Winter Driving

Winter Driving

Safe Driving and Vehicle Maintenance Are Key

4 Ways Your Driving Habits Could Wreck Your Credit Score

Winter is a time when safe driving and well-maintained vehicles take on even greater importance.  “Failure to keep in proper lane or running off the road” and “driving too fast for conditions” are the two of the most frequent driver behaviors, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). 

In order to avoid potentially dangerous situations, the I.I.I. offers the following winter driving tips:

• Give yourself enough time to arrive at your destination. Trips can take longer during winter than other times of the year, especially if you encounter storm conditions or icy roads.
• Bring a cellphone so that those awaiting your arrival can get in touch with you, or you can notify them, if you are running late. But avoid the temptation of using the phone while driving, as it can be a dangerous distraction—pull over first.
• Drive slowly because accelerating, stopping and turning all take longer on snow-covered roads.
• Leave more distance than usual between your vehicle and the one just ahead of you, giving yourself at least 10 seconds to come to a complete stop. Cars and motorcycles usually need at least 3 seconds to halt completely even when traveling on dry pavement.
• Be careful when driving over bridges, as well as roadways rarely exposed to sunlight—they are often icy when other areas are not.
• Avoid sudden stops and quick direction changes.
• Be sure to keep your gas tank full. Stormy weather or traffic delays may force you to change routes or turn back. A fuller gas tank also averts the potential freezing of your car's gas-line.
• Keep windshield and windows clear. Drivers in cold-weather states should have a snow brush or scraper in their vehicle at all times. Your car's defroster can be supplemented by wiping the windows with a clean cloth to improve visibility.
• Do not activate your cruise control when driving on a slippery surface.
• Do not warm up a vehicle in an enclosed area, such as a garage.
• Keep your tires properly inflated and remember that good tread on your tires is essential to safe winter driving.
• Check your exhaust pipe to make sure it is clear. A blocked pipe could cause a leakage of carbon monoxide gas into your car when the engine is running.
• Monitor the weather conditions at your destination before beginning your trip. If conditions look as though they are going to be too hazardous, just stay home.

My daughter recently turned 15, and one of the first things she did on her birthday was to take an online test required to get her learner's permit. She passed, and now she's driving. I don't have to lecture her on safe driving habits; she's been doing that to me for years. And she's more up to speed on the rules of the road than I am.

But what I do have to explain is how driving may affect her credit in the future. They don't teach that in Driver's Ed, and it's something most of us don't think about until it affects us.

Here are four ways that driving can have significant, long-term impact on your credit.

1. Tickets and Fines

If you get a ticket for a traffic or parking violation, it shouldn't show up on your credit reports. But if you don't pay the fines that result, the balance may be turned over to acollection agency, and that collection account may very well show up on your credit reports. Collection accounts, regardless of the reason or the amount, can be score killers.

Generally, collection accounts remain on credit reports for up to seven and a half years, even if they have been paid. But there may be special provisions in place that will allow for these accounts to be removed when the debt is paid. For example, in Washington, D.C., the Department of Motor Vehicles reports that the collections agency it hires "has agreed to automatically send an account delete record to the credit bureaus that it utilizes. This means that the record of your delinquent debt should disappear from credit bureau records within two to four weeks after payment in full is made."

If you have unpaid tickets, check your free credit reports to see if they appear on your reports as collection accounts. Then check with your state's department of motor vehicles to find out if they will be removed from your credit reports if you pay what's owed. Even if that is not the case, you'll want to resolve those accounts so the amount due doesn't continue to grow. In some jurisdictions, failing to pay these debts can even cause your license to be suspended.

2. Car Payments

An auto loan can help or hurt your credit, depending on how you manage it. One of the factors that most credit scoring models look at is your "mix of credit." In many scoring models, it makes up about 10 percent of your score. You'll score better for this factor if you have a variety of types of credit accounts; for example, if your report lists both revolving accounts (such as credit cards) and installment accounts (such as vehicle or student loans). If you want to see how your account mix is affecting your credit, check yourfree Credit Report Card, which will grade you on each of the five major credit reporting factors.

In addition, if you co-sign a car loan for your child (or anyone else for that matter), their loan will likely appear on your credit reports and will be treated as your own. Even if payments are made on time, the debt can affect your credit scores.

Miss a payment, however, and your credit scores may plummet. Recent late payments can lower your credit scores significantly and are especially problematic if you want to finance another vehicle or refinance your current loan since payment history on current and previous auto loans is an important factor in the scoring models used to evaluate auto loan applications.

In the worst-case scenario, where you fall behind on payments and your vehicle is repossessed, that repo will stay on your credit reports for seven years. Plus, the lender may try to collect a deficiency (the difference between what you owed and what they sold the vehicle for), and even file a lawsuit for that amount. If they win, you'll have a judgment on your credit reports as well.

3. DUIs

If you are charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the DUI will not appear on standard credit reports. But the costs of a DUI -- even for first-time offenders -- are staggering, and often cost $5,000 or more. Trying to come up with the money for attorney's fees, court costs, bail, towing, higher insurance premiums, etc., can put a strain on your budget and cause you to fall behind on other bills.

Or you may find yourself having to max out your credit cardsor get a loan to pay those costs, resulting in higher balances on your credit reports. Those higher credit card balances can hurt your credit scores.

4. Accidents

There were some 10.8 million motor vehicle accidents in 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. These accidents don't just wreck vehicles; they sometimes destroy people's credit as well. Accidents may involve property damage that may not be covered by insurance, or large medical bills that aren't covered in full.

Even with adequate insurance, it can take time for insurance companies to sort out who pays for what, and to pay policyholders or providers. In the meantime, it's not unusual for medical bills to go unpaid. If medical providers aren't paid quickly enough, they may turn those bills over to collections; again, damaging credit reports.

Has driving impacted your credit? Share your experience in the comments below. 

That Will Help Others.

Stopping and Steering are Keys to Driving Safely

Stopping and Steering are Keys to Driving Safely

There are more vehicles on U.S. roads than ever before. With an estimated 240.5 million cars and light trucks crowding our roads as of 2011, your safety and that of others is at risk when your vehicle isn't stopping and steering at its best. Reducing your vehicle's stopping distance by just an inch or so could make the difference between a minor scare and a major fender bender.

Crowded roads aren't the only concern. The roads themselves are often in a sorry state of repair. Portions of our highway system (including many bridges) haven't seen much in the way of maintenance or repair since they were built.

In cold climates, the freeze/thaw cycle enlarges cracks and holes in the pavement. In sunnier spots, the heat, heavy cargo hauling and years of neglect take their own toll on roads. The result can be a moonscape of potholes that can affect the handling of your vehicle. Bad roads can cause suspension components, so vital to steering control and handling, to grow old before their time.

But you don't have to be an automotive expert to keep your vehicle's stopping and steering systems safe. An ASE-certified brake service technician is trained to diagnose problems and identify potential areas of concern, such as checking thickness of rotors and identifying worn brake lines and hoses.

Pay a little now, or a lot later

Putting off repairs for too long results in growing costs. For example, let’s look at a typical brake job. Not only will you have to buy new brake pads, but add in new brake rotors as well to replace the ones that were ruined by procrastination.

New rotors can range from $50 to $250 or more, depending upon the vehicle application — and that's foreach wheel. Even if normal wear dictates rotor replacement, the upside is that it could be the last time you'll ever replace them before you trade in the vehicle.

It's important to perform needed maintenance early. Allowing the situation to bloom into an expensive repair threatens the practicality of keeping your paid-for wheels on the road. If you made 36, 48 or even 60 monthly payments without flinching in order to buy the car, but don't like to pay for maintenance, try considering it as a short-term "car payment" that only has to be made occasionally.

Safety tips for brake service:

• Invest in a top-quality brake pads.
• If any rotors are marginal for continued service after refinishing (too thin or very close to the minimum thickness specification), have them replaced. An ASE-certified technician can compare the specification dimension and your rotors' actual thickness for you on request. If you own an older vehicle equipped with original equipment (OE) rotors, be prepared to replace them at this time.
• Have the brake calipers inspected to ensure that any moving parts, such as slides and bleeder screws, haven't corroded and frozen up.
• Don't always jump at the lowest quoted price for your brake job. A low price quote can mean that you're not getting the complete brake system serviced.

Remember, there are cheap jobs that use basic components. There are also more-expensive jobs that use premium components. When evaluating the cost of any vehicle repair or maintenance, consider the quality of work and the parts. What's the cost difference between the two? Which one would you trust most?

Beyond basic brake pads and rotor replacement or resurfacing, ask for quotations on the following expanded parts and services if you own an older vehicle:

• If your brake hydraulic system has never been flushed, consider having it serviced to remove moisture and impurities from the fluid reservoir, lines, calipers and/or wheel cylinders.
• Have rubber-type flex brake hoses replaced when they're hard, cracked or simply old.
• When rotors are being resurfaced for reuse, request inspection of the wheel bearings.
• On rear-wheel-drive cars or trucks, have the front wheel bearings inspected and repacked with new grease, along with replacing the seals. Don't take the chance of being stranded over an inexpensive bearing or seal.
• For drum brake applications, ask to have a new brake hardware kit installed when the brake shoes are replaced and the drums are refinished. The technician should ensure that each assembly's wheel cylinder pistons, starwheel adjuster and bleeder screw aren't sticking or seized.
• Have your emergency brake assembly tested periodically. Have it repaired or adjusted if necessary.

This approach to vehicle maintenance may cost a little more up front, but if you make the investment now, you can be sure that-old or new-your car or truck will stop in the shortest distance possible-and be able to steer around trouble.

If your vehicle is more than five years old and has only had brake pad and rotor servicing in the past, it's generally appropriate to have the items from our expanded list serviced or replaced.

To find a local ASE Blue Seal Shop that can help you keep your vehicle in top condition, visit our ASE Blue Seal Shop Locator page.

SIDEBAR:

An ‘Epidemic’ of Unperformed Maintenance
Consider these facts regarding vehicles and maintenance:

• In its Automotive Aftermarket Status Report 2012, analysts at the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) reported unperformed vehicle maintenance across the entire U.S. fleet had grown to $62 billion in 2010, compared to $54 billion a year earlier.
• According to a 2005 Car Care Council report, poorly maintained vehicles account for 5 percent of all accidents, causing more than $2 billion in property damage, lost wages and medical expenses.
• The average age of cars on today’s U.S. roads is more than 11 years, according to a 2011 study by Polk, a Southfield, Mich.-based research firm. Light-duty trucks average 10.4 years old, and the average age of the U.S. fleet is 10.8 years old.

Arbitrarily dividing the unperformed maintenance amount by an assumed (and generous) average repair cost of $300 per vehicle across the entire car and light truck fleet potentially indicates that 206.6 million vehicles need some type of maintenance and repair.

Amazingly, this suggests that more than 85 percent of the entire passenger car and light truck fleet suffers from some form of unperformed maintenance. If your vehicle is over five years old, the likelihood that it needs maintenance or service of any type climbs dramatically.