For drivers, the most dangerous period of the year is approaching. Thanksgiving weekend is the most traveled holiday period of the year with almost 90% of those traveling doing so by car and, if previous year statistics hold true, this Thanksgiving weekend will also be the deadliest holiday period of the year.

This year, the official 102 hour Thanksgiving holiday period will start at 6:00 pm on Wednesday the 25th and run through midnight on Sunday the 29th. During the same period in 2008, nationwide, 389 occupants of passenger vehicles were killed in car crashes; thousands more were injured. To lessen your chances of becoming one of the statistic this year, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Seat Belts

Of the fatalities during the 2008 Thanksgiving weekend;

• More than two-thirds (67%) of the total fatalities did not have their seat belts fastened.


• 40 percent of the fatalities in daytime crashes were not wearing seat belts.

Most of the 2008 highway deaths and serious injuries could have been easily prevented by the simple act of wearing a seat belt. Many states have strengthened their seat belt laws over the past year and 31 states now have primary seat belt enforcement laws; meaning that the police can stop and cite you for not wearing a seat belt without having to witness any other traffic infractions. As in years past, the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) is sponsoring a nationwide "Click-It-Or Ticket" campaign. State highway patrol and local police departments throughout the nation will be on the alert for vehicle occupants who aren’t wearing seat belts and they will be giving out tickets. Keep yourself safe and ticket free by wearing a seat belt.

Speed

Speeding is the major reason for traffic crashes. Higher speeds reduce the time you have to react to an emergency situation and increase the crash forces in a collision. Along with looking for seat belt violators, the police will also be looking out for speeders. If you are doing as little as 5 mph over the speed limit, you run the risk of earning a speeding ticket.

Wednesday

Most of the travelers who are going long distances will be leaving after work on Wednesday evening. They will find that the normal rush hour delays will extend throughout the evening and far out into rural areas where traffic is normally light.

• Tired drivers who have worked all day and are now facing the frustration of being stuck in slow traffic for such a long distance may be tempted to take chances they might not otherwise take.


• Sleepy drivers may nod off at the wheel and are just as dangerous as drunk drivers.

Sunday

Most drivers will wait until Sunday afternoon to return home where they will face many of the same driving conditions that they faced on Wednesday evening. Unlike Wednesday evening, they will face additional dangers due to:

• Drivers who waited until the end of football games before hitting the road and didn't give themselves enough time.


• Drivers who are drowsy after eating big meals of left-over turkey (Turkey contains Tryptophan, which is used as an ingredient in over-the-counter sleep aids.)


• Drivers who have consumed alcohol while engaging in the above.

Take these actions to remain safe on the road:

• If you can arrange your work schedule, try to leave on Tuesday and return either on Saturday or Monday when traffic is lighter and safer.
  
• Give yourself plenty of time.
  
• Get enough rest and don't try to drive when you would normally be asleep.
  
• Swap driving duties with a companion
  
• To remain alert, stop every 2 hours or 100 miles.
  
• Don't depend on caffeine or "energy drinks" to take the place of sleep. When they wear off, you will fall asleep.
  
• Understand that traffic will be heavy and don't let your frustrations tempt you to take chances.
  
• Check for weather conditions along your route and leave earlier if necessary.
  
• Wear your seat belt!!! Seat belts are proven to save lives and prevent injuries.
  
• Make sure children are secured in an approved child safety seat.
  
• Children over 4 years of age are taken out of child seats too soon; their bodies are too small for seat belts to work effectively. Be sure any child under 4'9" in height is secured in a booster seat.
  
• Don't give into the temptation to speed. It won't get you there that much faster and it can lead to a ticket or worse, a collision.
  
• Use your cruise control to prevent speeding.
  
• Understand that driving is a complex task and it takes all your concentration.
  
• Eat light to prevent drowsiness.
  
• If you need to make a phone call, pull off the road and keep your call short.
  
• Don't answer your cell phone while driving. Let your cell phone take a message and pull off the road to answer your calls.
  
• Don't text and drive!!! Taking your eyes off the road for just a second or two can have tragic consequences.
  
• Don't consume alcohol!! Buzzed driving is the same as drunk driving.
  

Have a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving.

Labels: driver safety, holiday driving, seat belt safety, thanksgiving traffic safety, traffic crashes

Though most drivers and passengers understand the rationale for wearing safety belts, some feel wearing them should be a personal choice and they shouldn’t be ticketed for neglecting to do so. But the number of states with primary (meaning that the driver can be ticketed for a safety belt violation without the presence of any accompanying offense) seat belt laws is increasing.

In 2007, 49 states and the District of Columbia had seat belt laws in effect; only 26 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia specified primary enforcement. Several states have passed primary enforcement laws since then; for example, Florida's law will become effective June 30, 2009. The new law, called the Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Law, will allow law enforcement to pull over unbuckled drivers and issue tickets for as much as $120, depending on the county.

Some drivers feel primary enforcement seat belt laws are an infringement on their personal freedom, but it's important to realize that the cost of motor vehicle crashes, which increase when injury and death rates increase due to lack of seat belt use, is passed on to taxpayers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the economic cost of motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2000 was $230.6 billion - $580 for every person in the US.

Obviously, the failure to wear safety belts does not directly impact every aspect of this total cost, but it can and does impact medical costs ($17 billion) and loss of productivity ($107 billion). The increase in injuries and deaths when seat belts aren't worn also increases costs for taxpayers in the form of an increased need for emergency and hospital personnel and disability and social security payments to the injured and deceased and to their dependents.

According to the NHTSA, research has found that lap/shoulder seat belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent. For light-truck occupants, seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury by 60 percent and moderate-to-critical injury by 65 percent.

Ejection from the vehicle is one of the most injurious events that can happen to a person in a crash. In fatal crashes in 2007, 76 percent of passenger vehicle occupants who were totally ejected from the vehicle were killed. Seat belts are effective in preventing total ejections: only 1 percent of the occupants reported to have been using restraints were totally ejected, compared with 31 percent of the unrestrained occupants.

From 1975 through 2007, the NHTSA estimates that seat belts saved 241,789 passenger vehicle occupants age 5 and older, including 15,147 lives saved in 2007. If all passenger vehicle occupants over age four wore seat belts, 20,171 lives (that is, an additional 5,024) could have been saved in 2007.

Labels: driver education, seat belt law, seat belt safety

Night time driving (between 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM) only accounts for 23% of all vehicle miles traveled yet it accounts for more than 50% of all fatalities for vehicle occupants age 16 and older.

The limitations and thus the dangers of driving at night may seem obvious but, with a death rate that high, reviewing some of the obvious and less obvious reasons for such a high fatality rate might be in order.

Night vision – During daylight, your eye's iris closes, allowing a very small opening to let in the bright light. This narrowly focuses the light entering the eye through the pupil to the center of the lens hitting a narrow spot of the retina at the back of the eye. At night, the iris opens wide to allow in more light and that has the effect of focusing the light on a much larger area of the lens preventing the light from focusing on that narrow point. This has the odd effect of slightly improving your peripheral (side) vision but makes it more difficult to focus on objects further out to the front.

The opening and closing of the iris becomes a problem when traveling from well lit streets to dark roads. When you pass from darkness through a brightly lit area and back to darkness again, it can take up to 30 minutes for your eyes to fully adapt and your night vision to be restored.

Over-driving headlights – On a dark country road it is impossible to see what is coming around the next curve or over the next hill. One of the most common causes of crashes on these types of roads is failing to negotiate a curve because the driver didn't see it coming and was driving too fast to keep the car on the road. Another common problem on these types of roads is animals, primarily deer, crossing the road. The combination of speed, average reaction time and the time it takes to bring a car to a full stop means that it is often too late, once you see an object on a dark road, to stop in time to avoid hitting it. On the dim setting, headlights only provide light out to a distance of 160 feet in front of the vehicle. In ideal conditions, a car traveling at 40 mph needs a total of 189 feet to come to a full stop; a difference of 29 feet. Adjusting your speed depending on light conditions, will ensure your car can stop within the distance seen in the headlights.

Seat belts – For some reason, seat belt use seems to decline among those who drive at night. Two thirds of the fatalities at night involved vehicle occupants who weren't wearing seat belts.

Driving drowsy – The hours between midnight and 3:00 AM see the highest fatality rate of the day. Drivers who are tired don’t react as fast and they don’t make good driving decisions. Drivers who are sleepy are a crash waiting to happen. If you are not normally awake during these hours, avoid driving.

Distractions – At the time of night when it is most critical to keep your eyes on the road, distractions that take your eyes off the road can be deadly. Dialing and talking on cell phones, eating, loading a CD all take your eyes off the road. At 40 mph, you will travel almost 180 feet in just three seconds. Studies show that almost 80 percent of crashes involve driver inattention within three seconds of the crash.

Labels: driving, night, seat belt safety

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