InSure

Oregon is a magical state. It’s home to ecological diversity like you’ve never seen and offers its residents and tourists alike access to the great expanse of the Pacific Ocean. When you’re driving through Oregon, you have the chance not only to head down to the beach but to explore lush forests, expansive mountain ranges, and bustling, expansive cities.

Navigating Oregon’s roadways, naturally, can be an entrancing but also stressful experience. Finding the best auto insurance as an Oregon resident can also pit you up against all sorts of challenges, be they natural or based in the auto insurance industry. When purchasing auto insurance in Oregon, you have to consider any potential weather hazards while also parsing through dozens of insurance offers from equally numerous providers.

Never fear, though! It’s easier than you may think to find the right kind of auto insurance coverage for your car and lifestyle. In order to take a bit of the stress out of your auto insurance quest, we’ve compiled this comprehensive guide to auto insurance providers in Oregon that’ll keep you legal and safe on the Beaver State’s roadways.

In this guide, we’ll address Oregon’s required coverage and available provider rates as well as the state-specific laws that you’ll have to abide by as an Oregon resident. You can even take advantage of our FREE online tool in order to start comparing rates in your area!

Are you ready to see what the Beaver State has to offer? Let’s get started.

Oregon Auto Insurance Coverage and Rates

When you’re shopping for auto insurance, it can be difficult to know what level of coverage is best for you. What’s the difference between minimal and comprehensive coverage? Should you base your purchase off of a provider’s anticipated rates?

The kind of coverage you choose should fit with your driving style and budget. In this section, we’ll explore how living in Oregon impacts the coverage available to you and what, precisely, you’ll be paying for when you purchase coverage as a resident of the Beaver State.

From core coverage to potential coverage add-ons – we’ve got it all here!

Oregon Minimum Coverage

No matter what state you live in, as a registered driver you’ll have to comply with that state’s auto insurance policy. What is minimum liability coverage exactly, though? While the ratios will vary by state, minimum liability coverage is the bare minimum of auto insurance that your state of residence requires you to have in order to legally drive on the roads.

In Oregon, state minimum liability coverage operates on a 25/50/20 ratio. We’ve broken down what those ratios mean below:

• 25 = $25,000 in coverage to pay for the injuries and medical treatment per person
• 50 = $50,000 in coverage to pay for the total injuries and medical treatment per accident
• 20 = $20,000 in coverage to repair any property that’s damaged per accident

In addition to the aforementioned minimum liability coverage, the state of Oregon requires that its drivers have the following:

• $15,000 in Personal Injury Protection coverage (PIP)
• $25,000 per person for Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UMBI)
• $50,000 in total for Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UMBI)

Not all states require you to have these additional points of coverage, but Oregon wants its drivers to remain safe while on the road and to avoid having to dive into personal savings in order to care for anyone or anything injured in an accident.

That said, that amount of coverage sounds like a lot of money, doesn’t it? In actuality, the state minimum auto insurance coverage in Oregon is in place to ensure that while you’re recovering from an accident or helping someone else replace damaged property, you don’t run out of funds. Money goes fast when you’ve been in an accident, and while minimum coverage is useful, it’s always worthwhile to explore more expansive options.

Forms of Financial Responsibility

No matter what state you live in, you’re required to carry some form of financial responsibility or proof of insurance on your person while you drive in order to prove to law enforcement that you have your state’s required minimum liability coverage.

Forms of financial responsibility in Oregon can include:

• A valid, up-to-date insurance ID card
• A copy of your insurance policy
• A signed letter from your insurance agent or a company official written out on company letterhead
• A DMV certificate of self-insurance with your name or the name of the vehicle owner listed on it

If you happen to get pulled over in the state of Oregon, you need to be able to show a law enforcement representative proof of insurance. Without one of these forms of financial responsibility, you may face fines or the suspension of your license and registration.

If you happen to be driving without auto insurance in Oregon, you may have to file an SR-22 form in order to verify to law enforcement and the state that you do, in fact, have state minimum liability coverage. An SR-22 serves as another form of financial responsibility and can protect you from unnecessary fines or suspensions.

You may also have to file an SR-22 if you:

• Were convicted of driving without insurance
• Owned and uninsured vehicle at the time of a car accident
• Want to reinstate your driving privileges after a suspension
• Are applying for a hardship or probationary permit

If you’ve had to file an SR-22, you’ll need to carry it with you in your car or on your person while driving for three years after you’ve received it in order to protect yourself from immediate license suspension.

Premiums as a Percentage of Income

With all of that cheery information out of the way, let’s get down to brass tacks. Your auto insurance premium in Oregon will be some percentage of your disposable income per capita.

What precisely is the disposable income per capita, though? Effectively, the term applies to the money that you’re able to spend after you’ve paid your taxes for the year.

For example, let’s say you made $80,000 over the course of a year, pre-taxes. After March comes and goes, you’ll have roughly $65,000 to use on every other expense in your life. As such, that $65,000 serves as your disposable income.

The state average of residents’ disposable income serves as a state’s annual per capita disposable income.

In Oregon, the annual per capital disposable income comes to $36,445.

This means that on average, Oregon residents will have $36,445 a year to commit to utilities, rent, groceries, and other forms of insurance. On a monthly basis, that number comes to $3,037.08.

How does your auto insurance premium factor into this number? Well, the average premium for annual full coverage in Oregon comes in at about $894.10. This means that over the course of a year, you’ll pay roughly $900 for your auto insurance coverage.

On a month by month basis, Oregon residents should expect to pay an average of $74.51 a month in order to secure full auto insurance coverage.

That said, Oregon’s state average for auto insurance rates is lower than the national average. Across the United States, the average annual rate for auto insurance is $981. That means that, as an Oregon resident, you’re getting a deal on your insurance!

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Average Monthly Auto Insurance Rates in OR (Liability, Collision, Comprehensive)

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, core coverage in the state of Oregon rated as follows in 2015.

These variant forms of coverage may cost your wallet a little more in the long run. However, if you get into an accident that elicits costs that exceed the amount of minimum coverage you have, you’ll likely find that more extensive coverage will keep you from having to dig into your savings.

Let’s take a look at how the average cost of auto insurance varies from state to state.

Want to learn a little more about the additional coverage available to you? Keep reading to find out more!

Additional Liability Coverage

We’ve already touched on Uninsured/Underinsured coverage and PIP coverage as part of the state of Oregon’s minimum insurance requirements.

As a refresher, though, note that PIP will cover your personal medical expenses as well as rehabilitation, funeral expenses, loss of earnings, and even childcare expenses that result from an accident regardless of fault. This coverage also extends to anyone in the vehicle with you.

UMBI coverage will protect you if you happen to get into an accident with someone who doesn’t have insurance while UIM will cover if you’re hit by someone who doesn’t have enough coverage to see to all of your expenses. UMBI and UIM coverages ensure that you won’t have to dig into your savings should the person at-fault in an accident be unable to see to your financial needs.

Additional Coverage Loss Ratios

Both PIP and UMBI have their own loss ratios. What, though, is a loss ratio?

In short, a loss ratio tells you how much a particular provider is willing to pay out on an insurance claim.

Providers with rates above 100 percent are able to cover all of their clients’ expenses, but they risk going bankrupt in order to do so. Comparatively, providers with lower rates are less likely to entirely cover their clients, but they’re more financially stable.

Oregon, in particular, is home to providers with average UMBI loss ratios but higher than average PIP loss ratios. That said, national averages for loss ratios range between 94-112 percent. That range leaves Oregon a little above average but otherwise sitting pretty.

Add-ons, Endorsements, and Riders

If you want more options for insurance add-ons, then you’re in luck. There are a variety of ways you can secure additional coverage, so many so that you may end up feeling like a kid in a candy factory.

Don’t let the prospects overwhelm you. We’ve compiled a list of some of the more readily available add-ons that’ll fit into any budget. These forms of coverage will do double-duty to protect you in case of an accident.

Check any of the additional coverage options to learn more about these opportunities:

• Guaranteed Auto Protection (GAP)
• Personal Umbrella Policy (PUP)
• Rental Reimbursement
• Emergency Roadside Assistance
• Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
• Non-Owner Auto Insurance
• Modified Auto Insurance Coverage
• Classic Auto Insurance
• Pay-As-You-Drive or Usage-Based Insurance

Average Auto Insurance Rates by Age & Gender in OR

There are additional factors that can impact your auto insurance rate, including your gender. Though the myth of gender’s influence on a person’s ability to drive a car responsibility has been challenged multiple times, auto insurance providers seem determined to proceed with caution.

You’ll note that the primary difference in rates displayed here doesn’t fall along gender lines, necessarily, but rather along age lines.

Teenage boys, as you can see, have much higher insurance rates than their female counterparts. Teenagers are considered to be less experienced drivers than their adult counterparts and, as such, have to pay higher rates in order for auto insurance providers to effectively cover any accidents that the driving learning curve may bring about.

Comparatively, middle-aged married women and men have similar auto insurance rates.

Cheapest Rates by ZIP Code

The city and county you live in also impact your auto insurance rates.

Oregon’s bigger, urban areas, with their increased amount of traffic, see higher rates than their rural counterparts. Just so you can see the full range of available rates, we’ve compiled the following provider costs next to their applicable city and ZIP code.

The most expensive ZIP code can be found in Portland, while the cheapest ZIP code can be found in La Grande.

Cheapest Rates by City

To give you a bigger picture of rates, the tables below show the most expensive and cheapest rates by cities. Take a look to see where your city lands.

Even though Portland had the most expensive ZIP code, it is only the sixth most expensive city on the list.

Best Oregon Auto Insurance Companies

One of the best things about shopping for auto insurance is that no matter what you need, you have dozens upon dozens of auto insurance providers to choose from. However, the kind of diversity of options can get pretty overwhelming, especially when each company is trying to convince you that they have your best interests at heart.

That’s why we’re here to help you weed your way through your available policies. With this comprehensive guide in hand, you’ll be able to figure out exactly what kind of coverage you’re paying for and what kind your lifestyle demands.

First thing’s first, though: what kind of auto insurance providers are most active and effective in Oregon? Certainly choosing one of the ten largest companies is always a sound choice.

Let’s dive into the company ratings, customer complaints, and financial success of some of Oregon’s biggest auto insurance providers.

Oregon’s Largest Companies’ Financial Ratings

Assessing a provider’s financial health is one of the best ways to determine whether or not that provider is safe to shop with. What is financial health, though? According to the A.M. Best Rating, it’s the ability of a company to provide for those with its coverage and to retain an income.

If you take a look at the table below, you’ll get a good idea of which providers in Oregon can provide you with the most comprehensive coverage while remaining financially secure.

Companies with the Best Ratings

For data that’s a little less financially driven, you can take a look at customer satisfaction with Oregon’s various providers. A 2018 J.D. Power study reveals customer’s satisfaction with individual providers’ care all throughout the Pacific Northwest, as you can see below.

Companies with the Most Complaints in Oregon

On the other hand, which companies in Oregon garner the most customer complaints?

Complaints don’t always determine whether or not a company can provide you with excellent coverage, but the numbers will tell you something about their customer service.

Auto Insurance Rates by Companies in Oregon

Different companies will also offer you different rates, which means there’s some benefit to doing your research prior to committing to a plan. Take a look at the range of rates available to you as an Oregon resident.

Commute Rates by Company

The distance you travel while driving to and from work does, in fact, contribute to your auto insurance rate. Drivers with more significant commutes tend to be charged more for their coverage due to the greater amount of time they spend on the road.

That said, there’s not always a difference in rate based on a person’s commute. If your commute is a little bit longer than average, though, you may want to factor it into your rate comparisons.

Commute times are among a handful of factors that contribute to rates increasing. Take a look at some of the others.

Coverage Rates by Company

Likewise, the amount of coverage you want protecting your car while you drive will vary the rates that you’re offered by providers throughout Oregon. You may be tempted to take on a less expensive plan simply to save money, but remember: being underinsured can lead to greater expenses in the long run.

We can also see how rates compare between the top ten companies in the region when putting up against the state average.

Credit History Rates by Company

You won’t be too surprised to learn that your credit history will impact your insurance rate. Your credit history reflects your ability to pay back the money you owe, and auto insurance providers want to ensure that you’ll be able to stay on top of your rates for as long as you’re partnered with them.

As you can see, drivers with lower credit scores are charged more for their coverage than those with fair or good scores.

The average credit score throughout the state of Oregon is 688. Compared to the national average of 675, Oregon is sitting pretty with an above average state credit!

Driving Record Rates by Companies

Last but not least, your driving history will without a doubt impact the kind of rates and coverage that you’re offered by Oregon’s auto insurance providers. If you’re prone to traffic violations or car accidents, then your provider of choice will need you to be paying for a greater amount of coverage than a driver with a clean record.

As you can see, even a single speeding violation can significantly increase the auto insurance rate you have to pay.

Number of Insurers in Oregon

When you move to Oregon, you’ll have the option to choose to purchase coverage from domestic insurers and foreign insurers. What’s the difference?

Domestic insurers are providers who are state-local. You won’t find branches for these insurers outside of the state of Oregon, and their policies comply solely with Oregon’s driving laws.

Foreign insurers are providers who operate on a national level and whose policies aren’t state-specific.

This difference shouldn’t necessarily impact your auto insurer provider search, but you will want to think about the ways that foreign insurer’s policies may or may not fall short of Oregon’s minimum liability coverage.

Oregon Laws and Legalities

Driving laws vary from state to state. If you’re just moving to Oregon, it may be difficult for you to keep your previous state’s laws and Oregon’s driver laws straight in your mind. Keeping track of Oregon’s state laws, though, can prevent you from getting pulled over for violating a law you weren’t even aware of.

As part of this comprehensive guide to auto insurance and road operations in Oregon, we’ve compiled a list of the state’s driver-oriented laws. You can reference this guide at any time to make sure that you’ve got all of the most important driving laws under your belt.

Take a look through this section before you hit the road, and you’ll be among the safest drivers in the Beaver State.

Auto Insurance Laws

We’ve already mentioned the minimum liability coverage that the state of Oregon requires all of its registered drivers to have. Ensuring that you have the basic amount of auto insurance that the state requires not only keeps you safe in case you get in an accident, but proof of that insurance will prevent you from having your license suspended by the state.

Just as a refresher, Oregon requires the following minimum liability coverage:

• 25 = $25,000 in coverage to pay for the injuries and medical treatment per person
• 50 = $50,000 in coverage to pay for the total injuries and medical treatment per accident
• 20 = $20,000 in coverage to repair any property that’s damaged per accident

• $15,000 in Personal Injury Protection coverage (PIP)
• $25,000 per person for Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UMBI)
• $50,000 in total for Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UMBI)

Windshield Coverage

The last thing you want to end up doing is driving down an interstate and BAM! A rock hits and fractures your windshield. If that experience isn’t bad enough, a number of states would require you to go through hyper-specific procedures in order to replace your broken windshield.

Oregon is not one of these states.

While, on one hand, this means that auto insurance providers are not required to include full glass coverage in Oregon in their comprehensive plans, it also means that you won’t have to dig into your savings in order to afford newly-minted windshield glass.

Instead, insurers in Oregon can provide you with after-market windshields – so long as they’re of the same quality, fit, finish, and function as your original windshield – to save you money and time.

Now, if you do want coverage from a provider who’ll include windshield replacement in your plan, you can shop around through the state of Oregon to find the best provider for you.

Learn more here: Oregon Windshield Insurance

High-Risk Insurance

Similarly, Oregon’s auto insurance providers are not required by law to provide every driver in the state with coverage. If you or someone you know has a poor history of driving, you may be considered a “high-risk driver.”

What precisely is a high-risk driver? It’s someone who’s driving history reflects a number of accidents, DUIs, tickets, or other traffic violations and who insurance companies may believe that they’ll need to provide significant coverage for.

The state of Oregon has a plan in place to see to it that high-risk drivers registered with the state receive the state’s minimum liability coverage. This plan is known as the Automobile Insurance Plan of Oregon, or OR AIP.

It’s worth noting that you have to apply to be covered by OR AIP. In order to be considered for coverage through the program, you have to meet the following requirements:

• Be a licensed driver
• Register your vehicle of choice with the state of Oregon
• Certify on your application that, as of its submission, you were unable to find voluntary insurance coverage within the last 60 days

You may be rejected from the plan if you:

• Have an unpaid insurance premium
• Fail to present your vehicle for inspection
• If your vehicle is considered an “antique” or is over 25 years old

If you are accepted to the plan, your coverage will be allocated to one of the state’s many providers. That said, you’ll have the state minimum coverage, but you may be covered by a company you’re not particularly interested in. Without any other coverage options, though, you’ll have to work within the bounds of the plan the state allocates for you.

Low-Cost Insurance

Unfortunately, low-income families do not have access to any government-sponsored insurance programs at this point in time. Low-income families without a poor driving history are also unable to apply for OR AIP.

That said, there are still things you can do in order to find affordable auto insurance coverage in the state of Oregon. Ask your preferred insurance provider if they have any discounts available that you could be awarded for a clean driving record, strong credit history, or any of the common themes below:

• Homeowner’s Discount
• Military Discount
• Good Driver / Accident-Free Discount
• Good Student Discount
• Multi-Car Discount
• “Green” Discount (for either having a ‘green’ vehicle or opting for a paperless policy)
• Employee Discount (some companies offer their employees discounts for things such as auto insurance)
• Anti-Theft Device Discount

Automobile Insurance Fraud in Oregon

Auto insurance fraud is kind of a big deal. That said, it’s also a crime that’s extremely hard to commit unintentionally.

In order to commit insurance fraud, you’ll have had to:

• Deliberately faked an accident in order to issue a claim for false property damage or personal injuries
• Padded a legitimate claim for property damage or injuries that never occurred

The consequences of automobile fraud range from hefty fines to jail time. Don’t bother making a false claim because you think it’ll bring you some extra dough. The price isn’t worth the crime.

Statute of Limitations

If you’ve been in an accident, there’s a limited amount of time in which you’re able to make a auto insurance claim regarding any injuries or property damage sustained. This time period is referred to as the statute of limitations.

In Oregon, you’ll have:

• Two years to file a claim regarding personal injuries
• Six years to file a claim regarding property damage

Note that while that may seem like a lot of time, overcoming the consequences of an accident can eat into your statute of limitations. As such, do what you can to file a claim for personal injuries or property damage as quickly as you can after a car accident in order to get all of the coverage that you deserve.

Failure to Obey a Traffic Control Device

Oregon, specifically, has a law in place designed to ensure that no one in the state speeds up and runs a yellow light.

While this behavior may be acceptable in other states, Oregon has ORS 811.265 in place in order to limit the number of intersection fatalities that arise over the course of a year.

In Oregon, you are only able to drive through a yellow light if you were otherwise unable to stop your vehicle safely at the intersection in question.

Vehicle Licensing Laws

We’ve already briefly touched on the driver requirements that’ll keep you legal on Oregon’s roadways. Just as a refresher, though, in order to maintain your vehicle license in Oregon, you have to have one of the following forms of financial responsibility – otherwise known as “proof of insurance” – on you at all times while you’re driving:

• A valid, up-to-date insurance ID card
• A copy of your insurance policy
• A signed letter from your insurance agent or a company official written out on company letterhead
• A DMV certificate of self-insurance with your name or the name of the vehicle owner listed on it

For some more specific Oregon requirements, keep on reading and arm yourself with the knowledge that’ll make you a safer driver.

Penalties for Driving Without Insurance

If you get caught driving without insurance, you could be in some serious trouble. In Oregon, the first time you’re pulled over and found not to have one of the aforementioned forms of financial responsibility on your person, you’ll be facing fines and penalties alike.

A first-time offense for driving without insurance in Oregon results in:

• Your vehicle registration’s suspension for three months – unless, that is, your insurance expired fewer than 31 days prior to your assessment and the vehicle attached to your name was not driven over that period of time.
• An $88 restoration fee submitted with proof of insurance which, upon its arrival, will reinstate your vehicle registration.
• A $500 civil penalty fee. This fee can stand in for the suspension of your registration, but you can only use this “get out of jail free” card once every 12 months. Even then, it’s not so much a “get out of jail free” card as it is a pretty hefty financial slap on the wrist.

Teen Driver Laws

If you are or have a teenager who’s raring to get on the road, you’re in luck. Oregon allows young drivers to apply for their learner’s permits at the age of 15!

That said, there are restrictions placed on learner’s permits that are designed to keep younger drivers safe on the road. These restrictions will be slowly peeled back over time as the young driver in question receives her full license or a restricted license.

Unlike a number of other states, driver’s education is required in Oregon so long as the driver in question is younger than 18 years old.

However, if a young driver has 50 hours of supervised driving recorded, she’ll be able to take her driver’s test without having to go through driver’s education.

Older Driver License Renewal Procedures

On the other end of the spectrum, drivers 50 years old or older also have restrictions placed on their ability to renew their licenses.

Everyone in Oregon has to go to the DMV every eight years in order to get their license renewed. However, any driver over 50 years old also has to have a vision test upon the renewal of their license.

Unfortunately, you can’t avoid the line at the DMV by submitting a renewal application online or through the mail. No matter what your age, you’ll have to renew your license in person.

New Residents

Have the mountains, ocean, and general beauty of Oregon won you over? Then you’re going to have to take a few steps to make sure that you properly register your car with your new home state.

Once you’ve settled in as a resident of the Beaver State, you’ll have 30 days to title and register your car with the state. All you’ll need to do is swing by your local DMV in order to get all of your information in order.

From there, you’ll need to make sure that your pre-existing insurance policy complies with Oregon’s state minimum liability coverage requirements. Just as a refresher, the ratio for insurance in Oregon is 25/50/20 with an additional 15/20/50 set aside for UMM and PIP. Let’s break those ratios down one more time:

• 25 = $25,000 in coverage to pay for the injuries and medical treatment per person
• 50 = $50,000 in coverage to pay for the total injuries and medical treatment per accident
• 20 = $20,000 in coverage to repair any property that’s damaged per accident
• $15,000 in Personal Injury Protection coverage (PIP)
• $25,000 per person for Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UMBI)
• $50,000 in total for Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UMBI)

License Renewal Procedures

Like we’ve mentioned, renewing your license in Oregon is a fairly straightforward process. While you’re not doing to be able to avoid the line at the DMV, you can avoid an eye exam so long as you’re under 50 years of age.

The state of Oregon requires you to renew your license in person at the DMV every eight years in order to drive legally on the road.

Rules of the Road in Oregon

Want to stay safe and legal on Oregon’s roadways? We address move over laws, seat belt legislation, speed limits, and more so you can avoid unnecessary fines and drive with more confidence.

Fault vs. No-Fault

Oregon is an at-fault state. This means that when an accident occurs, one driver is determined to be at-fault.

This driver then must take on the financial responsibility of paying for the other driver’s medical and property damage in addition to any damage they themselves may have sustained.

This “at-fault” policy is what makes having the right kind of coverage so essential in Oregon. If you’re not protected, you may find yourself having to use our savings in order to pay for someone else’s medical bills. Of course, because Oregon requires PIP and UMBI, you’ll likely be a little safer than you would be otherwise.

All the same, it’s worth it to consider what kind of add-ons will make your auto insurance policy more comprehensive.

Seat Belt and Car Seat Laws

Seat belts and car seats are designed to keep all passengers in a car as safe as possible. As such, child safety seat laws in Oregon are exceptionally strict.

Because the seat belt and car seat policies listed above are subject to primary enforcement, an officer doesn’t need any other reason to pull your car over if she notices that you’re driving without a seat belt on.

These seat belt restrictions do not apply to the cargo area of trucks. However, these spaces have their own set of legalities.

The only people who can ride in the cargo area of a truck are:

• Passengers 18 years old or older
• Minors secured with a safety belt or harness
• Parade participants
• Minors when all other seats in the vehicle are occupied by other minors, the tailgate is closed, and the destination of the vehicle is either to the place of the minor’s employment, a hunting camp, or hunting site.

Seem specific? It is on purpose. Once again, seat belt, car seat, and cargo area laws are in place to keep all of the passengers in a vehicle as safe as possible.

Keep Right and Move Over Laws

Keep Right laws in Oregon dictate that if you’re driving at a speed that’s slower than the posted speed limit, you need to stay in the right-hand lane of the road you’re on.

Move Over laws in Oregon require you to move out of the way of an oncoming vehicle with flashing lights that happens to be moving in the same direction you are. This ensures that emergency vehicles can make it to their destinations without delay.

Some examples of other vehicles you’ll want to move over for include the following:

• Law Enforcement
• Ambulances
• Fire Trucks
• Utility Service Trucks
• Roadside Assistance
• Tow Vehicles

Speed Limits

Even though you may want to be, you’re no Speed Racer. Speeding, in fact, is the source of the majority of fines across the United States. If you’re looking to avoid unnecessary tickets, keep Oregon’s posted speed limits in mind.

You’ll note that these listed limits are the maximum speed for their road types. Rural interstates may see less traffic than urban interstates, but that doesn’t mean that your speedometer can start creeping upward.

Ridesharing

These days, Lyft and Uber are more than just ridesharing services. They’re also job opportunities. If you use your car as part of a ridesharing or delivery position, you’ll need ridesharing insurance in addition to Oregon’s state minimum coverage.

State Farm and USAA are the only two providers in the state of Oregon who offer ridesharing coverage.

You can always check with your superior to see if you can make use of company insurance while working in the rideshare industry. If you can’t, you’ll want to do some additional shopping in order to find the best policy for you.

Safety Laws

You can also make behavioral decisions that’ll keep you and your fellow drivers safer on Oregon’s roadways. These rules apply to things like drinking and driving and the use of hand-held devices while you’re behind the wheel.

Impaired Driving Laws

It’s fun to go out drinking with friends, no question. What isn’t fun is attempting to drive home and having someone – maybe you, maybe another driver – getting injured in the process.

As of 2017, 137 of Oregon’s fatalities were attributed to alcohol-impaired driving. In order to combat this trend, the state has strict DUI policies in place.

As you can see, while an initial DUI offense will result in a misdemeanor, your fourth will result in a felony and can land you jail time. Take a look at our breakdown of the consequences of driving while intoxicated.

Drinking and driving is an expensive misdemeanor. Not only will you have to pay out to repay the state for your offense, but if you get caught drinking and driving for a third time, you risk losing your license for the rest of your life.

There are simple ways to avoid driving while intoxicated. Ridesharing programs like Lyft and Uber are ideal for getting you home safely, and electing a designated driver at the beginning of the night is a great way to make sure that no one intoxicated gets behind a steering wheel.

Distracted Driving Laws

With innovations in today’s technology, it seems like there isn’t a single person alive who doesn’t have access to a smartphone. With this increased connectivity comes the urge to text or call someone while you’re on the road.

Don’t do this. Staying in touch with a friend or loved one may feel important, but you can’t focus on the road and send a message without compromising your focus.

In order to limit the number of hand-held related fatalities that Oregon sees over the course of a year, the state government has implemented an all-encompassing hand-held ban throughout the state.

According to the IIHS, drivers in Oregon are not allowed to use any electronic devices in one or both hands while driving a vehicle on a public highway. This means that if you’re in the driver’s seat, you legally cannot touch your phone – not while you’re at stoplights, not while you’re stuck in traffic, nada.

It’s also worth noting that getting caught using a cellphone or other hand-held device if a first-string offense, meaning that you can receive a ticket for this and no other reason if an officer spots you.

Oregon’s Can’t-Miss Facts

With laws and legalities out of the way, you may feel as though you know everything there is to know about driving safely in Oregon. Not so! We’re here to help you explore the ways those laws and legalities translate into your everyday driving experience in the Beaver State.

Here we’ll address the fatality and vehicle facts that you need to know in order to be a more conscientious driver.

Vehicle Theft in Oregon

It’s not always sports cars that are the first to be stolen by car thieves. In Oregon, in fact, Honda Accords and Civics go significantly faster than their flashy cousins.

It’s not just the make and model that catches a person’s eye, though. The place where a person lives, works, and drives can impact the likelihood of their car getting stolen. The FBI has compiled a list of Oregon’s vehicle thefts by city, as you can see below.

Road Dangers in Oregon

Theft isn’t the only thing Oregon drivers have to worry about. Let’s touch on all of the major causes of traffic fatalities across the state so you can drive more carefully.

Fatal Crashes by Weather Condition and Light Condition

It won’t surprise you to learn that weather and light contribute to a significant number of traffic fatalities a year. We’ve touched on the ways that different conditions impact people’s ability to drive in the table below.

Oregon isn’t exactly the sunshine state, so when a sunny afternoon gives way to an Oregon downpour, make sure that you’re taking things a little bit slower than you normally would.

Road Type Fatalities

The type of road that you’re driving on will also contribute to the likelihood of your getting into an accident.

Even though urban roads see more traffic than rural ones, rural roads in Oregon see more fatalities over the course of a year than those in the cities.

Fatalities by Person Type

A person’s relationship to the cars on the road – be they passenger, occupant, or pedestrian – also impacts the likelihood that they’ll be involved in an accident. Even the car a person is driving can increase or decrease their likelihood of a fatality. Take a look at the data below.

As you can see, passenger cars see the most accidents by far in Oregon.

Fatalities by Crash Type

Crashes aren’t all one and the same, though. Fatality commonality will vary based on the number of cars and types of vehicles that were involved in individual crashes.

Five-Year Trend for the Top 10 Counties in Oregon

There are also a number of individual counties that are more likely to see a higher fatality rate than others. Our collected data shows that the following Oregon counties see the most fatalities over the course of a single year.

We’re not saying that a higher fatality rate in your county means that you need to move. Rather, the fatality rate of your area should impact your auto insurance considerations and encourage you to drive a little more cautiously.

Fatalities Involving Speeding by County

As we briefly touched on before, speeding causes a significant number of driving fatalities both in Oregon and across the United States.

As you can see, in 2017, 119 of Oregon’s fatalities involved a driver who was speeding.

Fatalities in Crashes Involving an Alcohol-Impaired Driver

We’ve already touched on the dangers of drunk driving, but what does the fatality rate of those drivers look like in Oregon?

The numbers aren’t especially positive. You also have to consider the fact that these statistics include a number of teenage drivers who were caught in an accident after drinking.

In 2018, Oregon ranked 15th in a list of the most dangerous states for drunk driving. It ranks 16th among the most dangerous states for teenage drunk drivers.

This high ranking contributes to Oregon’s push back against drinking and driving. The state hopes that with stricter punishments for both DUIs and underage drinking, the state’s percentage of fatalities involving an intoxicated driver can be curbed.

EMS Response Time

The good news is that if you happen to get in an accident, Oregon’s Emergency Medical Services will quickly become your new best friends. The location of your accident will impact how quickly the EMS will be able to reach your location and get you to a hospital.

While it takes the EMS a little longer to arrive in rural areas, you’ll note that the response times for both rural and urban areas in Oregon are under an hour. That’s great news! This means that the EMS will be able to get you or a loved one away from the site of an accident quickly and efficiently.

Transportation

With all of the finer points of Oregon legality out of the way, we can take a final look at some of the traffic statistics the state has to offer. We’ll touch on the average number of cars Oregon residents own and how much time you might expect to spend commuting to work in the morning.

Car Ownership

On average, Oregon residents keep two cars in their garages. This means that it’s easier for individual family members to travel, but it may also mean that your morning commute is a little more crowded.

Commute Time

That said, Oregon has an average commute time of 22.3 minutes. That’s not too bad, all things considered. Oregon actually comes in three minutes under the average national commute time of 25.3 minutes, so even though your early mornings may feel long, you’re spending less time in your car than you may think.

Commuter Transport

While you might be one of the Oregon residents who’s lucky enough to work from home, the vast majority of Oregon’s residents – 72.4 percent, in fact – commute to work every day in individual cars. If you’re the type of person who wants time to wake up in the morning or cool down after work, Oregon’s commute will be perfect for you.

Traffic Congestion in Oregon

Even with a commute time shorter than the national average, Oregon still threatens to cram your morning with a bit of undue traffic, especially in its more urban areas. Portland, in particular, made it onto the INRIX’s scorecard for global traffic.

Now, your commute time and traffic congestion will vary based on the time of day you’re driving through the city. Your speed, too, will see some flux based on whether you’re heading into work, heading out to lunch, or driving home.

• Peak Speed: 21.15 mph
• Off-Peak Speed: 35.31 mph
• Free Flow: 42.44 mph

Of all the states in the union, Portland ranks as the 7th most congested, according to SOURCE. Drive slow out there, then, and try not to get too frustrated when the traffic kicks in.

And with all that in mind, you’ve conquered Oregon’s auto insurance policies! Hopefully you’ll be able to use the data in this comprehensive guide to auto insurance in order to better choose the policies and rates that suit your lifestyle.

If you want to move ahead and compare rates in your area, you can use our FREE online tool to start contrasting rates in your area.

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07.10.2020 / auto insurance companies / auto insurance comparisons / auto insurance in Oregon / auto insurance laws / auto insurance rates / Oregon auto insurance