SNAP! That was your patience breaking under the pressure of having to juggle children or pets whilst driving, we've all been there before, bored children and restless pets can be really tricky to handle, but if you don't handle them properly, you could be putting yourself at risk of dangerous accidents hurting your, your pets, or even your children.

Let's face it, children can be very stressful sometimes, whether they are hungry or just bored, it can mean the difference between a nice day out and a day out to forget. Recent studies have shown that over ¾ of car collisions are caused by distracted drivers, and the majority of incidents occur within 3 seconds of the initial distraction. With such frightening statistics, it's obvious why more and more people are trying to find ways to keep their children and pets at bay while driving.

The best way to deal with children when traveling is to make sure they are occupied. Stretching around every five minutes is not only inconvenient, but very dangerous. The best approach to take is an organizational one. Pre-planning can often be a very clever tactic, think about where you're going, how long the journey will take, and the time you'll be leaving. These 3 factors are very important when it comes to pre-planning, as they could be the difference between a successful trip and a disastrous one.

When travelling for long periods of time, you might want to make sure that children have things to do that are appropriate for their age groups. Younger children might be perfectly contented with a coloring book, but older children may not. Try putting together a travel play pack for younger children. This can include coloring books, their favorite toys or stuffed animals, anything that you know will keep them occupied for the whole journey.

If you're stuck for ideas, there are some brilliant travel-sized games on the market, such as popular board games shrunk and made appropriate for car travel for children to play against each other, or personal games, electronic or otherwise. You could even put together a little music compilation to play in the car filled with child friendly songs; they will be far too busy singing along. For older children, MP3 Players, hand held electronics or books can keep them busy for as long as you need them to, however older children are usually a lot easier to deal with in the car.

Labels: avoid distracted driving, distracted driving, driving dangers, driving distractions, vehicle accidents

Drivers can receive careless driving tickets for a number of reasons. One such offense is reading while driving, which is more common than many people think. Though difficult to prove unless a law enforcement officer observes it, this behavior is a dangerous distraction that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports increases drivers' chances of being involved in motor vehicle crashes by three times.

One reason that people read while driving is text messaging, which has received considerable media attention recently. Though the act of sending a text probably receives more coverage, the act of reading received texts is just as distracting. Drivers who read a text message not only physically take their eyes off the road, they take their cognitive attention off driving to process the message and perhaps formulate a response to it before beginning to type. Drivers who read text messages are just as subject to emotional reactions of surprise, happiness, or anger as those who talk on cell phones, which can mentally distract the driver for several minutes or even for the rest of the driving journey.

Reading maps and directions is also distracting for drivers, and the act of doing so is often accompanied by the process of looking for an address, the stress of being lost, and/or the confusion of driving in an unfamiliar area. If the driver is on vacation or a business trip, she or he may even be driving an unfamiliar vehicle. Again, the physical act of reading combined with mental and emotional distress creates a dangerous driving distraction. Drivers who need to consult a map or directions should pull over in a safe place; this will also give them time to orient themselves to their surroundings before continuing the trip. Having a passenger who can act as a navigator is also helpful.

Commuters to work or school often face long driving trips with heavy traffic. At times they may not be able to move at all. These drivers are often tempted to distract themselves from the wait by reading books and newspapers. Unfortunately, some of these drivers continue to read once traffic is moving again. The risks of doing this in heavy stop-and-go traffic are obvious. Books can be purchased on CD and podcasts can be downloaded from a variety of websites, and if the subject matter is too distracting, the driver can turn it off and concentrate on driving.

A defensive driving course may be required to satisfy a careless driving ticket; the course will also help drivers who have become complacent to reeducate themselves about the importance of remaining fully alert while driving.

Labels: careless driving, careless driving ticket, distracted driving, reading while driving

Everyone looks forward to getting off and going home after a hard day's work, but you may be headed into the most treacherous part of your day, the afternoon commute. More than the volume of traffic or weather conditions, it is driver behavior that makes the commute so dangerous. In order to make your commute as safe as possible, it may be beneficial to look at your driving behavior and what influences it.

Attitude – Your emotions, whether you are in a good mood or a foul one, play a large part in determining how you will respond to the driving environment. If you have a heavy after-work schedule (getting the kids to sports practice, shopping for and preparing dinner, etc.), the frustrations of slow traffic can put you into a bad mood. Drivers who are frustrated and angry tend to take chances they might not otherwise take: Trying to get through a traffic light while it is still yellow, weaving to get into a seemingly faster lane, or speeding. Think back to a time when you got behind the wheel while you were really angry about something. You may recall that you took out your anger on the gas pedal and the other drivers who were getting in your way. If you find yourself getting angry while you are driving home from work, take a moment to think about your driving and try to calm down. Being stopped for a traffic violation or being involved in a collision isn't going to get you there any faster.

Stress – The pressures of work and the stress it generates take a toll on the body. The pressures and frustrations you experience not only put you in a foul mood, they put your body under physical stress. When you experience conflict of any kind, whether it is work- or family-related, your body responds via the fight or flight response. This response, which was designed to protect us from danger by shifting blood to the large muscles and giving you a big dose of adrenaline, can actually be harmful in an environment where you can neither fight nor flee. You may experience this response while driving home from work when another driver cuts you off and you have to brake suddenly to avoid a collision. Repeated doses of adrenaline speed up the heart, increase blood pressure, and, after a while, wear us down and make us physically tired. Tired drivers make more mistakes and have slower reaction times. Being aware of your physical and mental state and taking action to calm yourself or rest a bit before driving home from work will help prevent those critical driving mistakes.

Distractions – A recent study showed that more than 80 percent of collisions occurred within three seconds of a driver distraction. Taking your eyes off the road for even a second or two can have disastrous results. In two seconds at 45 mph, your car will travel more than 66 feet. A lot can happen in that time and space. The anger and frustrations mentioned above can act as distractions, but some of the most distracting actions are physical. The biggest distraction in recent years is the cell phone. Brain scans have shown that drivers who are engaged in cell phone conversations are concentrating more on the conversation than on the road ahead. Studies of this type have shown that the brain isn't really capable of multitasking. The brain can only devote attention to one thing at a time. Studies also show that cell phone users drive more slowly, react slower to red lights and are slow to get up to speed once the light turns green. This is true whether the cell phone is hand-held or hands-off. A lot of the slow traffic on city streets today can be blamed on the use of cell phones. Other distractions such as changing CDs, adjusting the radio, and eating can also take your eyes off the road for those critical seconds. Driving home from work requires all your attention.

Health – Recent studies have shown that the accumulated diesel and gas fumes can have a negative impact on those drivers who may already have high blood pressure or diagnosed heart problems. The roadway environment along with the stresses mentioned above could trigger a medical emergency. If you have health problems, pull off the road and dial 911 immediately if you experience any symptoms. Be sure to visit your doctor regularly for checkups.

To make your afternoon commute safer, the following tips may be helpful:
• Take a moment to consider your attitude before you drive. Use deep breathing exercises or other calming techniques to calm yourself before getting behind the wheel.
• If you have a choice of routes when driving home from work, choose the safer route over the faster route.
• If you have to use a cell phone, pull off the road and keep the conversation short. Otherwise, let voicemail answer the call.
• Watch out for other distracting behaviors, such as fiddling with the radio or eating and drinking.
• Don't give into the temptation to "get back at" or punish other drivers for their bad driving behavior by honking your horn or cutting them off. It will only frustrate you more and could trigger a tragic road rage incident. Let it go.
• If you can, work with your employer to adjust your work hours so that you can avoid the heaviest commute periods.

Labels: distracted driving, driver attitude, driving home from work, stress and driving

Anyone who has children knows what a distraction they can be while driving.

Children who are bored, hungry, or fighting with their siblings can turn a pleasant family outing into a stressful situation. A 2006 AAA Foundation study found that 80% of crashes involved driver distraction within 3 seconds of the event. With this in mind, when driving anywhere with children, pre-planning, even on short trips, is critical.

Ensure that children have toys, games, coloring books, and books to keep them occupied. A good idea is to keep children’s travel kits in the car at all times. A mesh bag for each child can be filled with age appropriate travel activities to keep the child occupied.

Some items that can fill the travel kit are:

• Coloring books (use colored pencils instead of crayons that can melt in a hot car)
• Travel versions of popular games such as Battleship, Guess Who, etc. that the children can play with each other.
• Travel sized versions of Etch-A-Sketch for each child.
• Travel sized hand-held electronic games.
• Small personal radios or MP3 players filled with age appropriate music and headphones for each child.
• Age appropriate books.
• Stuffed animals to act as traveling companions.

The back seat may become a bit messy but that is a small price to pay compared to a bored child

An excellent resource full of games, tips, and accessories for traveling with children is MomsMinivan.com. This website also has great information on how to deal with car sickness.

If you can afford it, portable DVD players with the children’s favorite movies are a great way to keep the children occupied. Just remember that DVD screens are not allowed to be in view of the driver. If a DVD player is out of reach, local libraries have audio books that the whole family can enjoy together.

Children (up to 4' 9" tall) should always be properly secured in a child safety or booster seat with safety belts. Never allow the children to get out of their seat belts when the car is in motion. Information on the proper use of car seats can be found at the American Academy of Pediatrics website.

Traveling With Pets

Pets, no matter how well trained, can be very unpredictable. Pets should never be allowed to wander around the car or sit in the driver’s lap. Small pets that could jump or fall to the floor where they can interfere with the driver’s operation of the foot pedals can be especially dangerous.

An emergency stop could send a pet plummeting to the floor or into the dashboard where they could be injured. Pets should be secured in a car pet carrier or with a pet harness (available at pet stores) that can be attached to the seat or seat belt.

Rawhide bones can occupy a dog for hours and remember that pets need rest stops too. Make sure you have food and water available on a long trip.

Never leave children or pets unattended in a hot car. Even when it is relatively cool outside, temperatures inside a sealed up car can very rapidly reach dangerous levels on a sunny day.

Labels: children, distracted driving, pets, safety tips

How bad of a problem are distracted drivers? A landmark study for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in 2006 found that nearly 80 % of crashes and 65% of near crashes involved some sort of driver inattention within 3 seconds of the event. The majority of the incidents involved drivers who took their eyes off of the road ahead for more than two seconds. Two seconds might not seem like a long time until you consider that a car traveling at 40 mph will travel more than 117 feet during that time.

Distracted driving has become so problematic that two states, Connecticut and New Hampshire along with the District of Columbia, have passed laws making distracted/negligent driving a traffic offense. Other states are considering similar legislation. Maine’s legislature is considering a bill outlawing the use of electronic devices, applying cosmetics, performing personal grooming or any other distractions as determined by local law enforcement. Six states have now banned the use of hand-held cell phones and 19 states have totally banned the use of cell phones for teenage drivers. The Governors Highway Safety Association is calling on all states to pass legislation prohibiting certain distracting activities along with pushing for increased awareness and education on the issue.

New technology designed to improve driving safety and to prevent collisions may be of some help. Some of the new technologies include:

• Adaptive Cruise Control that uses forward looking radar to determine the distance from the car ahead, automatically slowing the vehicle when the distance narrows and regaining speed when traffic conditions are safe.
• Collision Avoidance with Brake Support sounds an alarm, activates a warning light and pre-charges the brakes assist system in case the driver needs to slam on the brakes.
• Adaptive Headlamps that pivot in the direction of travel allowing better vision on curves.
• Lane Departure Warning Systems that alert a driver if they are veering out of their lane.
• Blind Spot Detection Systems that warn of other vehicles in your blind spot.

Other technology being developed uses in car cameras that can detect when a driver’s eyes are off the road too long or if the driver is becoming drowsy. This system warns the driver and suggests taking a break from driving.

All of this technology is great but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety warns that some of these new technologies may make a driver feel as if the car is on auto-pilot allowing them to become more complacent or to feel that they can take even greater risks.

Brain scan studies show that our brains really aren’t adapted to multi-tasking especially when we are driving. So what is the best crash avoidance strategy? Multiple studies show that driver attention on the road ahead is the key to safe driving. Getting plenty of rest before driving, not using cell phones or other wireless devices, keeping both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road are the key. Driving is really a very complex task and the bottom line is that, in spite of all the new technology, driver error is and will continue to be the primary reason for traffic crashes.

Labels: collisions, distracted driving, driving, traffic safety