Government workers: need to brush up on driving skills?

Government workers are among the most dangerous drivers, according to insurance.com’s ranking, “Top 10 Most Dangerous Drivers by Profession.” The only occupations that scored more dangerous: attorney/judge and financial professionals. Bartender, waiter, dog groomer, nurse and barber/stylist were job titles with safer drivers, according to the top 10 list.

For its ranking, insurance.com looked at the percentage of drivers, by occupation, who reported a previous accident while requesting car insurance comparison quotes at insurance.com. For ease of reference, the research was limited to single driver, single vehicle categories (so, no other drivers and no other vehicles on the potential policy). The rankings are based on the information people must supply in seeking insurance quotes.

Of the government workers who requested a quote from insurance.com, 42 percent claimed a prior accident, and 44 percent of attorneys had previously made an accident claim. The least dangerous drivers, by profession, according to the ranking were athletes (17 percent) and homemakers (24 percent).

“Professions that demand multi-tasking – being on the phone, moving fast on a tight schedule – are prone to more distractions and, from there, more accidents,” said Sam Belden, insurance.com vice president.

Belden suggests a few potential reasons why government workers were close to the top of the insurance.com ranking: “We can make the educated guess that it is for common sense reasons: stress, when and how often they are on the road, road and weather conditions when they drive, number of distractions, propensity to shop for insurance (request quotes).”

The “government worker” occupation identifier in the insurance.com ranking most likely includes workers at federal, state and local levels, Belden said.

One reason for compiling the ranking was to raise awareness of the danger of driving while distracted, Belden said. “Driver distraction is a growing trend in the U.S. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates more than half a million people in 2008 were injured due to accidents caused by driver distraction. At insurance.com, we feel strongly about the importance of reducing driver distraction and bringing attention to the cause,” he said.

Solon, Ohio-based insurance.com is an online destination to shop for and buy insurance, and is an online independent auto insurance agency.