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Follow these simple steps for adjusting your mirrors and voila: no more whipping your head from side to side to check your blind spot!
1. Straighten your rear view mirror so that it reflects what is directly behind you.
2. Next, lean to your left until your head is just touching the window. Now, adjust your left-hand mirror so that you can only just see the side of your car. When you sit up, you shouldn’t be able to see the side of your car at all.
3. Finally, lean to the right, so that your head is aligned with the center of the car; the center is usually marked by the dome light or rear view mirror. Now, adjust your right hand mirror so that you can only just see the right side of your car.
You can check that your mirrors are aligned correctly when out on the road. Say that a car is approaching on the left. Watch the car in your rear view mirror; as soon as the car disappears from your rear view mirror, it should appear in the left hand mirror. When you can no longer see the car in the left hand mirror, you should be able to see it in your peripheral vision. If you notice a “gap” between mirrors, you should adjust the mirror position slightly. You may need to tilt a mirror up or down, depending on the height of your car.
While you may need a day or two to adjust to this new mirror arrangement, you’ll ultimately find that this is a much safer and easier way to drive.
To learn more about this topic, or a broad range of subjects from “How To Change A Tire” to “How To Jumpstart Your Car”, visit DefensiveDriving.com’s Safe Driver Resources website!
Check out these sites for more information about online defensive driving in Texas, online defensive driving in Florida, and business driver safety.
Kicking the tires is an action that is synonymous with checking the soundness and quality of tires, but in reality, this does not really tell you much of anything at all. This pretty much sums up most drivers’ knowledge about tires because there are a lot of myths and misinformation on the subject. More often than not, drivers do not know when to replace them, how to inflate them properly and other essential basic care details. Maintaining properly filled and quality tires will not only increase the safety of your vehicle, but can also make your car more fuel efficient, so you should take the time to brush up on your facts and bust the tire myths.
Myth: You should maintain a lower operating tire pressure in the winter than in the summer.
Fact: Some drivers will lower their air pressure in the winter in an attempt to gain more traction and control on icy roads, but in reality, driving on too-low tires can cause damage and make your vehicle less safe in dangerous conditions. Tire pressure will naturally lower itself in the winter without any action on the part of the driver, but you should check the pressure at least once a month, according to Tire Safety.com and this is especially important in more dangerous winter months.
Myth: You should inflate your tires to the maximum pressure listed on the sidewall of the tire.
Fact: The maximum pressure is not the ideal air pressure for operating your vehicle with a normal weight load. Instead, you should consult your owner’s manual and use the air pressure guidelines set forth by the manufacturer of your vehicle.
Myth: You can tell that you tires are low just by looking at them.
Fact: Looks can be deceiving, so always check your tire pressure with an accurate pressure gauge. Gauges at gas stations can become faulty and worn by overuse, so invest in your own gauge to keep in your glove box.
Myth: You should check your tire pressure when your tires are warm after driving.
Fact: According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, tires should be checked when they are cold to get the best reading. If you are taking a measurement during hot weather, wait until the coolest part of the day to ensure increased accuracy.
Myth: There is a set amount of time that you should keep your tires before buying replacements.
Fact: Tire wear is very much dictated by each unique driver and vehicle pairing. Factors that can influence the speed of deterioration include harsh climate, rough road conditions, average driving speed and the weight and load of your vehicle. In addition to monthly pressure checks, Tire Rack.com recommends rotating your tires every 3,000 to 5,000 miles (you can sync it up with your oil changes) in order to even out the wear on the tires. This rotation will also serve as a check-up where the mechanic will ensure that your tires are safe and operational for the next 5,000 miles.
Recently, I had the opportunity of driving in another country and the experience was, well, rather foreign. The lights were different, they blinked green until they went red, I could not read any of the signs and my map was in language other than my own tongue. Needless to say… I was anxious.
It is this type of anxiety I believe drivers feel when they are driving in a city which is unfamiliar to them, the uncertainty, the fear, the speed, all of it combine to make a driver, nervous and unsure. Add to it the horns, well, we have all been there.
Some basic tips and low technology suggestions for properly navigating a strange city or country and doing so with the least amount of stress:
1) The low tech map. GPS devices are great, but when it gets down to it, when you are driving amongst the natives, it is best to have a plan prior to the drive and a map/Atlas is the best for pre-planning. Know your route prior to driving it.
2) Plan. Make sure you know well in advance of your trip, what you plan where your are going and what you plan to do. There is nothing worse than driving around aimlessly in a place you are not familiar with. Ever get drive in Texas? Ever drive in Houston, Dallas or San Antonio? You should have a plan or you might as well be driving in Greece!
3) Know the laws - every country and every state has different laws. Right turn on red for instance, fluctuates state by state and if you have a high tech “smart” phone, you should know the laws about their usage… it could save you a ticket.
DefensiveDriving.com offers state approved defensive driving courses throughout the US and these tips are a sampling of the good driver safety behaviors we teach via our online driver safety course.
Drive Friendly, Safely and with a Plan!
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Don’t forget to set your clocks back… it’s coming. Sunday the 6th of November at 2:00 AM, we all set our clocks back one hour. It’s Daylight Savings Time!
Outside of the obvious frustration of trying to reset your car’s clock, if your car does not do it for you, there are some very real and distinct changes taking place around you.
To start, the obvious, the days are shorter, the nights are longer. We are more nervous at night as drivers and with good reason. Our vision of what is in front of us is greatly reduced and so to is our reaction time. According to a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive commissioned by Sylvania, 90% of licensed drivers who drive after dark are worried about potential nighttime hazards.
One thing we do not commonly associate with Daylight Savings Time is the how it coincides with Deer rut. Typically, November 1 through November 25 represents the peak primary breeding phase for deer. Male deer are more aggressive and have increased range as they follow female deer. There are more deer out, they are more active and the odds of a deer and vehicle incident are greatly increased.
Rut, shorter days, longer nights and the transition from fall to winter all indicate the need for a little extra diligence with respect to speed and ensuring your vehicles maintenance is update.
Your headlights are fairly important to assist with the navigation of the transition to Daylight Savings Time, the increased darkness and potential obstacles represent by deer in rut.
SYLVANIA offers some great suggestions with respect to your headlights:
“Check your headlights by parking on a level surface facing five feet from a building wall or your garage door, then turn on your headlights. If the circles of light are bright and white, they are in good, working condition. Yellow or dim lights should be replaced.
Change headlight bulbs in pairs. Because bulbs dim over time, the new one will likely be brighter than the old one, causing an uneven field of illumination. This can be distracting to both the driver and to oncoming traffic.
If the lenses on a vehicle’s headlights are cloudy, consider a headlight restoration kit, which restores headlights to like-new condition and light output. The SYLVANIA kit includes a unique UV Block Clear Coat that protects headlights from further UV damage. After use, motorists should see a significant improvement as the product enables up to three times more light to shine on the road.”
These types of tips can help ensure you have the utmost illumination of obstacles in front of you.
Halloween is an exciting time for kids, my daughter cannot stop talking about it, her costume and she is genuinely excited. Most kids in my neighborhood are like that, especially the younger ones. It is a time to get dressed up, walk around and get CANDY!!!
Most adults I know are not as excited, the sugar aside, there are real concerns about this “over-hyped” holiday. According to a Harris Interactive poll from 2010, 41% of adults feel this is a dangerous holiday. There is reason for that. Foreign objects in apples, tainted candy, dog attacks and any number of accidents involving our children. Halloween’s past tricks give us reason to be concerned.
How do we make this holiday less scary? Here are so simple suggestions, which could help make the night less spooky for you the parent.
Flashlights, make sure your kids have them and they are being used as the kids go house to house. The flashlight helps others, especially other drivers, see your kids. There are also a lot of costumes today with lights built in. All Hallows Eve is usually pretty dark, on average the Moon is full on Halloween once every 28 years. In 2012 the Moon will be full two days before Halloween, so if you are trick-er treating after dark, make sure you have lights!
Reflective tape is typically is not part of the kids costume, but it is the best accessory. Small kids and dark costumes are a recipe for a ghoulish results.
Talk to your children about using the sidewalks whenever possible, if not possible to be as far to the left side of the street as possible, walking against traffic. Being able to see oncoming cars is important with respect to reaction time and reaction.
Work one side of the street instead of going across the street, this way you minimize the running to and from houses and opposite traffic flow.
The mask is a great part of the costume, but it does not help the child’s visibility. Try and limit the masks, but if they insist, you insist it is off while they are walking house to house - so they can see where they are going.
As a parent, walk with your child, there is no reason for any kids to be out and about by themselves on Halloween!
If you are driving on Halloween,you really have to pay extra special attention, children are twice as likely to be hurt in an accident involving a vehicle on Halloween versus any other night. With so many children out and about, it is critical as a driver you are really focused on your surroundings and driving. No distracted driving, no cell phones and there is no reason to speed.
Finally, know where your older children are and who they are with, teens can get themselves in trouble on Halloween and for the most inexperienced drivers, it is definitely not good night for them to be out driving without adult supervision.
DefensiveDriving.com wishes you a scary safe Halloween!!!!
October 16 to the 22nd was National Teen Driver Safety week. A variety of events were held by a large number of organizations across the country with the primary focus on how we can improve driver safety for our most inexperienced drivers.
The National Teen Driver Safety week was established by Congress in 2007 to bring focus and awareness on the prevention of unnecessary teenage deaths on the road. Nearly 1,000,000 teens in the 11th grade, close to 20% of the total population of High School Juniors, indicated they had been in a motor vehicle accident last year, an alarming statistic given how disproportionate the numbers are to the rest of the driving population.
An area of focus is obviously distracted driving, in particular, texting while driving and the use of Graduated Licensing, to increase the age in which a young adult can obtain the driving privilege and do so without an adult present.
However, there is a critical element in any young drivers experience, the parents. What we do as adults, while our teens are preparing to learn to drive, while they are learning to drive and when they start driving, impact how our teens drive.
Some simple suggestions for being the best drivers ed teacher for your young driver:
1) Be the kind of driver you want your teen to be. The learn from us directly, so obey the speed limit, come to a complete stop, do not accelerate through yellow lights and most importantly, put the phone away. Your teenage learns from your mature driving behavior.
2) Practice driving with your teenager. More often than not, and if you talk with driver education professional instructors, they will tell you the teens they teach have never actually driven with their parents. Take time out of your busy day to spend time riding with your teen. Help them parallel park, educate them on proper maintenance and actually ride with them while they are preparing to take their driving test. The time you invest will be returned with the piece of mind knowing you taught your teen to drive.
3) Make it a habit to know who your teen is riding with and how many teens are in a vehicle. Teens learn a lot from their peers and if you do not know what they are driving like, you might not like the behaviors your teens learn from their peers. The more teens in a vehicle, the more apt they are to take risks and to be distracted, by their peers. Set boundaries related to the times your teen can be in a vehicle and the number of peers they are with.
4) Talk to your teens about the dangers associated with driving, watch the morbid videos, (Faces of Distracted Driving is a great site)and take an online driver safety course together. Be involved in learning together, you might learn something you forgot.
5) Make every week your teens drive, a teen driver safety week. Actively involve yourself in your teens driving experience.
These are just a few tips which hopefully will help your teen be safe and you be proud of the mature driver you have created.
tumblrbot asked: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INANIMATE OBJECT?
The stop light!
As school gears back up, student activities are on the rise, and there are increased numbers of teen drivers behind the wheel. According to the National Highway Safety Administration , traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers in America, so both teens and other drivers need be especially cautious on the roadways. Homecoming is one of those special fall events that will have inexperienced teen drivers out on the roads en masse, so we have some tips that will help increase safety for your young drivers during this high risk driving times.
Ride in Style: Consider getting a limo or town car to transport your teen and his friends to the homecoming dance. This will take the pressure off the driver and allow everyone in the group (parents included) to have a worry free night. Because this can be expensive, ask other parents to split the cost and make it more reasonable.
Limit Passengers: If a teenage driver is behind the wheel, you should limit the other passengers to one. According to the Center for Disease Control, the presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers, and the risk goes up with more passengers in the vehicle.
Plan a Route: Ensure your teen is comfortable with the route to all homecoming events. You can practice driving a day or so ahead so they feel comfortable with the navigation, especially if it located somewhere they have never been before. Driving Skills for Life recommends this high level of preparedness because passengers in the vehicle and excitement about the event can make it more difficult to focus on trying to follow a map or read road signs.
Slow Down: Encourage your teen driver to reduce their speeds while driving after dark as visibility can be greatly reduced during these times, and most events will be taking place in the evening and night hours.
Avoid Distractions: Setting a limit for passengers will help eliminate distractions during homecoming travel, but you need to set further guidelines for your teen driver to help create a safe driving environment. Encourage them to keep music at a reasonable volume, and pull over to the side of the road if they need to send a text message or take a call.
Have a Plan B: Always make sure your student leaves the house with a fully charged cell phone so they can call you in the event that they do not feel comfortable driving themselves home from an event. You should also program a couple of local cab company numbers into their cell phones in the event that you cannot be reached for a pick-up.