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!

You are ready to hit the road when you jump in your car, turn the key in the ignition and wait for the rumble of the engine, but instead you hear nothing. Silence. A dead car battery is an unfortunate, yet commonplace technical problem that most drivers have encountered at some point. Instead of letting a dead car battery ruin your plans, take matters into your own hands and follow these simple steps to jump starting your vehicle.

1.      Find a vehicle with a working battery and a set of jumper cables to perform the jump. Keep these cables in your trunk at all times, so you are prepared for this situation or in the event that you need to aid another driver.

2.      Park the running car near the front of your dead car so the cables can easily stretch and connect the batteries in both of the vehicles.

3.      Turn the ignition off in both vehicles before connecting the cables to prevent any unwanted surges that can damage the electrical system in either of the cars.

4.      Locate the positive (+) and negative (-) side of each battery in both vehicles. These should be clearly marked, but you may have to wipe off residue to clearly see the indicator if the battery is older and worn.

5.      Attach the red cable to the positive side of the good battery and its positive counterpart on the bad battery. Next, attach the black cable and the negative side of the good battery and the other clamp to any metal section in the dead car, such as an unpainted bolt. According to Auto Trader.com, you should avoiding connecting the clamp to the negative side of the dead battery is an important step to prevent sparks from flying in the vicinity of the explosive hydrogen gas that emits from the battery.

6.      Start the engine in the car with a good batter and allow it to run for a couple minutes to help build up a charge in the battery.

7.      Try to start the engine in the dead car. If you have done the process correctly, the engine should fire right up. If not, you may need to allow it to charge up for a few more minutes.

8.      Turn off the vehicles and carefully disconnect the jumper cables. Be sure you do not allow the black and red cables to touch at either end while they are still connected to the other battery.

According to the Car Care Council, extreme temperatures are a major contributing factor in shortened battery life, so amidst this summer heat, be sure to have your battery checked out if it is older than 3 years or if you are planning on taking a long trip.