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Why being a good driver is great for your car insurance costs

Catherine Brock · Contributing writer

October 30, 2025 6 min read

For better or worse, your driving skills affect your car insurance rates. If you're careful behind the wheel, you can pay less for auto insurance and face fewer deductibles. If you drive fast and carelessly, you're more likely to have tickets, accidents, and higher insurance costs.

Fortunately, you can learn and adopt the habits of a good driver. And once you realize how much you can save on your car insurance costs, you'll be motivated to become a good driver.

Learn more: How does car insurance work? The basics explained .

What is a good driver?

Insurance companies set their own qualifications for good driving discounts . Some are more lenient than others, but generally, good drivers are those who have no car accidents or tickets on their driving record.

Car insurance companies evaluate a range of factors beyond driving history to set rates. They do this because your driving record may not tell the whole story. It's possible to be a bad driver with no tickets or accidents, at least temporarily. This is one reason why insurance companies promote usage-based insurance (UBI) programs that track your driving habits — because driving habits can be better indicators than driving records of how well you drive.

Learn more: Best car insurance companies

7 good driver habits

Understanding the habits of good drivers can help you improve a spotty driving record or maintain a blemish-free one. Either way, adopting the following practices can minimize the occurrence of accidents and other poor driving behaviors:

Wear your seat belt:Buckling your seat belt reduces the risk of death or serious injury. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 49% of passengers killed in auto accidents in 2023 were not wearing seat belts.
Only drive while sober and alert:Per the National Sleep Foundation, driving on only three to four hours of sleep is as dangerous as driving after a few drinks.
Keep your phone locked:The NHTSA reports that driving while distracted caused 3,275 fatal motor vehicle crashes in 2023. Cell phone use is a primary cause of distracted driving. "Good drivers know that even hands-free calls split their attention in important ways," said John Espenschied, agency principal at Insurance Brokers Group.
Respect the speed limit and other traffic rules:Speeding is a common factor in car crashes, according to NHTSA data. Speeding drivers are also more likely to have other high-risk habits, like driving while impaired or without a seat belt.
Leave space around you:Driving too closely to the car in front of you increases the chances of a rear-end collision. There were nearly 1.7 million rear-end crashes in 2022, according to the NHTSA. Driving three to four seconds behind the car ahead allows for reaction time and, potentially, an escape route, according to Espenschied.
Use your turn signal:Turn signals tell other drivers where you're headed and your intentions. Although the NHTSA doesn't track data on accidents caused by failure to use turn signals, neglecting to use them can be dangerous.
Check for recalls:"Good drivers know their vehicle is part of the safety equation," said Espenschied. Recalls are prompted by safety defects, yet too many drivers leave their recalled vehicles unrepaired. According to Carfax, one in five cars on the road has an unfixed recall issue.

Learn more: How to earn a defensive driving discount

Good driver insurance costs

Safe driving habits should lower your chances of getting a ticket and causing an accident. These habits may also make you a good candidate for low-cost, usage-based insurance (UBI). UBI tracks your driving habits and charges lower rates when you avoid unsafe practices like speeding and hard braking.

Standard car insurance doesn't collect driving data, but does reward you for maintaining a clean driving record. That reward, in the form of cheaper car insurance , can be substantial. You can see the difference in monthly premium costs for good drivers compared to those with one accident.

Learn more: Cheapest car insurance for good drivers

Learn more: Cheapest car insurance after one at-fault accident

"Good driving prevents the hidden costs that really add up: higher deductibles , rental cars, lost work time, and rate increases that can haunt you for three to five years after an incident," said Espenschied.

Good driver insurance FAQs

What is Progressive's good driver discount?

Progressive car insurance generally costs less for good drivers. According to Progressive, average car insurance rates for drivers who remain accident- and ticket-free for three years are 34% less than rates for drivers who do have blemishes on their driving record.

What is State Farm's good driver discount?

State Farm car insurance offers a discount to new insurance customers only after they've gone three years without moving violations or at-fault accidents. Those who sign up for State Farm's UBI program, Drive Safe & Save, can save up to 30% for driving safely.

What is GEICO's good driver discount?

GEICO car insurance offers a discount up to 22% on most coverages if you remain accident-free for one year or more.

What is a clean driving record?

A clean driving is record has no moving violations, no at-fault accidents, and no driving-related convictions.

Learn more: Auto insurance terms you need to know

What is the best car insurance for good drivers?

Usage-based insurance (UBI) is a good option for drivers because these programs track actual driving habits. Motorists who practice safe, legal driving habits qualify for the lowest rates. Drivers who prefer standard auto insurance can get quotes from American Family car insurance , Farm Bureau, and The Hartford car insurance — companies known for providing low rates to good drivers.

Tim Manni and Jamie Young edited this article

Methodology

Auto insurance pricing data

Unless stated otherwise, the estimates above are provided by Savvy Insurance Solutions ("Savvy"). Savvy operates a marketplace for home and auto insurance, plus an agency licensed in all 50 states. Estimates are generated using Savvy's in-house machine learning models based on over 3 million data points, and include more than 15 of the largest insurance companies in Savvy's nationwide data set. This includes data from more than 2 million insurance accounts connected through Trellis Connect, an in-house technology allowing consumers to "link" their insurance accounts before searching for insurance, and tens of thousands of policies bound by Savvy's own agents. It takes into account a myriad of factors to create predictions, such as:

Policyholder age
Number of vehicles
ZIP code
Vehicle age
Insurer
…and more

Savvy creates estimates by running models against multiple inputs to the parameters of interest. For instance, the "teen driver" estimates were created by adjusting the policyholder age input into the pricing model while keeping all other variables steady from the baseline for "full coverage." The models enable hyper-personalized estimates that take into account a plethora of user attribute permutations (e.g., teen drivers in specific states, teen drivers with new vehicles, teen drivers in specific states with new vehicles) to provide individuals with a unique and tailored experience. The charts above are a subset of the kinds of personalization Savvy can do.