Drivers living within one mile of a church are far less likely to have car accidents than those who live within one mile of a restaurant, a recent study by Quality Planning Corporation revealed. Those who live in the immediate vicinities of airports, parks, forests, or racetracks also have lower risks of suffering vehicle damage.
QPC examined the relationship between where a vehicle owner lives and the likelihood that he will be involved in an auto accident, and concluded that the riskiest places to live are near restaurants. If the owner of an automobile lives within a mile of an eating establishment, he is 30 percent more likely to crash his car.
The study surveyed more than 15 million policyholders and two million claims, mapping the proximity of vehicle-owners' addresses to various types of businesses, including amusement centers, bars, churches, dentist and doctor offices, parking lots, banks, car dealerships, car washes, day-care centers, gas stations, medical buildings, movie theaters, schools, and shopping centers. Statistically, the riskiest places to live near are restaurants, grocery stores, schools, and banks.
"It's well known that auto insurers use a policyholder's ZIP code to calculate the risk he or she represents," said Daniel Finnegan, QPC's founder and CEO. "New technology enables us to be even more accurate in determining the level of risk associated with a policy by identifying the specific risk factors associated with that policyholder's home address."
QPC's research has identified more than 500 variables that correlate to auto accidents, according to Finnegan. "Among the more interesting variables we found are hail storms, crime rate, topography, traffic patterns, occupation, street width, and chiropractors per capita," he said.
In general, areas with increased traffic patterns can expect to see more accidents, QPC researchers noted. Denser traffic, in turn, often is a prime consideration when selecting restaurant and grocery store sites, while parks and forests tend to be situated in less populated areas.
"It's important to remember that these observations are indicative of the area, and we would naturally expect higher accident rates in higher traffic areas," said Bob U'Ren, vice president of marketing at QPC. "But who would have thought that it is more dangerous to live by an elementary school than a liquor store? Or a bank versus a hotel?"
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