The theory is simple isn’t it? Green car drivers are more responsible about the environment, keep their speed in check to keep fuel consumption low and are therefore less likely to have accidents. As a result, their car insurance premiums should be lower, right?
Well, that’s the theory but a study by San Francisco Quality Planning, which looked into hybrid car owners’ driving habits, suggests something different.
It surveyed the owners of 360,000 vehicles from 2007-2008 and found that while drivers of hybrids have commuting distances similar to those of conventional vehicle drivers, hybrid drivers often put on more miles after work and during the weekend – an average of 2,000 a year more than non-hybrid car owners.
Of course that in itself is easily explained – after all, high mileage drivers are likely to be attracted to cars that enjoy fuel savings.
However, the study also found that hybrid car drivers get more tickets than those who don’t drive hybrids. Prius drivers for example, get 38 tickets per 100,000 miles driven compared to 23 tickets per 100,000 miles for drivers of conventional cars and trucks.
In addition, hybrid cars cost more to repair than their conventional counterparts due to their sophisticated and expensive powertrains. In fact the study found that the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is about 45 per cent more expensive to repair than a regular non-hybrid Highlander.
So while car insurance companies dish out discounts for green car drivers, perhaps we can all be a little grateful to conventional car drivers as they appear to be subsidising those cheap liability rates.
