drivemecrazy

If teens are problems on the road, senior drivers could also be! As old age comes in, driving could be a very dangerous activity. In this time and age, everything’s not going to be the same compared to a few years earlier. Be it physical, mental, or emotional hindrances, it is suggested that seniors should take extra care while driving.

As you would notice, the insurance for seniors are relatively higher compared to generations below their age. This is because insurance companies know that elderly drivers tend to injure themselves more than others during road accidents. So if you care much about safety, here are some tips to improve a senior’s driving skills.

First, limit your driving. If you feel like you are old already for a drive, especially when you are over 65, initiate to limit your own driving as you realize the changes in your capabilities. Limiting your driving includes avoiding crowded streets. Instead of traversing streets like that, taking alternate routes is far better. Though it would result to a longer trip, at least it would be a safer one. Also, as much as possible, you should engage in close-to-home locations only.

In line with this, a study that was published in the American Journal of Public Health mentioned that more than 600,000 drivers who are aged 70 years old or older give up driving each year. If you are a senior, evaluate your driving capabilities. You are the one who would greatly know if you need to give driving up or if you just need to limit your driving. Your choice will always count as these actions lessen the occurrence of accidents.

Another is to attend driving improvement classes. It would be great if seniors are open to the fact that they are not their same young selves anymore. With that, they would be willing to attend self-help classes. In fact, when seniors obtain a certificate from this kind of classes, insurance companies give them discounts on their premiums upon presenting the certificate. That makes sense.

These two would be all for now. Watch out for more other tips. I know you care about your safety. So keep safe.

The worst thing about being in a car is when you meet an accident. Lucky you if it is not that grave; however, serious accidents are always possible. And, accidents are accidents, they would say. Indeed, no one knows when and how will it happen. With that, it is of great importance that every one of us knows how to deal with accidents.

Some people may feel uneasy talking about this. However, it is just right to discuss this because it is a wiser and more practical move to be prepared. So let’s start.

First, when you unfortunately happen to be involved in an accident, make sure that right after the impact, you pull over your vehicle to a safer area where you and your vehicle cannot disturb the normal traffic.

After that, get off your vehicle and see the person in the other vehicle. Exchange information with him such as license and vehicle information. Take everything down.

When an argument arises as to who is responsible for the accident, call police officers. Also, make sure to take pictures of the entire incident. The vehicles, license plates, and local landmarks should be covered.

Seek medical attention if you need it and report all information gathered to your insurance company within 24 hours. In case you are injured, consult a personal injury lawyer for inclusion in the official statement to the other person’s company. (Remember that you need not always hire a lawyer. This is just a matter of informing you so that you would know what to do in cases of stress or injury.)

So these are all what you should keep in mind. Perhaps, these are not yet all of the important things you should do when dealing with an accident. However, these would still help, I believe.  But remember, being prepared could be good, but avoiding as much as possible to be in an accident is better.

Accidents are oftentimes attributed to distractions when driving. One of these distractions is the use of cellular phones. Efforts had sprouted so as to minimize the distractions brought about by using cellular phones on the road for people believe that communication is still necessary for drivers. Included in these efforts is the move to make communicating inside a vehicle be hands-free and voice-activated. However, a study shows that this is not a good idea after all.

The Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh found out that drivers who are listening to cellular phone conversations are distracted even if they do not say a single word throughout a phone call. That instance, they said, is similar to the behaviors seen in people who have been drinking. It was seen that when both driving and listening is performed at once, the activity of the parietal lobe (the part of the brain that is associated with driving) is reduced by 37 percent.

The study was done using a driving simulator. The actual study involved 29 volunteers that drove a car along a virtual winding road at a fixed speed inside an MRI brain scanner. First, the participants were tested undisturbed then later were tested to decide if a statement they will be hearing is true or false. The result turned out to be that when listening is involved, more lane errors are made. Those errors included hitting simulated guardrails and weaving out lanes. These are much similar to the errors committed by drivers who are under the influence of alcohol.

Experts say that this is due to the fact that the process of listening to spoken language needs more mental effort than what is apparent. Our brain has the capacity to comprehend language without much strategic control. Meaning, it goes into the brain and is worked on automatically; therefore, you cannot stop it.

Also, it is said that the act of merely listening to a mobile phone is much more distracting than simply chatting with a passenger. This is because when you chat with a passenger, you could still sense driving situations and could stop talking when the need arises.

I hope this makes sense to all the drivers out there. Have a safe ride always. Do the necessary precautions.

Don’t say that you are a professional driver just because you have driven a car for decades already. Though your experience is long enough, there are certain mistakes that you might be doing without you even knowing or noticing it. It doesn’t mean that just because you are still alive, you don’t anymore commit mistakes on the road. Even though you would not admit this, perhaps you’ll think I’m right anyway. Take these common mistakes, for example.

First is pushing buttons. You might be aware that your vehicle is equipped with different buttons from the stereo controls to climate gauges. Though doing some of these things is needed for a convenient and comfortable ride, it should be noted that you push the buttons with proper care and attention. You should remember that you also need to focus on the road; therefore, you should give more attention to the road and steering wheel rather than these buttons. According to Drive for Life, giving attention to these buttons is the leading cause of accidents today.

Second is aggressive driving. The study of the Surface Transportation Policy states that 56 percent of the fatal crashes are caused by aggressive driving. Aggressive driving means speeding, tailgating, failing to yield, and the like. Just slow down fellow and make sure that there is a safe distance of one car length to the vehicle in front you and behind you. You know what will happen if you keep on driving too close to a vehicle. One unexpected move and you are in trouble.

Third is the use of mobile devices. This is true especially for teenagers who can’t keep their hands off their cellphones, iPods, or instant messaging gadgets while on the road.

Fourth is driving while upset and tired. Distractions like these could affect your driving. So better cool off and take a break. There’s no pint in hurrying to your destination if your safety is at risk.

Fifth is the failure to buckle up seatbelts. There are so many injuries that could be prevented only if the drivers and passengers were using their seatbelts. Why is it so hard for us to use it? It’s just as simple as buckling up!

Last is the carelessness in driving. Most common of these are turn signal errors and pushing the wrong pedals. This is not to laugh about. You should always check your move because a wrong one could be very dangerous.

Have a safe ride always.

When you go driving, it is necessary that you are also equipped with things to help you in times of emergency. It is more like a first-aid kit. Of course, unexpected circumstances could happen to your vehicle on the road. If you have with you a kit with you, then you are most likely to go home before dark and avoid getting stranded for a long time.

For that, your vehicle should house the following:

• A mobile phone. In times of emergency, you could use it to contact people to help you. How could you call 911 if you don’t have one? Also, you could use it to phone acquaintances near the place to ask for help, or call at home to let your family know what situation you are in.
• First-aid kit. The typical kit could be helpful so that in times that you get injured, you can use it.
• Fire extinguisher. It is not impossible that your vehicle be caught in a fire. It is better that your vehicle is equipped with one.
• Warning light, hazard light, or flares. Of course, you use it to tell other people in the road that you and your vehicle are there. This is most useful at night.
• Tire gauge. It is necessary that you always see to it that your tire is properly inflated.
• Jack and lug wrench. When the tires are needed to be replaced, at least you won’t be having a hard time.
• Tire sealant. If your tire has a hole, you can temporarily fix it with this seal.
• Spare fuses. Electrical problems in your vehicles are mostly caused by burn-out fuse. So if that happens to you, you are armed with a replacement.
• Flashlight. Of course, checking your vehicle at night could be hard without one.

You thought that was all? I’m not even at the half of the list. However, this would be all for now. I promise to continue this some other time. Watch out for it.

If you’ve been reading my previous posts, you have encountered the RS-1000 Teen Black Box brought about by Road Safety™. This was devised so that teen drivers could be easily monitored by the parents. For parents who are not convinced yet, I want you to know that there is still another approach to monitor your teens while they are driving—a camera system that was developed by the company DriveCam.

Once the DriveCam system is installed in the car of your teen, it records everything that is happening both inside and outside of your teen’s car. When the teen suddenly makes an unexpected move or a dangerous one, the camera would send a digital recording to a central database. In the database, the transmitted data is analyzed and afterwards will be sent to the parents. Therefore, you can easily call your teen to remind him/her to slow down. Another thing is that, DriveCam also sends a weekly safety report to the parents as to rate the driving performance of the teens. You can base from this report your decision on allowing your teen to drive independently.

Indeed, this system shows that the world is just a few steps closer to achieve the vision of decreasing death incidents caused by bad driving practices. Though this could be the greatest solution for worried parents, I doubt if every family could afford to have one. The system could be bought at $900 with additional subscription fee for continued services.

It is not enough that you own a car. It is not also enough that you have the most luxurious or the best performance car in the whole world - or even in the universe if you want. What is important is that you own a safe car that would guarantee you and your passengers’ safety on the roads. Of course, what would you do to the most sophisticated or fastest car if it would only bring you to your death? You’d rather choose not to have a vehicle such as that, I tell you.

When you plan to get a vehicle, consider its safety. Don’t waste your dollars just to buy a car that would bring danger and fear to your life. Buy a car which will be comfortable for you to ride in anytime you want. Here are some things you should look out for to help you find a safe car:

The very first thing that you should do is to determine who will be your future passengers. Do you have children who would surely ride in it? Or would you be having elderly people or handicapped individuals as your passengers? If you do, consider their needs and comfort. Look for vehicles that could cater to those needs. Check the safety features that a particular vehicle offers especially its brakes, seatbelts, air bags, and the like. If that answers your needs, then it could be the perfect safe car for you.

However, it is not enough that it has those that you need. Though a car obviously offers to serve your needs, it is not a guarantee that these safety features function as efficient as you are expecting. Take a look at the car’s features - you can see reviews about it written by auto experts. Also, don’t forget to see the crash test results done by trusted organizations. If doing all these things does not convince you yet, drive the vehicle yourself and test its performance. When you are satisfied, that’s would be the right moment to buy it. If not, look for other vehicles. It will always be best if you take your time choosing before actually purchasing.

Sometimes, you may just wish that your vehicle be involved in a collision rather than in a car fire. It is because there are still chances that you can have your vehicle repaired after a crash, but after a fire incident, it could be totally useless. There’s no more point in repairing things because the fire itself had weakened every material of the car especially that it is mostly made out of metal. That is really dangerous.

To avoid the danger that a fire incident could cause, you must anticipate that a fire could occur any moment of the day. Therefore, you should know all the necessary points to avoid fire. That’s the first step. Second, you should check your car fuel lines for cracks, leaks, and other damage. Fuel is the most common cause of fires, so you should check out all the parts that has something to do with it. To correct you, fires don’t just happen during collisions. Anything could cause it. Next, you should maintain the cleanliness of your engine compartment. Why? It is always easy to look for damage of various parts when they are clean. Also, you should ensure that electric car accessories are installed properly. You know faulty lines could cause fires too. Aside from that, you should also maintain the neatness of the interior of your car especially if you are a smoker. If you happen to accidentally throw a lighted cigarette near a trash, it could easily produce fire.

As you would notice, I mentioned just everything about avoiding fire. Here is a tip for you to be armed in case this happens to you. Always carry in your car a fire extinguisher. Put it in a place where you can easily grab it. There’s no point in bringing one if you just put it in your car’s trunk. I know you know why.

After all these things, I hope you won’t belong to the number of people who had experienced car fires. Be vigilant all the time. When you smell gas, check it out immediately.

Owning a car is like owning a home-on-the-go. Of course, thinking that it is a home, you end up placing important things in it even to the point that it is left unattended. That is tolerable since it is really hard to bring everything with you when you want to shop for some goods or drink a cup of coffee in the café. Cases like these often result to theft; however, this could be prevented. 

• When you are looking for a place to park your car, don’t consider dark and unsecured places. Always look for safe parking lots—those having security guards or security cameras.
• Another thing is to keep away from placing important items visible outside the car. Making things visible outside the car could tempt passersby to go into it. Instead, hide it in secure compartments or places inside your car.
• Also, keep the car windows closed. You only give them easy access to the interior of your car if you do that. You can always use your common sense.
• Of course, the most stupid thing you could do is leaving the key in your car. Are you giving it away for some unknown robbers for free without even having a difficulty?
• Install protective devices in your car like the kill switch and the tracking system. The kill switch makes your car harder to start because it cuts off power to the ignition whenever you leave the car. The tracking system, on the other hand, keeps you and the police to monitor where the car is in cases that it is driven by some unknown individuals out there.

It sounds great to own a car. You can enjoy the benefits it will give you. For instance, you can ride on it any time you need to; you can travel to any place you want to go to; you can brag about something great that you possess; and so much more. Though the list of benefits could be endless, just be reminded that the car that could give you the greatest life experience could take you to a ride to your grave. I’m not frightening you. You know that it’s true.  

More often than not, you see cars crashing over something in the road, or worse, something that is not on the road. Many things could lead to collisions, and I thought that you must know.  

First, it is incompetence. Of course, when you drive without the proper knowledge and understanding of the road you are traveling and the things that belong to it, you could end up crashing over another car, a person or several people, a tree, or whatsoever. Therefore, before holding the steering wheel, better become a qualified driver first.  

Second is driving under the influence of intoxicating products like liquor. Though the law prohibits this, many are still driving under this condition. So my best advice is that if you want to drive, don’t drink. If you want to drink, then don’t drive. It’s that simple for you not understand.  

Another is distraction while driving. Everybody knows that driving requires both eyes and the whole mind. So if something is distracting you like talking with your passengers, using your mobile phone, and listening to very loud music, better stop that car and wait until everything is over.  

Also, another thing is the road design. Of course this could not be blamed on you. This is the concern of the government—to make sure that every road they build is safe.  

And lastly, the one that should not be taken for granted is the poor condition of the vehicle. There are things inside your car that should be checked regularly to ensure that they are functioning the right way they should really be.  

For drivers like you, better watch out for these conditions. If you want your lives to be saved, then quit driving under these circumstances. Have a safe ride!