The East Coast and West Coast Are United When It Comes to This Violation
Alex Healey
· 3 min read
We hear a lot about the differences between the East and West Coast. Stereotypes say that East Coasters are aggressive drivers, while West Coasters are all Birkenstock-wearing hippies.
Well, in the spirit of national unification, Jerry’s researchers have found something we all have in common. No matter where you’re from, the most common moving violation is speeding under 15 mph!
Read on to learn more about traffic violations across the U.S., and what this means for car insurance premiums on the East and West coast.
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East and West Coast driving records are surprisingly similar
A study by Jerry has analyzed over one million car insurance data points from July 2020 to July 2021, and it has thrown up some surprising results.
Firstly, drivers from the East and West are equally safe, with just over 60% of motorists in each region reporting zero violations.
In the East,
New Jersey
and South Carolina have the most dangerous drivers: over 37% of drivers have at least one violation on their record.Compare this with safety conscious Massachusetts, where just 4.6% of drivers have a violation.
The spread is much lower in the West, where Oregon’s drivers report the highest percentage of violations (28.87%), and Washington State has the lowest (27.45%).
There is a clear gender divide, with males more likely to have a violation than their female counterparts in every state.
The most common moving violation for all regions is speeding under 15, which means the offender was driving less than 15 mph over the speed limit when caught.
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One big difference: car insurance rates
Despite having such similar driving records, East Coast drivers pay a lot more for car insurance.
For example, the average female driver pays $224.50 more per month in New York than in California, while men pay $227.50 more.
Looking at the average across all states and genders, East Coasters pay $80 more per month than West Coasters. This is assuming the drivers have no violations, and otherwise identical driving records.
It’s not fair, but the reason for this is largely down to population density. While there are obvious exceptions, like Los Angeles, East Coast cities are generally busier, with more people (and more cars) per square mile.
More cars on the road equals more accidents, so even if you have a perfect driving history, you can expect to pay more in insurance to compensate for the elevated risk.
Additionally, much of the East Coast is susceptible to dangerous weather conditions, be it the harsh winters of the Northeast, or the
hurricanes and tropical storms
of the Southeast.Insurance companies seek to mitigate this risk by charging East Coast drivers more for coverage.
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