{"id":9210,"date":"2021-09-07T15:38:20","date_gmt":"2021-09-07T19:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.greatflorida.com\/?p=9210"},"modified":"2026-04-16T17:17:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T21:17:05","slug":"drivers-engaging-in-risky-behavior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/2021\/drivers-engaging-in-risky-behavior\/","title":{"rendered":"Drivers Engaging in Risky Behavior"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThe pandemic has brought out some unexpected behaviors in drivers,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/dustyns\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" =_blank>Dustyn Shroff<\/a>, Vice President of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/florida-auto-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GreatFlorida Insurance<\/a>, Florida\u2019s largest independent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/florida-auto-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">auto insurance<\/a> agency.<\/p>\n<p>The first quarter of this year, motor vehicle deaths have substantially risen. This is a surprising result to see with a decline in driving. It points to changed driving patterns and behaviors during the pandemic.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/index.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"224\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/index.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9217 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/index.png 224w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/index-150x150.png 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 224px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 224\/224;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/index.png 224w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/index-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>https:\/\/www.nhtsa.gov\/risky-driving<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>This information comes according to data from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhtsa.gov\/sites\/nhtsa.gov\/files\/2021-09\/Early-Estimate-Motor-Vehicle-Traffic-Fatalities-Q1-2021.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">National Highway Traffic Safety Administration<\/a>, (NHTSA). The first quarter of 2021 an estimated 8, 730 people died in car crashes. That\u2019s a year-on year increase of 10.5 percent despite a 2.1 percent drop in the number of miles driven.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/us-traffic-deaths-jump-105-early-2021-2021-09-02\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Reuters<\/a> reports that many experts observed as U.S. roads became less crowded, some motorist engaged in more unsafe behavior. Some drivers perceived police were less likely to issue tickets because of COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>In 2020, deaths involving motorists not wearing seat belts were up 15 percent, speeding related deaths increased by 10 percent and fatal crashes involving alcohol rose 9 percent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the early days of the pandemic empty streets resulted in a greater number of speeding tickets issued,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/dustyns\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" =_blank>Dustyn Shroff<\/a>, Vice President of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/florida-auto-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GreatFlorida Insurance<\/a>, Florida\u2019s top independent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/florida-auto-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">auto insurance<\/a> agency. The NHTSA noted a 22 percent increase in speeds in several metropolitan areas.<\/p>\n<p>Reckless driving during the pandemic prompted the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhtsa.gov\/open-letter-driving-public\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">NHTSA<\/a> to draft an open letter to drivers, pleading with them to take caution when driving. The agency noted the current strain on law enforcement and EMS community across the country.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. driving has nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to June traffic data released last month. With an aversion to air travel, we could even see an increase of traffic during the upcoming holiday season.<\/p>\n<p>No matter how much or little you are driving, you need dependable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/florida-auto-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">car insurance<\/a>. Contact <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GreatFlorida Insurance<\/a> today to find affordable pricing on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/florida-auto-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">auto insurance<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"204\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1080 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto-300x128.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto-150x64.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 480px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 480\/204;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto-300x128.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto-150x64.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/florida-auto-insurance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThe pandemic has brought out some unexpected behaviors in drivers,\u201d says Dustyn Shroff, Vice President of GreatFlorida Insurance, Florida\u2019s largest independent auto insurance agency. The first quarter of this year, motor vehicle deaths have substantially risen. This is a surprising result to see with a decline in driving. It points to changed driving patterns and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1219,"featured_media":9215,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,6,1,84,7,82,83,89,9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9210","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-auto-insurance","8":"category-boat-insurance","9":"category-commercial-insurance","10":"category-floridainsurance","11":"category-fr44-insurance","12":"category-motorcycle-insurance","13":"category-rv-insurance","14":"category-sr22-insurance","15":"category-travel-insurance","16":"category-umbrella-insurance"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9210"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13634,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9210\/revisions\/13634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}