Lighter, fuel-efficient vehicles could cause costlier injuries to drivers when compared to heavier vehicles, according to a study released last week.
The Insurance Research Council, a non-profit research organization, published the report, which was based on information provided by insurance companies across the country. The average claim payment for lighter vehicles was $5,554 - 14.3 percent higher than the average claim for heavier vehicles.
"The impact of higher gas prices on drivers, accident severity and insurance costs is anything but simple," said Elizabeth Sprinkel, senior vice president of the council, in a written statement. "Our findings indicate that higher average claim costs associated with lighter vehicles have the potential to offset, to some extent, whatever beneficial effects might occur from less driving."
Sprinkel said it is too early to tell if the report will affect insurance claim costs.
There were several traffic accidents in the Austin area over Labor Day weekend, but none resulted in fatalities, according to police reports.
Austin police and the Department of Public Safety increased the number of officers on roadways this weekend in response to a history of increased traffic over the holiday weekend. Drivers evacuating from East Texas and Louisiana added to the busy
roadways. Austin police Cmdr. Michael Nyert said this is Austin's fourth Labor Day weekend without a fatality, a statistic he said validates a decrease in aggressive driving habits.
"I don't think you can rest your hat on strict enforcement," Nyert said, adding that driver behavior has decreased crashes in Austin nearly 10 percent from 2007.
Nyert said the number of traffic fatalities would continue to decrease if more motorcyclists and moped drivers wore helmets. He said eight of the 11 motorcycle fatalities this year, including two that occurred when the drivers were going under 25 mph, were fatal, because the motorcyclist did not wear a helmet.
DPS Trooper Robbie Barrera said every available trooper was on duty over the holiday weekend. She said troopers were specifically looking for individuals not wearing seat belts, speeders and drunk drivers.
"The ultimate goal is to get voluntary compliance," Barrera said.
Barrera said DPS arrested 912 people statewide for driving while intoxicated and issued nearly 16,000 speeding citations and more than 3,000 seat belt and child restraint tickets over last year's Labor Day weekend.
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