic, especially when traffic is reducing to fewer lanes.  When taking detours through residential areas, be very cautious and watch out for children.

If you follow these easy tips and all signs and directions, you should be able to drive safely through any construction zone. Take your time and arrive alive.