You should pay if you crash
For the past few years, I’ve tried to teach my kids more responsibility. The older they get, the easier it has been. For example, since my son has to pay for his own treats out of his babysitting money, he’s selective as to what he spends his money on. He doesn’t waste it as much as he did when he got an allowance. When he used his allowance to buy toys and candy and ran out of money, he just asked me for more money. He’s growing up into someone who thinks carefully about the consequence of his spending. I wish drivers would do the same when they’re behind the wheel.
There are jurisdictions where you get sent a bill to pay for any ambulance service you’ve received. Those processes have stopped people from using ambulances and have had family or friends drive them to the hospital if they’re seriously ill or hurt. They’re trying to save some money that they would prefer not to pay. Wouldn’t our roads become safer if drivers had to pay other bills? Wouldn’t drivers pay more attention to what’s going on around them if they had to pay the bill?
We all know drivers who feel their insurance will cover other damages they may have caused. All they have to do is pay out the deductible. They rely on their insurance company far too much. What if drivers had to pay for the replacement of the guardrail if they crashed into it? What if they had to pay for the damage to someone’s property if they lost control and went through someone’s front porch? What if they had to pay to replace the hydro pole they broke in half?
Better yet, what if they had to pay the full amount of damage to another driver’s vehicle if they crashed into them? Then insurance rates would become very low and that would save us all a ton of cash each year. Each year I see my insurance rates climb even though I haven’t made a claim. Other drivers associated to the same insurance company have made claims and some are very legitimate. Could some have been avoided? What if the driver did something different so they could avoid the crash and thus avoid the claim? Wouldn’t our roads be safer to drive on?
I had written in another article a few years ago when I had seen a couple of young people driving a very expensive vehicle a little erratically. I was pretty certain it belonged to one of their parents. They were taking corners way too fast and squealing their tires leaving stop signs. What if they lost control and hit something? Would their parents shrug it off and say it was no big deal? Would their parents pay for the damages on behalf of their irresponsible kids? I certainly hope not.
Maybe we need to change our mentality of driving. Drive in such a way as if you’re going to be held responsible to pay for and replace any damage you cause to other vehicles or property. This ‘mind game’ just may help you drive a little more responsibly and keep it safe on the roads.