Personal Insurance Blog

"With great power comes great responsibility," -credit to Stan Lee, creator of the famous Spiderman comics. But this saying applies to more than just superheroes of Lee's creation such as Spiderman, Batman, and Superman. This saying applies to everything when somebody has power, and if you have a driver's license and a car, then this saying applies to you.

Think of it this way: an average sized car weighs approximately 4,000 lbs. That's one massive weapon you have right there.

If you know anything about physics, you'll know that force is any sort of influence that makes an object experience or undergo a change. These changes can include direction as well as movement, such as change in velocity. And just to add to your physics knowledge, force is equal to the mass times the acceleration: (F=ma). So if we go back to that fun fact of a car weighing 4,000 lbs (or approximately 1800 kg), and we consider the car's acceleration before a crash- which can be very, VERY fast, then there's potential for A LOT of force to occur during a crash. There's also the whole kinetic energy thing going on there when the car is in motion and then stops. That requires work. For more information (that's probably a little more accurate) on the physics of car crashes, click here.

Sorry to bore you with the physics lesson, but you've got to understand the power you have when it comes to driving a car. And, "with great power comes..."

Great Responsibility

There's a reason that people must do several things before becoming fully licensed. The driver's education classes are there for a reason. So are the other requirements, such as mandatory driving hours with parents/guardians as well as driving hours with the school. In Massachusetts, these training aspects of getting a license are taken very seriously and for good reason.

Other rules apply to instill the full sense of responsibility in new drivers. For example, teen drivers have legal curfews and passenger restrictions. These laws are in effect to help enforce a teen's good driving behaviors and to prevent bad habits from being formed.

For most teens, having a license can be taken for granted rather than considered a privilege. A license is something earned with hard work and time; many kids view this process as tedious and boring. It's important to not just go through the motions, but to actually develop good skills and good habits as a driver in order to keep everyone on the road safe at all times.

The Responsibility Does Not Go Away

Whether it's a teen driver and elderly driver, the responsibility that a driver has is always there. No speeding, making complete stops, wearing seatbelts, no texting, etc. The list seems to go on and on for road responsibilities, but that's because each and every law or advice can directly impact you as a driver.

For adults that have not taken driver's ed for quite a while, there are always defensive driving courses available. These courses will help refresh your memory of all the laws and driving tips you may have forgotten about; additionally, these courses also usually come with a discount on your auto insurance! All Gordon customers will receive a discount on this course by signing up here.

If there's a time to step up your road responsibility and your awareness of other drivers on the road, that time is right now. Nobody is completely free from the statistics of car crashes. Even if you're in an accident and you're not at-fault, you could still get seriously injured. It's important to step up your responsibility in order to keep yourself and others safe, and to avoid becoming the driver at-fault.

For more information on Road Responsibility, download our Driving with Insurance in Mind eBook. It's completely free of charge and is sure to help anyone out. We also have several auto resources pages, like our one for new drivers, as well as more information on auto insurance. We provide free auto insurance quotes, so if you think the time is right to find some new auto insurance, simply contact us or fill out an online form here.

Stay safe and remember the power you have when you are on the road. Visit our New Drivers Resources Page here.