How Often Do the Safest Drivers Have Accidents?

Last Updated on March 5, 2023

If you’re a safe driver, you have a lower risk of an accident than an unsafe driver.

Insurance companies assume the average driver in the United States will file a collision claim once every 18 years. If you’re a safe driver, you can expect one collision claim every 25 to 30 years. Many safe drivers never file a collision claim.

Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about how often the safest drivers in the United States have accidents.

The Safest Drivers Can Expect One Collision Claim Every 25 to 30 Years

Insurance is all about risk. Insurance companies use hundreds of factors to calculate your risk of making a claim. Then, they calculate premiums based on that amount.

According to insurance companies, the average driver in the United States will make two or three collision claims in their life.

Or, statistically, the average driver makes a collision claim once every 18 years.

Of course, many drivers make significantly more collision claims than that number, and many drivers make significantly fewer. Some drive for 50 years without making a claim, while others make one collision claim every six months.

If you’re a safe driver, then you’re above average. That means you have a lower risk of getting into an accident than the average driver.

If you’re slightly safer than the average driver, you can expect one collision claim every 20 to 24 years. Meanwhile, if you’re one of the safest drivers, you may experience one collision claim every 25 to 30 years, on average.

What’s Involved in Being a Safe Driver?

Many drivers think they’re safe, but they’re not. Even the world’s safest drivers may be involved in multiple accidents that aren’t their fault.

Driving safely is about more than just your driving skill and track record. It’s also about the times of the day at which you drive, your average annual mileage, and your age, among other factors.

Some of the factors involved in being a safe driver include:

Average Mileage: Even if you’re the world’s safest driver, you could experience an accident through no fault of your own. The only way to experience a collision accident is by driving. The more you drive, the more chances you have of experiencing an accident. You may be a safe driver. However, the more you drive, the more likely you are to experience an accident.

Driving Times: If you drive at night or on weekends, you’re more likely to experience a collision claim. Again, you could be a safe driver, but your driving times make you a more risky driver to insure, according to your insurance company.

Age: Age is a big factor in determining whether or not you’re a safe driver. Generally, drivers in their late 20s to late 60s pay the same low, competitive rates for car insurance. If you’re younger than 25 or older than 70, however, then you could pay higher rates for car insurance based on risk. Your age may make you an unsafe driver, statistically speaking. When you’re young, you lack driving experience. When you’re old, you tend to have poorer reaction times. These factors influence safety.

Gender: Insurance companies use gender to calculate insurance premiums. Statistically, men under 25 are more likely to cause fatal accidents than drivers in any other age group, so they pay the highest rates. Meanwhile, men in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond tend to pay lower rates than women of the same age.

Prevention Strategies: The safest drivers take preventative measures to avoid accidents. They don’t drink and drive or abuse substances and drive, for example. They wear seatbelts, practice good braking and acceleration, avoid using their phone when driving, and take other steps to limit their risk of an accident. The safest drivers don’t just drive safely: they also drive in a way that reduces the risk of accidents around them.

Luck: Some safe drivers go their entire lives without an accident. Other safe drivers experience three accidents in a five-year span through no fault of their own. Like it or not, luck plays an important role in how often the safest drivers have accidents.

Other Statistics About Safe Drivers

If you’re a safe driver, you have a lower risk of an accident than an unsafe driver. Here are some other statistics you should consider as a safe driver:

• The number of traffic fatalities has increased in recent years. It rose 6.8% in 2020, for example, and rose another 10.5% in 2021. Although traffic fatality rates are lower than they were 50 years ago, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Despite modern technology, today’s roads are not significantly safer than they were in 2012, for example.
• In 2014, there were 11.92 fatalities per 100,000 registered vehicles in the United States, which is one of the safest years on record. In 2020, there were 13.04 fatalities per 100,000 registered vehicles in the United States, which is one of the least safe years in recent history.
• Out of all the fatal crashes in the United States, 19.1% (or 10,295 fatal crashes) were blamed on driving too fast for the conditions, making it the most common cause of accidents in the United States.
• The next most common causes of fatal accidents were being under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or medication (11.6%); operating vehicles in a careless manner (7.3%), failing to yield the right of way (6.8%), failure to keep in proper lane (6.2%), or being distracted (5.5%).
• Most fatal accidents occurred due to a collision with another vehicle. However, a significant number of fatal accidents occurred due to collisions with fixed objects. 38.1% of all fatal crashes in the United States were collisions with a moving motor vehicle, but 30.6% were collisions with fixed objects.

Final Word: Safe Drivers Experience Fewer Accidents

If you’re a safe driver, then you can expect to experience fewer accidents than an unsafe driver.

According to insurance industry data, the average driver in the United States is involved in a collision claim roughly every 18 years. If you’re slightly safer than average, you could experience a collision claim every 20 to 24 years, on average.

If you’re significantly safer than average (or luckier), you may have a collision claim once every 25 to 30 years – or never.