“Current State Farm driving data and claims experience show a considerable decline in miles driven and fewer accidents,” said Matt Hodson, Vice President - Agency/Sales. “As a result, we’re looking for ways to continue supporting our New Hampshire customers while we monitor and adjust to trends.”

In addition to the auto rate reduction, the discount for participating in Drive Safe & Save™ is increasing to 10%, and empowers drivers to save more on their auto premiums through driving behaviors.

Customer rate reductions will vary based on their individual renewals. Customers are encouraged to visit with their State Farm agent about individual policies, coverage and any opportunities for discounts, including Drive Safe & Save.

The effective date for new and renewal business is June 10. The last rate change in New Hampshire was a decrease of 2.6 percent in October 2018. Combined, the two auto rate decreases will save New Hampshire customers $7.2 million.

“State Farm is very pleased to be able to offer another auto rate decrease in New Hampshire,” said State Farm Senior Vice President Chris Schell. “Improving expenses and losses were important factors, among many, that supported our decision to make this rate change."

Overall changes in premiums for individual motorists will vary. Rates depend on a customer’s policy and chosen coverage. Customers can contact their local State Farm agent to discuss their individual situation. Additional opportunities for discounts may apply.

A rate decrease combined with discounts offers exceptional long-term value to State Farm customers.

State Farm sponsored assist patrols in 18 states help keep the nation’s highest-trafficked roadways safe and clear. They reduce congestion, help stranded motorists, and provide traffic control and safety at incident scenes.

Safety patrols are operated by state departments of transportation and toll road authorities. They are known by a variety of names in 40 states. Their free services include changing flat tires, providing a jump-start or small amount of gasoline, and minor safety repairs.

“The safety patrols embody our ‘good neighbor’ philosophy and underscore our commitment to auto safety,” said Ed Gold, advertising director. “They help people recover from the unexpected, which is the heart of the State Farm mission.”

State Farm sponsorship helps increase coverage areas and raises awareness about the patrols. This helps the motoring public feel more secure when traveling the nation’s interstate system. Sponsored highway signs mark coverage areas. The bright red State Farm reflective markings also improve patrol vehicle visibility.

State Farm sponsors the safety patrols in Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

State Farm has been committed to roadway safety since its founding in 1922. The company seeks to increase the safety of all drivers and passengers from infancy to the driver’s seat.

*Safety Service Patrol Priorities and Best Practices: USDOT Federal Highway Federal Highway Administration, April 2017

“The company’s current financial strength is allowing us to pass along a rate reduction to our New Hampshire customers," said State Farm Senior Vice President Chris Schell. “We continually evaluate how we can best serve our customers and are very pleased to be able to offer this rate decrease in New Hampshire”.

Overall changes in premiums for individual motorists will vary depending on the specific details of an individual customer’s policy and chosen coverages. The effective date for new and renewal business was May 14, 2018. New Hampshire customers with questions can contact their local State Farm agent to discuss their individual situation.

In addition to this rate reduction, State Farm agents are able to review with new and existing customers the many opportunities for additional discounts that may apply to an individual’s unique circumstances. A rate decrease combined with discounts offers an exceptional long-term value to State Farm customers.

After lunch, John, an engineer, left the house to head back to the office, but first decided to get the mail. Marilyn put on her coat and prepared to do last minute Christmas shopping.

Marilyn thought she heard someone calling for a dog. She heard the voice again. It was louder and more urgent. Curious, she followed the voice, toward the end of her driveway

As she reached the end, about 35 feet from their front door, she saw John. He was lying in the snow, conscious but unable to move, and seriously injured.

He repeated the words “hurt” and “truck” to her. The mailbox door was open with the mail still inside. Marilyn quickly called 911. John, her husband and best friend, was rushed to the hospital.

In an effort to keep John alive, the hospital staff quickly worked to identify the extent of his injuries. Throughout all of this, John remained conscious and kept repeating, “hurt.”

As she held his hand, he stared directly into her eyes and lightly squeezed her hand two times - their secret way of saying of I love you. Then he went into cardiac arrest and passed away. Marilyn would never see him smile again.

John was hit and killed by a truck when he was collecting his mail. An alert was put out for the driver, who did not stop at the crash scene. The 20-year-old, who turned himself in, said he thought he hit a snowbank or mailbox. He also admitted to texting while driving. Investigators reported the driver’s eyes were off the road for seven seconds.

After a five-day trial, the driver was acquitted of all charges. Marilyn decided more needed to be done to raise distracted driving awareness and laws needed to be changed to hold distracted drivers accountable.

Her next journey

The local Junior Woman’s League approached Marilyn about planting a tree in John’s memory. Marilyn, however, had a different idea. She asked the women to purchase thumb bands for distribution throughout town, with messaging designed to encourage drivers not to text while driving.

At the local high school, the resource officer distributed the thumb bands. After an article about the effort was printed in the local newspaper, donations began to flow in for more thumb bands. Local businesses handed them out to customers, more donations came in.

Marilyn knew more needed to be done.

She actively sought out public speaking opportunities and became a passionate advocate for “hands free” driving legislation. Marilyn was contacted by Sue Centner of the Community Alliance for Teen Safety (CATS), which receives funding from State Farm.

“We heard about Marilyn and her courage, and wondered how sharing her story could help save lives in our Derry community and throughout New Hampshire,” said Sue. “Marilyn was determined to make a positive impact in the lives of others.”

Marilyn joined forces with CATS, the Derry Police Department, and Dartmouth’s Injury Prevention Center to produce a televised roundtable discussion about New Hampshire’s proposed hands free driving law. This program was distributed through the cable networks throughout the state.

Marilyn remained a positive force, working with local and state police, CATS, the NH Driving Toward Zero Coalition, and other highway safety advocates. They supported a legislative effort that resulted in New Hampshire becoming the 15th state to ban drivers from using hand-held electronic devices while driving. The law took effect on July 1, 2015.

Marilyn believes legislation and education efforts will help prevent further tragedies like hers. So she continues to share her story at high school assemblies, hoping to make a difference.

“I remember, after Marilyn finished speaking during one presentation, the students spontaneously stood and applauded,” said Sue from CATS. “Marilyn clearly made an impact and she continues to do so throughout the state and at national traffic safety conferences.”

Marilyn is committed to preventing this type of tragedy from happening to others. “John was incredibly generous and dedicated much of his time to his community, serving as a firefighter for 18 years and as the fire chief for four,” she said. “He was an umpire, a master gardener, and a well-known columnist for a local newspaper.”

“One thing that would make me happy is to have the driver responsible for John’s death to join me at speaking engagements,” said Marilyn. “I think he could be a phenomenal advocate and that could be a big step in the healing process for us both.”

With no legislative duties on her schedule, Oct. 9 was a typical day for Sally Kelly. She spent that Friday at her full-time job as Vice-President of Member Communications for a large flooring retail cooperative. Sally’s other job was serving in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

Just like any other end to the work day, Sally started her VW Beetle, fastened the seat belt, and set out for home. It was dusk. A light mist blanketed the road. Sally was planning to pick up her husband and then drive to a dinner party in honor of a dear friend. After turning onto Route 4, only one-and-a-half miles stood between Sally and the safety of her driveway when the unthinkable happened. She thought it was the end of her life; a moment that haunts her to this day.

As she was approaching the local veterinarian’s office, a dark mini-van, which should have passed safely to her left, crossed the yellow lines and into Sally’s lane. Despite her efforts to avoid the vehicle careening toward her, Sally could not escape a head-on crash.

One Year Earlier

Sally has lived in New Hampshire since 1974. The state does not have a primary or secondary enforcement seat belt law, meaning adults cannot be ticketed under any circumstance for failing to wear a seat belt. Sally was a sporadic seat belt user, and as a state legislator she opposed legislating adults wear them.

Sally’s perspective began to change after she was asked to lead a committee to create a seat belt study commission. She opposed the effort but, in the interest of finding middle ground, Sally agreed to the creation of the commission if it included a balance of viewpoints, including those who were against any mandate. An agreement was struck and the commission was created.

As the work of the commission moved forward, Sally listened to testimony both for and against stronger seat belt laws. She learned automobiles are built differently than they were 20 years ago. Sally began to better understand how far technological advancements have come and how they protect vehicle occupants. Perhaps the most important learning was life-saving airbags and other safety features are most effective when passengers are buckled-in. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “seat belts dramatically reduce risk of death and serious injury. Among drivers and front-seat passengers, seat belts reduce the risk of death by 45%, and cut the risk of serious injury by 50%.”

At the conclusion of the commission’s work, Sally, a long-time opponent of stronger seat belt laws and sporadic seat belt user, had become a staunch seat belt supporter. She even introduced a mandatory seat belt law, which passed the House one year later but failed in the Senate by three votes.

Route 4 – Accident Scene,

The sound of screeching tires and crunching metal filled her ears, confusion overtook her mind, but the extreme pain—the most incredible pain she had ever felt—overtook Sally’s body. As she waited for help to arrive, Sally thought about her husband and daughter. She prayed it wasn’t her time to die. She screamed for someone to call her husband, Doug, but didn’t recognize him when he arrived.

Sally was extricated from the mangled mess of her blue VW 45-minutes later. She was alive and thankful, but couldn’t ignore the pain from 10 broken ribs, a broken left clavicle, seven broken bones in her right foot and countless abrasions, requiring many stiches. Sally’s totaled vehicle responded as it should in a frontal collision. The front-end absorbed much of the impact, the drivers’ side airbag deployed and Sally’s seat belt held her securely in the vehicle as various safety features responded around her.

Sally spent months in a wheelchair as she recovered. The physical wounds are mostly healed, but the psychological scars remain. It took a long time to get back behind the wheel. She even practiced driving in a parking lot as if preparing for her first drivers’ license road test. She drives that stretch of Route 4 and is reminded of her crash nearly every day. Some days she takes an alternate route.

Today

Today, Sally is grateful to the dedicated seat belt advocates who urged her for stronger seat belt laws. It is also not lost on her that her foray into public service likely saved her life. If not for her new-found habit of always wearing a seat belt, her crash could have been a fatality.

Sally did not seek re-election to the State Legislature in 2014, but is no less an advocate for increased awareness of passenger safety issues. The crash strengthened her resolve to improve seat belt use in her state and while still serving in the legislature, she succeeded at improving child booster seat standards. On any given day you might find Sally carrying a unique reminder of her path from a non-seat belt using state legislator to a staunch passenger safety advocate. Her handbag, a gift from seat belt supporters, is made from recycled seat belts—a fashionable but important reminder that a seat belt saved her life.

“I wear a seat belt not only for my own safety but also because I love my family and friends,” said Sally. “Our lives have a profound impact on those around us—what would their lives be like if you were killed or seriously injured in an auto accident? If nothing else, buckle-up because you care about those who love you.”

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