It’s Christmas shopping time again and that means thieves and predators will be out in force so this is a good time to remind you of a few simple safety tips to keep your shopping experience safe and enjoyable.

• Try to do all your shopping during daytime hours, if possible.

• If possible, don’t go shopping alone; take a friend or relative along. It may take a bit longer but there is safety in numbers.

• Even if it takes a bit longer, try to find a parking place as close to the store or mall as possible.

• If you can’t park close to the store or mall, pick a well lit space to park.

• Make sure you always lock your car.

• Don’t leave any purchases in plain view in your car. Place them in the trunk or, if you don’t have a trunk, cover them with a blanket or something similar.

• Don’t carry too many packages at once. That makes you an easy target. Before you accumulate too many packages, return them to your car and lock them up securely.

• Save your most expensive purchases for the end of your shopping trip.

• If possible, don’t carry a purse. If you must carry a purse, loop it over your head and under your arm to make it more difficult to snatch. Always keep your purse close to your body, never in a shopping cart and never leave it open.

• Men should carry their wallet in a front pocket to make it harder to steal.

• Watch for people who may bump into you or try to distract you in some other way. They may be setting you up for pick-pocketing.

• Never use a video arcade, toy store, or a movie theater as a baby sitter. Predators are on the prowl looking for unattended kids at this time of year. If you must take a child shopping with you, use the following tips:
o Make sure the child is well rested and fed.
o Once inside the store or mall, remove jackets, gloves, etc. that can make the child uncomfortable inside a warm building.
o Always keep your child in sight.
o Take some snacks and a toy along to keep the child occupied and satisfied.

• If you are parked away from the store, ask a store employee or mall security guard to escort you to your car.

• When you leave the store, especially at night, have your keys ready in your hand. Jumbling packages and fumbling through a purse for keys makes you an easy target. Keep an alarm or a can of mace on your key chain for self protection.

• If you have a key-less entry system, don’t unlock your car until you are next to it. The chirping noise and flashing lights could alert a potential thief when you are most vulnerable. For the same reason, don’t use your key-less system to locate your car. If necessary, write down your parking location before you leave the car.

• Once you arrive at your car, enter it as quickly as possible, lock the doors, and start the engine.

• Don’t put your packages in the front seat. Packages sliding forward onto the floor when you hit the brakes can be a major distraction. Taking your eyes off the road, even for just a second, can lead to catastrophe.

• Don’t pile your packages so high in the back that seat you have trouble seeing through your rear view mirror. The trunk is the best place for your packages.

For more articles on holiday safety visit our website at http://www.nationalsafetycommission.com.

Have a safe and happy holiday season.

Labels: driving, holiday, safety, shopping

One of the many things I have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving is that, after changing jobs last year, I won’t have to drive by the local mall during my daily commute this Christmas season. If traffic wasn’t bad enough during my commute, the Christmas shopping season turned it into an absolute nightmare. If I had one Christmas wish each year, I would wish that drivers would gain a little common sense and understand what the real meaning of the season is all about. Since that probably isn’t going to happen, I thought a few reminders might be in order to get us safely through the holiday season.

Planning - One benefit of the recent spike in gasoline prices is that it taught us that we need to consolidate trips to save gas. Trying to consolidate all your holiday shopping into one or two trips can help save your sanity and some money.
• Before going out, create a shopping list for all the folks on your gift giving list.
• Use the internet, newspaper ads and mail flyers to find who has the best bargains.
• If you can, devote a single day or two to get all your shopping done.
• Shop early. With the economy so bad this year, retailers aren’t waiting until the end of the season to start their sales.
• Map out your trip and go in a clockwise direction to all your stops. Doing that will ensure you are making more right hand turns rather than waiting for left turn lights.

Dealing with Other Drivers – The frantic pace of the holiday shopping season can bring out the worst in drivers. This is where you really have to keep your cool. When another driver cuts us off, steals "our" parking space or blocks an intersection, we just feel like we have to do something about it. That usually means honking horns, flashing lights, creative sign language, or, worst of all, verbal exchanges. Doing something like that can lead, and has led, to pushing another driver over the edge into a road rage situation. Road rage isn’t aggressive driving. Road rage comes about when one driver, who feels he or she has been pushed just too hard, uses his or her car or some other type of weapon to physically attack an offending driver. You don’t want to be the person who pushes that person over the edge. When you feel like another driver has been rude or dangerous, remember the F.I.D.O. principle. Forget It and Drive On. There is nothing you can do to change that other driver’s behavior. Just let it go and keep out of their way.

Intersections – Trying to get through busy intersections is probably the biggest headache holiday drivers face. My biggest pet peeve is those drivers who, when traffic ahead is backed up to the intersection, pull into the intersection instead of waiting at the stop line until traffic ahead clears. The usual result of that is, when my light turns green, I am stuck because of the other driver blocking the intersection. When that happens, I sometimes fantasize that, if I were prone to road rage and had a gun …… Well, you get the picture. Believe it or not, traffic would flow much more smoothly if everyone would obey the traffic signs and drive at the speed limit. At intersections, remember the following rules:
• When traffic is backed up to the intersection, resist that temptation to pull up. Wait at the stop line. It only costs you a just a couple of minutes to wait for the next light. Doing that will keep you safe and keep you from getting a ticket for blocking the intersection.
• Trying to make it through a yellow light at the last second often results in actually running a red light. Yellow lights mean prepare to stop. I can’t tell you the number of times I have had to wait through a green light for other drivers who are running the red light. Their excuse to the police will be that the light was yellow and they didn’t have time to stop but the police aren’t going to buy it. You can get a ticket for running a yellow light if the officer felt you had time to stop.
• Don’t assume that the car ahead will continue moving and try to stay on his tail to get through the light. Assume that he may stop for no apparent reason and keep your distance.
• Remember that you can’t take the right-of-way. You can only give it up to someone else. If there is a conflict over who has the right-of-way, give it to the other driver.

Pedestrians – There is probably no time of year where we encounter more pedestrians. Remember that pedestrians in a crosswalk, whether marked or not, always have the right-of-way. Pedestrians can’t move as fast as a car can especially when they are burdened down with packages, so don’t expect them to jump out of your way. Remember also that pedestrians may not hear you coming. Their minds are occupied just like yours. Their ears may be wrapped in a muffler or a hat or the pedestrian could be totally deaf.

Stay Off Your Cell Phone – Driving, especially at this time of year, requires your full attention. If you must make a call, pull off the road.

Following these simple rules will allow you to keep your hard earned money to buy Christmas presents instead of paying for traffic fines, court costs, or auto body repairs.

To learn more about driver safety and education please visit our Driver Safety Alerts at http://www.nationalsafetycommission.com.

Here’s wishing you a safe and happy holiday period.

Labels: driving, holiday, safety

It’s holiday travel season again and many of us will be traveling to what was once very familiar territory but, which now, may be totally foreign to us. This holiday season, I’ll be driving through my home town of Atlanta, a city that is no longer familiar to me. Atlanta is changing so rapidly that I can no longer count on past knowledge to find my way around. The Atlanta of my youth was easy to get around in and the natives took great pride in their courtesy to other drivers. That city was replaced by an alien world that more closely resembles a crowded NASCAR track.

When I leave Florida, I will be leaving a driving environment made up of relatively flat straight roads and warm weather for an environment made up of hilly, curving roads and temperatures low enough to cause bridges to ice over.

If you are driving back “home” to a different driving environment, you may want to take a few moments to consider the differences in the driving environment and preparations are needed. You can start by asking yourself some simple questions:

• Will the weather be different where I am going?
If you are driving from warm to cold, you may want to pack blankets, extra food, and heavy jackets in case the roads close, a bad collision brings traffic to a halt, or you experience a break down or flat tire. Do you have experience driving in snow and ice? If not, you will want to be extra careful and slow down. Review your skid procedures and remember, always turn the wheel in the direction of the skid, keep your foot off the brake until you have recovered, and then slow down gently.

• Will the driving environment be different?
If you are going from mountainous and curvy to straight and flat, you need to be aware of “driver’s hypnosis” caused by driving on long, straight, boring roads. You can easily fall asleep if you don’t take frequent rest periods and take action to keep your mind alert. Just make sure the actions you take to stay alert don’t take your mind off the important task of watching the road.
If you are going from flat to mountainous, remember that you can’t drive at the same speeds you are used to. Anticipate an obstruction around the next curve or hill; on two-lane roads, watch for cars that may pass illegally. If you are going slower than other traffic, pull over to let them pass; if you are going faster, maybe they know something you don’t know. Slow down!

• Am I driving from a small town to a big city (or vice versa)?
If, you are driving through a large city, prepare for an intense driving environment. Take a rest stop on the outskirts of the city, study a map to familiarize yourself with your route and be prepared to drive straight through.
If you are driving to a small town, don’t take your big city driving behaviors with you. Rural environments are more laid back and drivers may not be in a hurry. Be patient when you are stuck behind a slower driver. Remember, you may encounter slow moving farm equipment and even animal drawn vehicles which have the same right to the road that you do.

• Have there been many changes since my last visit?
Construction zones may be frequent. That old familiar exit may have been remodeled or closed. You can go on-line to the state department of transportation to check for any changes, construction zones, and road closures on your route. Pay attention to signs. The speed limit on your old road may have changed; a new traffic light may have been added since your last visit.

• Is the car ready?
Is your coolant going to be able to handle the changes in temperature? Does your windshield wiper have alcohol based fluid? Are your tires in good shape and properly inflated? Get an oil change and have all your fluids checked before you leave. Will you need tire chains in case of snow? Does your defroster work? Make sure you have an ice scraper and don’t drive with any ice or snow covering any part of your windows or mirrors. Make sure you have a fully charged cell phone and pay attention to mileage markers in case you need to call for help.

• Am I giving myself enough time?
Be sure to drive during the time you would normally be awake to avoid Driving While Drowsy. Take a break every two hours or 100 miles. Remember that speed kills and doesn’t really get you there that much faster. Speeding can also be expensive (a speeding ticket in Virginia, for instance can cost more than $1,000.) Remember that congested roads create frustrated drivers who tend to make more mistakes.

• And the biggest safety tip of all?
Make sure you and your passengers always wear seat belts.

To learn more about driver safety and education please visit our Driver Safety Alerts at http://www.nationalsafetycommission.com.

Here’s wishing you a safe and happy holiday period.

Labels: driving, holiday, safe, travel