If you are a resident of any of the Sun Belt or Gulf Coast states with large populations of retirees, doubtless you have heard or even commented yourself on what a problem older drivers are and their impact on the flow of traffic. Newspaper headlines about an elderly driver becoming confused and plowing into a group of people increase the call for restrictions or even outright revocation of driver's licenses for the elderly. With the post-WWII baby boom generation reaching retirement age, the country will soon realize the largest population of elderly drivers in its history. With that in mind, it is time to sort out the facts from the myths regarding older drivers.

Certainly there are many cases where older drivers have continued to drive past the point where their physical abilities, vision, and mental capacity allow them to drive safely. More and more adult children of these drivers are facing the agonizing prospect of taking the keys away from their elderly parent. While these cases seem to get all the headlines, the statistics tend to show that older drivers are the safest drivers on the road and their fatality rates in motor vehicle crashes are actually trending downward.

In January of 2009, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) published a report showing that between the years of 1997 - 2006, the fatality rate for drivers 70 years of age and older had actually fallen by 21% even though their numbers had grown by 10%. Older drivers experienced a much bigger decline in fatality rates than drivers aged 35 - 54.

In fact, the most dangerous group of drivers with the highest crash and fatality rates continue to be 15 -24 year-olds who should be at their physical and mental peak. According to a study published in 2007 by the RAND Corporation, researchers looking at records for 2001 determined that people 65 and older made up about 15% of all licensed drivers but accounted for only 7 percent of collisions in the US. Drivers between the ages of 15 to 24 however made up only 13% of all licensed drivers but were responsible for 43% of all the collisions in the US.

The studies looking at the fatality rates for older drivers don't explain why the fatality rates are going down but it is felt that the results could stem from the fact that older drivers are healthier and more fit than they were in the past, they have better access to improved healthcare and they drive newer, safer cars. Older drivers also limit their driving; the less time on the road means fewer chances for collisions.

A Florida law requiring vision tests for drivers 80 and older when they renew their driver's license was cited by a University of Alabama at Birmingham study as one of the reasons for the decline in death rates for older drivers but another study by the British Columbia Injury Research and Prevention Unit was unable to show a relationship between vision tests and fatality rates. One reason is that the common vision test given by most licensing centers is extremely limited in the types of vision problems that it can detect. Researchers feel that drivers who have night vision problems are limiting their driving to daytime and other older drivers are voluntarily giving up their licenses when they realize their vision limits their ability to drive safely.

The complaints about older drivers slowing traffic flow doesn't have much merit either. Studies show that traffic is being slowed significantly by cell phone users. A University of Utah study shows that 18 to 25 year-olds who were tested in a driving simulator while talking on a cell phone had the same reaction time to emergencies as 65 to 74 year-olds. In another study they found that drivers talking on a cell phone "made fewer lane changes, had a lower overall mean speed and a significant increase in travel time in medium and high density driving conditions. Compared with undistracted motorists, drivers on cell phones drove an average of 2 mph slower, were 18% slower in stepping on the brakes, and 17% slower in regaining their speed after braking. They also kept a greater following distance than drivers who weren't using cell phones. That may not seem like much, but is likely to be compounded if 10 percent of all drivers are talking on wireless phones at the same time."

All this isn't to say that older drivers do not cause problems on the road. Obviously, as we age, there are more physical limitations that can affect a driver's ability. Alzheimer's and dementia becomes more prevalent as drivers age. These problems are serious but it is impossible to relate these conditions to any particular age. Middle aged drivers with heart disease or diabetes can be just as limited as a driver who is 85 or older.

Giving up the keys to a car and becoming dependent on others for transportation means that an older driver is giving up their independence, freedom, and dignity. There are programs to help older drivers improve their driving skills and to help older drivers and their families determine when it is time to surrender the keys and stop driving. The following resources may be helpful for older drivers:

Florida Auto Insurance Discount Course for Mature Drivers
Florida Statute 627.0652 requires insurance companies to provide a discount for drivers 55 years of age or older who have successfully completed an approved accident prevention course.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers an online brochure called "Driving Safely While Aging Gracefully"

Labels: elderly driver, elderly drivers, safety, senior drivers

As summer nears more and more people are enjoying the sport of off-roading on All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). This sport has been growing in popularity with 2.4 million ATVs in use but, unfortunately, too many are buying ATVs and hitting the trail with little or no training and too many children are allowed to ride ATVs that are too powerful for them to safely control.

Between 2000 and 2006 an average of 640 people were killed and 123,014 people were treated in emergency rooms every year as a result of ATV crashes. Forty percent of the deaths involved children. Between 2000 and 2007, an average of 141 children under the age of 16 were killed and 38,300 were treated in emergency rooms every year as a result of ATV crashes.

A quick Google search of news articles reveal that 15 people were killed while riding ATVs during the past week; two of the deaths involving children under the age of 15.

Off-road vehicles encompass two wheeled mini-bikes, and motor-bikes along with three and four wheeled ATVs. All of these vehicles share common attributes which make them dangerous; powerful engines and a high center of gravity. While the three and four wheeled ATVs, with their fat balloon tires, may look stable, their high center of gravity, little or no suspension, and the ability to attain speeds of 30 to 50 mph easily allows them to tip or roll over in uneven terrain. The powerful engines are often too powerful for young riders to control and they can easily "get away" from their operators. Many of the deaths occur when the vehicle, going too fast, flips over pinning or crushing the rider beneath them. Another common problem leading to serious injury and death of riders is lack of helmet use.

The federal government's Office of Consumer Product Safety along with a number of public and private health and safety organizations have urged legislation to make ATVs safer and to limit their use by children. Unfortunately the states have not taken that advice with only 13 states currently requiring safety training certification for ATV riders.

The ATV Safety Institute (ASI), created by the ATV industry, provides e-training and state by state information on instructor provided training for new riders of all ages. The ASI also suggests basic safety rules that should be followed and prevents its members from knowingly selling ATVs for use by underage riders.

The threat posed by ATVs to children has resulted in the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Surgeons (ACS), and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) all agreeing that:

No one under the age of 16 should be on an ATV (as a rider or driver)

Children 12 and under do not have the body size or strength to handle an ATV

Children 12 and under do not have the motor skills or coordination needed for safety on an ATV

Children under the age of 16 do not have the judgment or perceptual skills needed to safelyoperate high-powered vehicles such as an ATV

If you still want to purchase an ATV for your child, North Carolina’s comprehensive ATV law provides good guidance. The North Carolina law:

Prohibits a parent or guardian from knowingly permitting a person: - Under age 8 to operate an ATV; - Under age 12 to operate an ATV of 70 cc or greater; - Under age 16 to operate an ATV over 90 cc; - Under age 16 to operate an ATV unless under continuous visual supervision of a person at least age 18.

Prohibits the carrying of passengers unless the ATV was specifically designed by the manufacturer to carry passengers.

Prohibits a person from knowingly selling or offering to sell an ATV: - For use by a person under age 8. - 70 cc or more for use by a person under age 12. - Greater than 90 cc for use by a person under age 16.

Requires every ATV operator to wear eye protection and a helmet meeting U.S. DOT standards.

Prohibits ATV operation: - While under the influence of alcohol, any controlled substance, or a drug that impairs vision or motor coordination. - On any public street, road, or highway except to cross or at any time on an interstate or limited access highway. - During the hours of darkness, without displaying a lighted headlamp and tail lamp.

Effective October 1, 2006, requires every ATV operator born on or after January 1, 1990 to possess a safety certificate indicating successful completion of an ATV safety course sponsored or approved by the All Terrain Vehicle Safety Institute.

Requires all ATVs sold or operated in the state to be equipped with a brake system, an effective muffler system and a U.S. Forest Service qualified spark arrester, all maintained in good working condition.

The American Academy of Pediatric Surgeons goes further to suggest that modifications be required on ATVs including:

Installing seat belts on 4-wheeled ATVs and requiring that the vehicles also have a roll bar to prevent the driver from being crushed by the weight of the vehicle in the event of a rollover.

Headlights that automatically turn on when the engine is started should be routinely installed on all ATVs to improve visibility by other vehicles.

Speed governors (devices that limit maximum speed) should be installed on ATVs used by inexperienced operators.

Efforts made to design ATVs so that they cannot carry passengers.

Engine covers on small 2-wheeled vehicles, such as mopeds and mini-bikes, could reduce burn injuries resulting from body contact with the engine and exhaust system. A sturdy leg guard could avoid injuries from sideswiping solid objects or being pinned to the ground.

Labels: all terrain vehicles, atv, safety

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More and more technological advances designed to aid driving and to make driving safer can, in some cases, have the opposite effect. Automobile dashboards are starting to look like aircraft cockpits and, as any fighter pilot can tell you, more and more instruments and displays can be overwhelming; preventing the pilot from doing the basic job of actually flying the aircraft. Computerized displays in the dashboard can be very distracting and some safety innovations can give the driver a false sense of security leading to more dangerous driving behaviors. A recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study conducted by Virginia Tech showed that 80% of vehicle collisions involved driver inattention within three seconds of the event. A car traveling at 40 mph covers almost 60 feet per second and a driver whose attention is diverted for just two to three seconds can cover up to 176 feet. A lot can happen in that short span of time. In this article we'll take a look at some of the new innovations and examine their benefits and drawbacks.

In-Dash Computers – New powerful computers are available that offer entertainment, GPS, and standard computing options. They come equipped with wireless Bluetooth technology, touch-screen controls and USB ports for adding keyboards to write emails. While they may offer some convenience, trying to read a selection menu on a small in-dash computer screen requires a lot of concentration that should be devoted to the road ahead. Another thing to remember is that, with the exception of GPS and back-up cameras, visual display devices, such as a computers or video players in view of the driver is illegal in many states.

GPS – This is a tremendous technological advance for anyone who travels a lot. Anyone trying to find their way around a strange city knows what a terrific device it can be. However, taking your eyes off the road to read the map or to use the touch screen to punch in a destination can be very distracting. Some GPS systems have an interlock that prevents a driver from entering data while the vehicle is in motion. Experts say that while all GPS devices are distracting the safest devices are the voice activated systems that don’t require looking at or touching the screen to program or receive data.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC) - This system, which will be required standard equipment in all new cars beginning in 2012, uses computers and independent brakes on each wheel to "steer" the car to prevent a skid and, ultimately, a roll over. The drawback in this system is that drivers may feel they can drive faster and take more risks because the ESC is there to keep them from losing control.

Adaptive headlights – These headlights pivot in the direction that a driver is turning allowing them to see objects around a bend sooner. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) cites studies that have shown that drivers on dark curving roads feel they can go faster when the road is equipped with reflectors or other road markers. IIHS feels that adaptive headlights may provide a false sense of security prompting some drivers to drive even faster.

Lane Departure Warning – This system can detect an unintentional lane departure (if the turn signal is not activated) and either vibrates the steering wheel, activates an alarm and in some cases applies the brakes to keep the vehicle within the lane. This will be a terrific lifesaving device as long as drivers don't allow it to substitute for a good night's sleep before hitting the road or feel that they can allow their eyes to wander off the road for longer periods of time.

Blind spot detectors – Mounted on the rear view mirrors, this device signals a driver either by a light, audible tone, or both that another vehicle is in the driver’s blind spot. It is normally activated when the driver activates a turn signal. The blind spot detectors are mounted on the rear view mirrors and the IIHS feels that many drivers may ignore them or, in heavy traffic, shut out the constant warnings of vehicles in the blind spot.

Technology is great but it can't make up for an irresponsible driver. These potentially life-saving systems are only an effective back-up for those drivers who stick to the speed limit, drive safely, and act responsibly.

Labels: in-vehicle, safety, technology

"A tin can is to a car... as a car is to a train"- unknown

First, the good news about vehicle/train collisions at railroad crossings; the number of collisions at railroad crossings has declined from a high of 13,557 incidents in 1978 to 2,746 in 2007, a decline of 80%. Now the bad news; in 2007, there were still 2,746 incidents. Drivers are still not getting the word that trying to outrace a train at a railroad crossing is a lose/lose proposition. 94% of the collisions and 87% of the fatalities at railroad crossings are caused by risky driving behavior or poor judgment on the part of the driver. Look at the facts:

• A large vehicle such as a train appears to be moving slower than it actually is. The maximum speed for freight trains is 60 mph while passenger trains can travel up to 80 mph.
  
• Even at low speeds, the impact force of a train is tremendous. A single locomotive weighing 432,000 pounds traveling at 35 mph will impart a collision force on a car of 885,000 tons of force. In order for an average car to impart that kind of crash force it would have to be traveling more than 4,200 mph.
  
• Once the train's engineer applies the brakes, the train will travel several hundred feet before air pressure is applied to the brakes on all the cars of a train and they fully take hold.
  
• An average freight train takes 1 1/2 miles to come to a complete stop.
  
• Of all the public railroad crossings (those crossing public roads and highways), only about 53% are controlled by electronic signals. Many private railroad crossings (on farms and industrial parks) are not marked at all.
  

How do you guard against becoming one of the statistics?

• Assume that there is a train on every track at all times, even tracks that are rarely used. If there is a stop sign at the crossing, stop! If there is a yield sign or electronic signals, slow and make sure that no trains are approaching.
  
• If there are two or more tracks, make sure there a train isn't coming in the other direction. In 2000, a firefighter returning from a false alarm waited at the crossing gates for a northbound train to pass. The train passed and stopped just beyond the crossing. The firefighter drove his fire truck around the gate and was struck and killed by a southbound train whose view was obscured by the stopped northbound train. The crossbuck railroad sign will indicate how many tracks there are at the crossing.
  
• When stopping at a railroad crossing make sure you stop no less than 15 feet from the tracks.
  
• Never cross a railroad track unless you are sure there is room on the other side for your vehicle to completely clear the tracks. Many collisions occur when a vehicle's rear end is still hanging out over the tracks.
  
• Don't shift gears while crossing a railroad track; it could cause your vehicle to stall.
  
• If your car stalls on a railroad track, get out of the car immediately, clear the tracks and call 911 for help. If a train is coming, run away from the tracks in the direction of the approaching train. If you run away from the approaching train, you may be injured or killed by flying debris when the train smashes into your car.
  
• Never try to beat a train at a crossing or snake around the lowered crossing gates. Once the lights start to flash and the crossing gate arms go down, the train will appear in about 20 seconds.
  

Labels: crossing, dangers, railroad, safety, safety tips

Cars never seem to break down on a convenient schedule. That flat tire late at night or that overheated engine on a deserted country road can be more than annoying; it can be dangerous. Vehicle emergencies aren't limited to mechanical problems. Sudden, violent storms can create havoc. The big winter storm in March 1993 found thousands of motorists stranded in the snow as highways in Georgia, and the Carolinas shut down. Since we can't schedule our emergencies at a more convenient time, every driver should be prepared by knowing how to deal with emergencies and should keep an emergency kit in their car at all times.

The best defense against a breakdown on the side of the road is to ensure your vehicle is well maintained and that oil and fluids are changed or topped off. Worn tires should be replaced. Check your tires by inserting a penny into the tread; if the top of Abe Lincoln's head can be seen your tread is too worn. Check your tire's pressure; correct tire pressure is printed on the tire’s side or in the owner's manual. Make sure that your spare tire is full and you have an operating jack and lug wrench. Keep the gas tank full and don't try to push it to the next exit when your gas is running low.

The first thing to remember when your vehicle is stuck or disabled is your personal safety. If possible, the vehicle should be removed as far off the side of the road as possible. A large number of crashes happen when drivers either don't see or don't realize that the car ahead is stopped or because they look at the disabled vehicle instead of watching the road ahead. Activate your emergency flashers, then, if you have flares or a reflective emergency triangle, place them 100 to 200 feet behind the vehicle to give other drivers warning of a problem up ahead. Raise the hood to indicate a need for help and tie a white cloth or "help" sign to the antennae.

Since so many crashes involve cars on the side of the road, it is best to leave the vehicle and stand as far off the roadway as possible while waiting for help. Trying to repair a vehicle or change a tire right next to the roadway can be extremely dangerous.

Vehicle Emergency Kits

As indicated above, the best and most important item in your emergency kit should be a cell phone with a fully charged battery. Make sure you keep a charger cord in your car and that your battery is full.

Your emergency kit's contents will depend on where you live and drive. At a minimum, a basic emergency kit should contain:

- Jumper cables (the longer and heavier duty, the better)

- Two 30 minute flares

- A reflective triangle

- A “Help” sign or white cloth to tie to the antennae

- A flashlight with extra batteries. (small LED flashlights are tiny, long lasting, and surprisingly bright)

- A small tool kit including screw drivers, pliers, needle-nose/wire cutters and a small knife

- Two quarts of oil, gallon of water and windshield washer fluid

Labels: emergency, safety, vehicle

Parents could potenitally be placing their children at risk while driving. A study conducted in 2002 by State Farm Insurance and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia added weight to previous studies showing that 83% of children are graduating from child safety seats to adult seat belts too early.

The problem lies in the different ways that seat belts fit around an adult’s body compared to the way they fit around a child. When properly belted in, the seat belt should fit low over a vehicle occupant’s hips. In a crash, the belt will provide restraint by pushing back against the relatively hard surface of the occupant’s hip bones. If the belt were to sit higher across the soft tissue of the occupant’s abdomen, it could cause significant damage to internal organs and could, in severe crashes, actually cut into the occupant’s abdomen. Seat belts on children, with their small frames, tend to ride high over the child’s abdomen. The 2002 study refers to this as the “Seat Belt Syndrome” in children. The seat belt syndrome has contributed to abdominal and spinal injuries in children. The studies found that children between the ages of 3 and 9 were at greatest risk of seat belt syndrome. The problem is compounded by the way shoulder harnesses fit over children. Instead of sitting properly over a child’s shoulder, the shoulder harness tends to ride across their neck and rub against their face causing many to place the shoulder harness behind them.

The answer to this problem is quite simple but, for some reason, the word isn’t getting around. The studies show that once children outgrow their child safety seats, they should graduate to a booster seat. Booster seats raise the child’s body to a position that allows the seat belt to ride low over their hips the way they are designed. Booster seats can also help to properly position the shoulder harness so that it provides maximum protection. The American Academy of Pediatrics published guidelines that say children should remain in booster seats until they are 4’9” in height or, on average, from 9 to 11 years of age. Their website also has guidelines on the proper use of child restraints from infants to teens.

In spite of campaigns by the insurance industry and guidance from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), only 13 states and the District of Columbia have passed booster seat laws that comply with federal guidelines. There are modified booster seat laws in 25 states and 12 states have no child restraint seat laws at all for children beyond 4 or 5 years of age.

When considering a booster seat for your child, remember that all booster seats are not created equally. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducted crash tests and published a list of the best and worst booster seats that are currently on the market. The IIHS website also has pictures showing how lap belts and shoulder harnesses should fit to provide maximum protection. The best seats provide proper height adjustment for the lap belt and keep the shoulder harness away from the abdomen and over the shoulder where they belong. The IIHS also has a list of state laws regarding child restraints.

It is critically important to remember that keeping a child restrained in an adult seat belt is better than no restraint at all. The word about booster seats is slowly getting around and more and more parents are using them every year but the percentage of children in booster seats is still far too low. You may get some push back from your school aged child about having to sit in a booster seat but, once there, they will find that their view out the window is improved and their complaints will be short lived.

Labels: children, driving, safety, seat belt safety

Software Aims to Curb Teens’ Biggest Driving Distraction

Textecution is a new cell phone application that prevents the user from texting while driving by completely disabling the text feature while the car is in motion. Targeted at texting teens, it taps the Google G1's Global Positioning System (GPS), and if a teen driver is traveling more than 10MPH, it prevents text messaging. To get permission to text when driving - or being a passenger – the device will call an administrator number (i.e. their parents) to temporarily bypass the block.

National statistics prove that drivers who are text while operating their vehicle cause a substantial increase in vehicle accidents. According to Students Against Destructive Decisions and Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, instant and text messaging while driving leads the list as the biggest distraction while driving. Texting while driving now rivals driving and drinking in terms of danger and prevalence. Nearly 50 percent of teens admit to text messaging while driving.

Textecution was created to decrease the number of accidents that are caused by drivers who are reckless or distracted because they are reading or typing text messages while operating their vehicle.

Textecution has developed an override function into the application. For example, if a passenger wishes to text while the car is in motion, he or she must choose the "Request Permission" option, and a text message will be sent to the administrator (i.e. parents) who installed Textecution on the mobile device. If the administrator or parent responds "Allow," the texting feature will become available again for a designated period of time.

Textecution is available for a one-time fee of $9.95. For more information, visit www.textecution.com.

Is your teen a safe driver? The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has developed a new Teen Injury Prevention course to emphasize driving safety for teenagers. For more information, including a Driver Education a Driver Education Book for Parents, visit http://www.safedriver.com/.

Labels: driving, safety, teens, texting

While doing some research on aggressive driving, I was struck by the tendency, by some, to use the term aggressive driving and road rage interchangeably as if they were the same thing. While one can lead to the other, they are definitely different and I think it is important, for your safety and mine, to understand the distinction between the two.

We all can recognize an aggressive driver. They are the ones who speed, tailgate, weave in and out of traffic, pass in no-passing zones, and run red lights; sometimes doing two or more of these acts at the same time. Most aggressive drivers drive aggressively as a matter of habit, either ignoring or unmindful of the possible consequences. Most feel that they are excellent drivers who have complete control over their vehicles and everyone else is just getting in the way. While they are aggressive, they would never actually want to hurt anyone.

Road rage comes about when a driver is pushed over a psychological tipping point, loses control, and becomes so enraged that he or she tries to take out their anger on another driver. Even a normally law abiding driver can, under certain circumstances, be pushed over that edge. A typical road rage incident starts out with one driver cutting off another or forcing him to take evasive action. That leads to retribution of some sort and very quickly a traffic game begins with each driver trying to “teach the other a lesson.” Too often the game of retribution escalates to the point where the drivers try to confront each other directly and the situation turns violent and deadly.

Road rage has become so prevalent in American society that all you have to do is type “road rage” into the search field of Google news and you can easily find a recent example. I just did that and read an article from this morning about two drivers who began cutting each other off until one blocked the other at an exit ramp and both got out of their vehicles to confront each other. Unfortunately one reached for a machete and attacked the other. He was subsequently arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. Another situation from two days ago led to two drivers attacking each other with metal batons and bats. A little over a month ago, a driver in my community was shot while driving on the interstate in a road rage incident

This is the first of a series of articles on aggressive drivers and road rage. In following articles, we will examine how to recognize whether or not you may be guilty of some aggressive driving tendencies and we will look at the psychological make up of different types of aggressive drivers and we will see how a driver can be pushed over the edge into a fit of rage. We will also look at steps you can take to prevent becoming a victim of a road rage incident.

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

Be careful out there and drive safe.

Labels: aggressive driving, driving, road rage, safety

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

The holiday season is here again and the holidays present us with some unique driving situations. To have a safe and happy holiday season, some of these tips are worth remembering.

The festive nature of the holiday season provides us with some temptations that could lead to a dangerous driving situation. The obvious problem is alcohol consumption. That after-work party with a bit of spiked punch sounds innocent enough until you consider that, even if you are just slightly buzzed, you are still impaired. Alcohol takes time to metabolize out of the system and the daily commute is hazardous enough without adding alcohol to the problem. Remember that, even if you aren’t at fault in a collision, if the officer suspects that you have been drinking, you will be presumed to have contributed to the collision or to have been at fault. You could be charged with DUI and the insurance won’t pay a penny.

If you attend an evening party, it may be OK to have a small drink at the beginning of the evening so long as you know you will be there long enough for the alcohol to metabolize out of your system before you leave. If your plans include drinking during the party, make sure you have a designated driver or an alternative means of getting home.

If you are hosting a party where alcohol will be served you need to be aware that you can be sued if someone leaves your place and is involved in an alcohol related collision. To protect yourself, you need to ensure that all your guests have a designated driver to drive them home or that they call a cab. To be a really good host, you could consider not drinking anything yourself and offering your services as a designated driver to get your friends home. Also you should ensure that there are plenty of non-alcoholic drinks available for your guests. There are a lot of options; just make sure you choose the ones that are safest for your guests and that protect you as a homeowner.

If you don’t plan to attend any parties on New Year’s Eve, stay off the roads. There are just too many drunks out on the road on that night and that makes it dangerous for even the safest driver.

Remember these facts about alcohol:
• Alcohol is the same, no matter what form it takes. A 12 oz. can of beer has roughly the same amount of alcohol as a 6 oz. glass of wine and a 1.5 oz. shot of whiskey.
• Alcohol takes time to metabolize out of your system. Drinking coffee won’t speed up that time one bit.
• Be aware that drinking on an empty stomach will allow the alcohol to enter your bloodstream much faster.
• Know what you are drinking. If you don’t know exactly what is contained in that holiday punch, you could be consuming much more alcohol than you imagined.

Keep your holidays safe and festive. Don’t allow a poor choice to ruin the holidays for you.

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

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

Labels: alcohol, drinking, driving, holidays, safety

It is such a shame when a soldier, sailor, marine, or airman returns safely from a deployment overseas only to die shortly after returning home in an incident that was so easily preventable. You've made it safely through your deployment by keeping your head on a swivel and paying attention to every possible threat. Unfortunately too many service members forget that a different set of survival skills are required while reorienting themselves to the home-front.

As a retired Chief Petty Officer, I certainly understand the emotions involved in returning home after a long deployment. During your deployment, your actions and freedoms were severely restricted and you are no doubt looking forward to quickly regaining those freedoms. Specifically the freedom to get on a motorcycle or behind the wheel of a car to go anywhere you want, for as long as you want.

That return to freedom has resulted in some shockingly high fatality rates due to motor vehicle collisions. Note that I say collision and not accidents. Accidents are something you have no control over. Motor vehicle (MV) collisions result from someone making a poor choice that sets in motion a chain of events that lead to a collision. MV collisions are preventable.

All of the military services have experienced a major increase in traffic fatalities since the beginning of the Iraq war. From FY 02 to FY08, the Navy and Marines have lost a combined total of 857 members in Privately Owned Vehicle (POV) collisions. In just the last three fiscal years, the Army has lost a total of 370 soldiers. More than half of these deaths were on motorcycles. The majority happened at night and on weekends. More than one third involved speed or alcohol. In more than half of the fatal collisions, seat belts were not used.

You probably had some training sessions with blood and guts videos before the end of your deployment to remind you to be careful when you return to driving. However a lot of those training sessions neglect to remind you of the behaviors you need for safe driving. Before returning home, it is important to stop and think about those driving behaviors that could get you into some real trouble. With that in mind, lets look at some of the tools you will need to survive at home.

For all those long months you have lived a daily existence in a high stress, adrenaline rush environment. It takes time to readjust to the “laid back” civilian environment. Those of you who have deployed before can probably relate to the odd feeling of being in a combat or shipboard environment one day and a safe, comfortable home environment the next. While it is a good kind of stress, the return home puts us in a different kind of stressful environment. Remember that “good stress” is still stress and that stress takes a toll on our bodies. Depending on the environment you left behind, it could take days, weeks, or months to decompress from your deployment. The adrenaline rush you have lived on combined with the adrenaline rush of returning home can lead to impulsive behaviors or cause you to be easily distracted from the important task of concentrating on driving. Becoming aware of that fact is the first step in overcoming it. It may not be possible, at first, for you to get down from that adrenaline rush and relax enough to concentrate on your driving, so, even though it may not square with your take charge personality, it may be wise to let your significant other take the wheel for a while.

During your deployment you probably encountered the fight or flight response on a regular basis. That life saving reflex allows us to respond to an emergency situation by redirecting blood flow to the large muscles and giving us a big boost of adrenaline to either fight or run away. After the emergency was over that you probably shook like a leaf. That wasn’t fear but rather the excess adrenaline in your body having no where else to go. Driving on an American expressway is nothing compared to driving in Baghdad, but you still have to make emergency decisions and, when you do, the body’s fight or flight response automatically kicks in. All these little adrenaline rushes can quickly lead to fatigue and that can lead to a case of Driving While Drowsy. If you are going on a long trip, remember to take rest breaks at least every two hours or every 100 miles.

For those of you who drove in Iraq, you stayed alive by driving very fast down the center of the road and looking for every suspicious object that could disguise an IED. That way of driving became a reflex action. In other words, you did it without thinking about it. That reflex action is not an easy thing to turn off when you get home and it may take you a while to realize that the piece of trash next to the curb is just that; a piece of trash and not an IED. Those very important reflexes that kept you alive in Iraq could lead to a collision here at home. Again, let someone else drive until you can learn to relax and feel safe again.

Obviously alcohol is a major contributor to MV collisions and fatalities. When you get home, relax, have a few drinks. You deserve it. Just make sure you use a designated driver or have an alternate means of transportation.

Remember that the freedom from all the restrictions doesn’t mean freedom from the need to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle or a seat belt in your car.

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

Welcome home. We are grateful for your service and we don’t want to lose you now; especially when it can be so easily prevented.

Labels: driving, military, post deployment, safety

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